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Closing the school readiness gap: local governments and funding for pre-K access for minoritized children
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Closing the school readiness gap: local governments and funding for pre-K access for minoritized children
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Running Head: FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 1
Closing the School Readiness Gap: Local Governments and Funding for Pre-K Access for
Minoritized Children
by
Karla M. Prince-Cheng
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
August 2018
Copyright 2018 Karla M. Prince-Cheng
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 2
DEDICATION
I dedicate this body of work to my son, Kyle. I embarked upon this journey prior to
giving birth. In the beginning, the purpose of this journey was based purely on individual
achievement. However, during this journey my son Kyle was born. It was no longer just about
me. The purpose of this journey began to shift from me to my son. I know I want to give my son
more opportunities than I had. With this degree, I am laying the foundation for my son’s future.
It is a foundation that he can stand on when he is looking out into the world and deciding what
to pursue in his life. The simple fact that my husband and I both have advanced degrees sets
Kyle up for better opportunities. He will eventually make his own decisions and chart his own
path, but he will have two role models to lean on and learn from. I love you my son and I hope
and pray that my journey inspires you to reach beyond the sky.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”
- James Baldwin
First, I want to thank God for making this entire journey possible. My faith has guided
me throughout my life and has not steered me wrong.
Second, I want to thank my parents, my in-laws, my husband, and my son for
motivating, encouraging, and supporting me through this journey. I could not have made this
journey without you. I love you!
Third, I want to thank my Dissertation Chair, Dr. Jenifer Crawford. I am so glad that I
got to work with you and am truly grateful for your guidance, feedback, and sincerity. I could
not have asked for a better chair. I also want to thank my Dissertation Committee, Dr. Anthony
Maddox, and Dr. Li-Ling Chen. I am so honored to have individuals esteemed as yourselves
take time to help mold my dissertation experience. This experience has been a privilege. Thank
you!
Fourth, I want to thank my peers, University of Southern California (USC) May 2015
Cohort Two (2). I truly felt as though we were part of an extended family traveling on the same
dissertation journey together. I am thankful for your help and support. We are now Trojans for
life! I also want to thank my professors, academic advisor, Anna Chiang, and all those 2SC
staff members for getting me through those seemingly long nights! Thank you!
Last, but not least, I want to thank my friends (a.k.a. framily) and extended family who
stuck around and supported me while I was missing in action. Just like deep tree roots, you
have all kept me grounded. Thank you!
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 4
ABSTRACT
Perceptions and knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of the City of Evergreen
and its council members were examined regarding pre-K access, pre-K funding, and closing the
school readiness gap. Interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. Member
checking was used to assess the validity of the data. Results were analyzed using the Clark and
Estes (2008) gap analysis. Findings show that participants were generally aware of pre-K
access, pre-K funding, and the school readiness gap. Most participants were open to offering
suggestions on how the organization could potentially fund pre-K access. Furthermore, even
though the city and its council members do not currently fund pre-K access, they were not
averse to beginning a dialogue to move the pre-K access issue forward.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... 3
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 4
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 9
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. 10
Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 11
Pre-K Access and Funding ................................................................................................... 14
Inequities .......................................................................................................................... 15
Importance of Addressing the Problem ................................................................................ 18
Organizational Context and Mission .................................................................................... 21
Community ....................................................................................................................... 22
Suggested Organizational Performance Goals ..................................................................... 22
Description of Stakeholder Group ........................................................................................ 24
Stakeholders’ Performance Goal .......................................................................................... 25
Stakeholder Group for the Study .......................................................................................... 26
Purpose of the Project and Questions ................................................................................... 27
Conceptual and Methodological Framework ........................................................................ 27
Definitions ............................................................................................................................ 28
Organization of the Study ..................................................................................................... 29
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 30
School Readiness, School Readiness Gap, Pre-K Access, and Funding .............................. 30
Early Program Models ...................................................................................................... 31
School Readiness Gap ...................................................................................................... 32
Pre-K access and K-12 funding ............................................................................ 37
The KMO Influence on Pre-K Access and Funding ............................................................. 47
Knowledge and Skills ........................................................................................................... 49
Knowledge Influences ...................................................................................................... 50
Pre-K Program Implementation ....................................................................................... 50
Use Pre-K Access from a Similar City as a Guide ........................................................... 51
Motivation ............................................................................................................................. 54
Self-Efficacy Theory ........................................................................................................ 54
Stakeholder’s Self-Efficacy .................................................................................. 56
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 6
Goal Orientation Theory .................................................................................................. 56
Stakeholder Goal Orientation ............................................................................... 57
Organization ..................................................................................................................... 58
Work Process ........................................................................................................ 58
Material Resources and Value Streams and Chains ............................................. 58
Stakeholder Specific Influences ....................................................................................... 60
Cultural Model ..................................................................................................... 60
Cultural Setting .................................................................................................... 61
Conceptual Framework: KMO Assumed Influences ............................................................ 62
Conceptual Framework Model ............................................................................................. 65
Chapter Three: Methodology ....................................................................................................... 66
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................... 66
Interview Criterion and Rationale ......................................................................................... 67
Interview Recruitment Strategy and Rationale ..................................................................... 68
Observation (Access) Strategy and Rationale ....................................................................... 68
Data Collection and Instrumentation .................................................................................... 69
Interviews .............................................................................................................................. 70
Observations ......................................................................................................................... 71
Documents and Artifacts ...................................................................................................... 72
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 73
Credibility and Trustworthiness ............................................................................................ 74
Triangulation ......................................................................................................................... 75
Member Checking ................................................................................................................. 76
Ethics .................................................................................................................................... 76
Limitations and Delimitations .............................................................................................. 78
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 79
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................. 80
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................... 81
Findings ................................................................................................................................ 82
Council Members’ Perceptions of Pre-K Access and the
School Readiness Gap ...................................................................................................... 83
Findings for Knowledge Influences ...................................................................................... 85
Knowledge: What Other Countries, States, and Cities Do to
Promote Pre-K Access ...................................................................................................... 86
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 7
Knowledge: Of Pre-K Access and the School Readiness Gap ......................................... 87
Knowledge: How to Use Existing Data to Affect Change ............................................... 89
Knowledge: Reflect on Why There are Pre-K Access Gaps
and Their Possible Role in Those Gaps ............................................................................ 90
Findings for Motivation Influences ...................................................................................... 92
Motivation: Believe They Are Capable of Establishing
Funding for Pre-K Access ............................................................................................... 92
Motivation: Establish Funding for Pre-K Access ............................................................. 95
Findings for Organization Influences ................................................................................... 96
Organization: Hesitance to Establish Initiatives that Fund Pre-K .................................... 97
Organization: Hesitance to Add Additional Priorities to an Overloaded Priorities
List ................................................................................................................................... 99
Organization: Not Aware of Process to Establish Pre-K Funding ................................. 100
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 103
Chapter Five: Recommendations for Practice ............................................................................ 104
Organizational Context and Mission .................................................................................. 104
Community ..................................................................................................................... 104
Suggested Organizational Performance Goals .................................................................... 104
Description of Stakeholder Groups ..................................................................................... 106
Goal of the Stakeholder Group for the Study ..................................................................... 107
Purpose of the Project and Questions ................................................................................. 108
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences ............................................. 109
Knowledge Recommendations ....................................................................................... 109
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 109
Declarative: Conceptual Knowledge Solutions, or Description of Needs or
Assets.................................................................................................................. 111
Procedural Knowledge Solutions or Description of Needs or Assets ................ 112
Metacognitive Knowledge Solutions, or Description of Needs or Assets ........ 114
Motivation Recommendations ...................................................................................... 115
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 115
Self-Efficacy ................................................................................................................... 117
Goal Orientation ............................................................................................................. 118
Organization Recommendations .................................................................................... 119
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 119
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 8
Cultural Models .................................................................................................. 123
Policies ............................................................................................................... 124
Processes ............................................................................................................ 125
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan ................................................................. 125
Implementation and Evaluation Framework .................................................................. 125
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations .......................................................... 126
Level Four: Results and Leading Indicators ................................................................... 127
Read, Do, and Delete .......................................................................................... 127
Level Three: Behavior .................................................................................................... 128
Critical Behaviors ............................................................................................... 128
Required Drivers ................................................................................................ 129
Organizational Support....................................................................................... 130
Level Two: Learning ...................................................................................................... 131
Learning Goals ................................................................................................... 131
Program .............................................................................................................. 131
Components of Learning .................................................................................... 132
Level One: Reaction ....................................................................................................... 133
Evaluation Tools............................................................................................................. 135
Immediately Following the Program Implementation ....................................... 135
Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation .................................. 136
Data Analysis and Reporting .......................................................................................... 136
Pre-K Access Discussion Measurement ......................................................................... 137
Summary ............................................................................................................................. 137
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 138
References ........................................................................................................................... 140
APPENDIX A: Interview Protocol ............................................................................................ 155
APPENDIX B: Observation Protocol ........................................................................................ 157
APPENDIX C: Artifact And/Or Document Analysis Protocol .................................................. 159
APPENDIX D: Rating Scale – Immediately After Training ...................................................... 160
APPENDIX E: Thirty Days After Training ............................................................................... 162
APPENDIX F: Informed Consent/Information Sheet ................................................................ 163
APPENDIX G: Recruitment Letter ............................................................................................ 166
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 9
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1.1 Organizational Mission, Organizational Global Goal, Suggested Stakeholder Goal ............. 26
2.1 Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Assumed Influences and
Related Literature ................................................................................................................. 49
2.2 Knowledge Influence, Type and Assessment ......................................................................... 54
2.3 Stakeholder Assumed Motivational Influences ...................................................................... 58
2.4 Organizational Influences and Assessment for Organizational Context ................................ 62
2.5 Conceptual Framework of KMO Influences .......................................................................... 63
3.1 Timeline for dissertation defense, data collection, analysis, and recommendations .............. 74
4.1 Summary of Knowledge Influences ....................................................................................... 92
4.2 Summary of Motivation Influences ........................................................................................ 96
4.3 Summary of Organization Influences ................................................................................... 102
5.1 Organizational Mission, Organizational Global Goal, Suggested
Stakeholder Goal ................................................................................................................. 108
5.2 Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations ................................................ 110
5.3 Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations ................................................ 116
5.4 Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations ............................................. 121
5.5 Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes ............................... 128
5.6 Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing .............................................................. 129
5.7 Required Drivers to Support New Reviewers’ Critical Behaviors ....................................... 130
5.8 Components of Learning for the Program ............................................................................ 133
5.9 Components to Measure Reactions to the Program ............................................................. 135
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 10
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
Figure 2.1 Conceptual Framework Model ................................................................................... 65
Figure 5.1 Meeting Measurements Chart ................................................................................... 137
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 11
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Educators, researchers, and policymakers have puzzled over achievement gaps, the
disparities in academic performance by race and ethnicity, that consistently present themselves
on standardized tests, grade-point averages, and a host of other measures (Sadowski, 2006).
The term “achievement gap” refers to the differences in scores on state or national achievement
tests between various student demographic groups (Anderson, Medrich, & Fowler, 2007).
Literacy tests are an example of these disparities. Over half of all Blacks, Latinos, and
American Indian fourth graders perform at the “Below Basic” level and only 15% perform at
the “Proficient” level or better (Snow & Biancarosa, 2003). Among fourth graders, 58% of
Black, 54% of Latino, and 52% of American Indian students, are reading below the basic level
compared with only 24% of White, and 27% of Asian-American students (Howard, 2010).
At the school-level there are at least two kinds of gaps with particular salience for
policy: the internal gap with average differences between distinct racial and ethnic groups and
their White peers within a school, and the external gap with average differences between the
aggregate school scores for each student subgroup in the school and aggregate scores for White
students across the state (Anderson et al., 2007). Arguably, both of these gaps are important
and relevant to school reform efforts (Anderson et al., 2007). The gap that has been a long-
standing source of the greatest concern is the gap between White students and minoritized
students, although other groups have been brought into the picture by No Child Left Behind
(NCLB). The No Child Left-Behind Act sought to narrow these gaps by mandating
standardized testing in elementary, middle, and high schools, thus holding schools accountable
for raising overall scores and improving scores among racial and ethnic subgroups (Sadowski,
2006). A growing body of research, however, has suggested that any serious effort to eliminate
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 12
disparities at the primary and secondary school levels must also address what some researchers
call the school readiness gap – the variations in academic performance and certain social skills –
among children entering kindergarten and first grade (Sadowski, 2006). These vast opportunity
gaps limit children of future prospects every day in schools in almost every community across
the United States (Carter & Welner, 2013).
While all parents hope that their child will begin school ready for success, unfortunately,
not every parent finds that this is the case as opportunities and access to programs promoting
school readiness differ based on geography, race, and income (U.S. Department of Education,
2015). According to the U.S. Department of Education (2015), each year about four million
children enter kindergarten in the United States. Racial and ethnic differences exist both in
enrollment in early childhood care and education, and in the quality of the care received. Black
children are more likely than White children to be enrolled in some form of preschool, although
almost 20% of these are Head Start programs – state funded preschool (Magnuson &
Waldfogel, 2005). Black children also attend lower-quality preschool programs than their
White peers. Although Latino children are less likely than White children to be in preschool,
they are also more likely than White children to be in Head Start programs (Magnuson &
Waldfogel, 2005). If Head Start programs are of lower quality or less academic in focus than
other types of preschools, then the high rates of Black and Latino enrollment in Head Start may
mean that these programs are doing less than they might to alleviate early achievement gaps
(Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005). The Coleman Report (1966) highlights that children in the
American South, Black and White students alike, fare worse academically than Black and White
children in the American North due to socio-economics (Coleman, Campbell, Hobson,
McPartland, Mood, Weinfeld, & York, 1966). As a result, too many children enter kindergarten
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 13
a year or more behind their classmates in academic and social-emotional skills, a deficit that can
trap them in a continuous cycle of catch-up (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). For
example, in 2012, the difference in the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA)
mathematics scores between students who had attended pre-primary education and those who
had not was 51 points – the equivalent of more than a year of formal schooling (Morgan, 2016).
Many local school districts and state departments of education have decided that
children should be tested at the time of school entry to determine their readiness for
kindergarten (Meisels, 1998). This same study states that readiness for school typically
embraces "a specific and often narrow set of cognitive and language skills, usually assessed by
determining whether children can master such tasks as identifying four colors by name, copying
a square, and repeating a series of four or five numbers without assistance" (p. 7). Large
numbers of the children who failed these tests were placed in extra-year pre-kindergarten
programs, retained in kindergarten for another year, or asked to stay home from school until
they were a year older and a lot more "mature.” (Meisels, 1998). Some examples of pre-K
assessments are: Early Childhood Skills Inventory, Brigance Screens, and the Battelle
Developmental Inventory (Gromley & Gayer, 2005). Children who score poorly on academic
assessments prior to entering kindergarten are more likely to become teen parents, engage in
crime, and be unemployed as adults (Duncan, Ludwig, & Magnuson, 2007). These outcomes
are in turn associated with worse educational and health outcomes for children born to these
teens, which risks perpetuating a vicious cycle of intergenerational poverty and poor health
(Duncan, Magnuson, & Murnane, 2016).
While some local communities have shown initiative in quality preschool expansion, the
lack of a statewide funding solution threatens their long-term viability (Super County office of
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 14
Education, 2009). For example, First 5 California scaled back commitments for preschool
expansion due to budgetary cuts (Coffman, Weiss, Little, Harris, & Chung, 2009). First 5
California was created by voters under Proposition 10 in recognition of a child’s health and
education as a top priority, especially in the early years of development. Their focus is to
design comprehensive programs that address the needs of children ages 0 to 5 and their families,
to improve early childhood outcomes in the areas of health and nutrition, early literacy and
language development, quality child care, and smoking cessation (First 5, 2010). State funding
is also becoming scarce in Super County, one county in California that has a universal preschool
effort for all 3- and 4-year-olds (Coffman, et al., 2009). To add to the scarcity of funding,
federal policy makers have cut ongoing federal funding for states and localities, thereby
worsening state fiscal situations (Leachman, Albares, Masterson, & Wallace, 2016). Local
governments should consider funding pre-K access in their communities as a means to increase
access to quality care and to avoid absolute dependence on the federal or state government for
funding (Weinraub, Shlay, Harmon, & Tran, 2005).
Pre-K Access and Funding
The landscape of financing early childhood education in the United States is complex
(Hustedt & Barnett, 2011). While both states and the federal government invest in early
learning, these efforts have fallen short of what is needed to ensure that all children can access a
high-quality early education that will prepare them for success (U.S. Department of Education,
2015). According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) (2013),
across the nation 59% of four-year-old children, or six out of every ten children, are not enrolled
in any preschool program, whether it be publicly funded preschool programs through state
preschool, Head Start, or special education preschool services (NIEER, 2013). Even fewer
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 15
enroll in the highest-quality programs. Out of the 50 states, only ten states enroll 50% or more
of its four-year-old children in preschool (NIEER, 2013). If American schools are going to
close the achievement gap and move toward the top of the international achievement
comparisons, widespread access to high quality preschool programs will have to be one of the
reforms implemented (Frede & Barnett, 2011).
Inequities
Racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to high-quality early education contribute
to achievement and school gaps and are noticeable by the time children enter kindergarten (U.S.
Department of Education, 2015). Options remain particularly limited for children from low-
income families – children for whom an early start to education can help close the achievement
gap (Parham, 2016). Without access to quality preschool, African-American and Latino
children, and children from low-income families are far less likely than their peers to be
prepared for kindergarten (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). For Latino children, the
unmet need is especially great. Latinos are the fastest growing and largest minority group in the
United States, making up a quarter of three- and four-year-old children, but demonstrating the
lowest preschool participation rates of any major ethnicity or race (U.S. Department of
Education, 2015).
A comparison between Evergreen, a pseudonym, and nearby cities, also pseudonyms,
provides a context for pre-K access in different localities. A recent analysis from the nearby,
Almira County Early Care and Education Planning Council, reveals that nearly 2,500 children
in the City of Oartown – or 36% of the eligible child population – are not served due to the
current capacity of subsidized pre-kindergarten slots (OFCY, n.d.). This same source states that
in 13 Oartown zip codes, the number of available slots for subsidized pre-kindergarten is less
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 16
than the number of eligible children. In this same city, they do in fact fund some type of early
learning development with parent and child engagement, and pre-K summer camps through a
voter- imposed tax levied for 12 years (OFCY, n.d.). However, they too do not fund pre-K
access. The Oartown Achieves Partnership’s 2014 Public Education Progress Report reveals
approximately 30% of young children in Oartown do not participate in formal pre-school, and
less than half, 40% of kindergarteners are considered proficient in the five core areas used to
measure kindergarten-readiness: academics, self-care and motor skills, self-regulation, social
expression, and overall readiness (OCFY, 2015). In addition, based on this report, fewer than
half of all students of color have early literacy skills, compared to 75% of White students.
Children from more wealthy homes are more likely to attend pre-primary education, and those
students who might benefit most, the socioeconomically disadvantaged, are less likely to attend
(Morgan, 2016).
Research suggests that increased investments not only in prenatal and infant health, but
also in high-quality preschool education programs will improve a child’s life chances and will
ultimately generate benefits to the society that can easily cover the costs of these government
funded programs (Duncan et al., 2007). Definitions of “high-quality” can differ, however, such
programs typically offer well-qualified teachers, developmentally appropriate instruction, and
positive relationships between teachers and children (Lu, 2014). Additionally, Barnett and
Belfield (2006) stated that increased investment in preschool could raise social mobility.
Festerwald (2017), states that the California per pupil spending for the 2015-16 Fiscal Year is
$10,029. In comparison, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) (LAO, 2017), the
state of California spends $71,000 to house one incarcerated inmate annually. Updated crime
cost estimates can help government agencies and other organizations execute more prudent
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 17
policy evaluations, particularly benefit-cost analysis of substance abuse and other interventions
– including pre-K access – that reduce crime (McCollister, French, & Fang, 2010). The low
cost of pre-K access in relation to the high cost of housing inmates, pre-K investments present a
better cost-utility example.
Funding pre-K access has the potential to produce long-term gains and improve the
quality of life for children and their families, and not just disadvantaged children (Barnett,
2013). Access for children of all backgrounds creates the potential for diverse classrooms
(Potter, 2017). Universal access to pre-K creates the potential to bring together children of
different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds into the same pre-K classrooms. The ability to
construct classrooms that are diverse in race and class, is a huge advantage, because diversity is
an important part of quality early education (Potter, 2017). Recent research shows that
preschool children learn more in socioeconomically integrated environments, as opposed to
attending high-poverty classrooms, and they develop greater racial tolerance when learning
alongside racially diverse peers (Potter, 2017).
Not only do low-income children benefit from pre-K, middle-class children also benefit
from pre-K (Coleman et al., 1966; Potter, 2017). Research on the outcomes of early childhood
education has historically focused on low-income children, showing, for example, that high-
quality early education targeting disadvantaged families can yield a return on investment of as
much as $8 for every $1 spent (Potter, 2017). But more recent research shows that middle-class
children benefit from early education as well. Both middle-class and low-income children in
universal pre-K programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Boston, Massachusetts showed cognitive
gains as compared to peers who did not attend pre-K (Potter, 2017). Likewise, economist Tim
Bartik has found that middle-class children show lifetime-earning gains as a result of attending
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 18
high-quality pre-K programs that are almost on par with the gains shown by low-income
children (Potter, 2017).
Universal pre-K programs draw broad political support due to recent findings that
children’s pre-K and childcare experiences are crucial for development of important school
readiness skills and later school outcomes (Winsler, Tran, Hartman, Madigan, Manfra, &
Bleiker, 2008). Because families of all backgrounds stand to benefit, universal programs have
in the past drawn broad, bipartisan political approval and attracted the support of middle-class
and affluent families with political and social capital. Seventy percent of Americans support
federal funding for universal preschool programs (Potter, 2017). Numerous national and
international studies indicate that high quality childcare and early learning programs help
prepare young children for success in school and life (Super County Office of Education, 2009).
As a nation, we must ensure that all children, regardless of income or race, have access to high-
quality preschool opportunities (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). Ensuring that all
children have access to pre-K depends on the organization tasked with providing this service.
Importance of Addressing the Problem
Conducting a gap analysis to address the needs in the City of Evergreen is important for
several reasons. The City of Evergreen currently has an estimated high school dropout rate of
over 60% (W…, 2016). It also has one of the highest crime rates in the state of California
(W…, 2016). There are roughly 3,000 children in the Evergreen community between the ages
of 0-12 years old, and 1,500 of these children, between the ages of 0-5, lack access to preschool
education (Super County Office of Education, 2009). Very low-income families do not qualify
for subsidies and do not have affordable center-based – child care in a group a setting – options
in Evergreen (Super County Office of Education, 2009). Pre-K access and funding can offer
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 19
positive economic benefits for the individual and the community. The City of Evergreen
currently does not fund or offer any direct services related to pre-K access. In addition, the
neighboring cities of Oartown, Valmar, and Raymond do not fund pre-K access. All cities
named are pseudonyms.
Programs that directly or indirectly prevent crime, like pre-K, can generate substantial
economic benefits by reducing crime-related costs incurred by victims, communities, and the
criminal justice system (McCollister et al., 2010). The recent report by Hanushek and
Woessmann, (2015), showed that even wealthy, developed nations can improve their economies
by improving the quality of their education systems allowing every student to reach a basic
level of skills. Funding access to pre-K programs provides potential benefits to the state’s
economy. These include increased workforce productivity, a more attractive business
environment, and decreased job turnover and absenteeism (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2015).
Access to pre-K programs also help more mothers, especially unmarried women, participate in
the workforce (Wat, 2007). In addition, the benefits of pre-K access include reduced child care
costs which lead to business, increased competitiveness in the global economy, and reduced
income inequality, especially among minoritized racial groups (Wat, 2007).
From a national perspective, an ongoing pre-K-for-all program would, over 75 years,
have large economic benefits, producing more than 3 million jobs, increasing annual earnings
by almost $300 billion, increasing the annual gross domestic product (GDP) by almost $1
trillion, and increasing annual tax revenues by $235 billion (Wat, 2007). For every dollar
invested there is a $12.90 return to the public (Schweinhart, Montie, Xiang, Barnett, Belfield, &
Nores, 2005). In addition, over 60% of individuals who attended preschool earned over
$20,000 at age 40, and over 65% of individuals who attended preschool graduated high school
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 20
(Glesne, 2011). Early childhood programs do not solve all problems for all program
participants, but early childhood programs do enough for a sufficient number of child
participants to improve economic outcomes for individuals and their communities (Bartik,
2014). The most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results show a
positive link between pre-primary education and student academic performance (Morgan,
2016). By attaining universal basic skills in each of the top ten performing jurisdictions on
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012, the effect on the GDP in the
United States, is a gain of 153% which is the equivalent of over $27 trillion over the working
life of the student (Morgan, 2016).
Not having programs that directly or indirectly fund pre-K access can generate
substantial economic costs. Children who score poorly on academic assessments before
entering kindergarten are more likely to become teen parents, engage in crime, and may be
unemployed as adults (Duncan et al., 2007). Preschool gaps in cognitive and socio-emotional
skills tend to persist through the school years and into later life (Duncan et al., 2007). On
average, Black, Latino, and American-Indian students – the underserved demographics in
Evergreen – demonstrate significantly lower reading, math, and vocabulary skills at the time of
school entry, than White and Asian-American children (Sadowski, 2006). Significant
disparities in vocabulary and language processing efficiency were already evident at 18 months
between infants from higher and lower socio-economic status (SES) families, and by 24 months
there was a six-month gap between SES groups in processing skills critical to language
development (Fernald, Marchman, & Weisleder, 2013). Using data from the U.S. Department
of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), University of California
researchers have shown that fewer than 20% of California kindergartners from non-English
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 21
speaking backgrounds score above the 50th percentile on reading and mathematics tests, a
finding echoed in other states (Sadowski, 2006). This complex problem affects the economy
and the wellbeing of each city in the long-term.
Society ultimately pays for these underserved students by subsidizing their lives through
special programs or in the worst-case scenario as the victims of crimes committed by those
underserved (Darling-Hammond, 2010). In the United States, the cost of crime, narrowly
construed, constitutes approximately two percent of the GDP, approximately double the amount
of revenue generated by the education sector and half the amount of revenue produced by the
U.S. entertainment industry (Chaflin, 2013). Crime generates substantial costs to society at
individual, community, and national levels. In the United States, more than 23 million criminal
offenses were committed in 2007, resulting in approximately $15 billion in economic losses to
the victims and $179 billion in government expenditures on police protection, judicial and legal
activities, and corrections (McCollister et al., 2010). From a local perspective, funding pre-K
access has the potential to increase the city’s tax base and create more industry. It is in the best
interest of the local government in the City of Evergreen to fund pre-K access. If
recommendations are made and implemented it is possible that the city will see a reduction
overtime in the school readiness gap, crime, and high school dropout rates. If recommendations
provide positive results, then this study can be a model applied across other cities, counties, and
states. It is important to note that funding pre-K access will not eliminate all of the city’s
societal issues, however, some issues may be alleviated.
Organizational Context and Mission
The organizational context and mission are critical to its foundation. The City of
Evergreen, in the State of California, is a general municipality that in addition to taxes, uses
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 22
federal, state, county, and private grants to fund infrastructure and other services for its citizens.
The city also issues grants to community organizations.
Community
In the past, the City of Evergreen’s population was predominantly Black, this was
shaped by redlining practices and racial deed restrictions (Cut..., 2015). Evergreen’s
demographics have changed over the last 15 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau
(2014), Latinos now constitute about 65% of the total population, while the proportion of
African Americans has decreased to about 16%. The White population, as of 2014, was 28.8%,
the Asian population 3.8%, and the Native American population 0.4%. Pacific Islanders, most
of Tongan, Samoan, and Indo-Fijian origin, comprise 7.5% of the population. Two or more
races constitute 4.8% and the population of those classified as “other” was 6.2%.
Suggested Organizational Performance Goals
The purpose of this project is to conduct a gap analysis in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources necessary to reach the suggested organizational goal to
fund pre-K access in the community of Evergreen. The suggested short-term goal is that the
City of Evergreen will have a conversation around funding pre-K access that would potentially
lead to funding pre-K access. This goal is suggested by the researcher to the city council
members, based on the city’s mission and strategic goals. The researcher will study the
feasibility of taking preliminary steps, as well as funding pre-K access in the City of Evergreen.
Cost feasibility analysis (CF) refers to the method of estimating only the costs of an alternative
to ascertain whether or not pre-K access in this case, can be considered (Levin & McEwan,
2001). In this study, the entire city council are considered the stakeholders. The city currently
has four state funded preschools within its city limits, and of those four schools, there are only
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 23
185 slots for 1,500 children ages 2-5 (Super County Office of Education, 2009). Due to the
number of slots and the number of children, there is an obvious gap in pre-K services offered in
this community. The suggested goal was determined by mirroring similar neighboring cities
that have existing pre-K programs and have added additional pre-K programs. Mirroring other
cities literally means researching other similar or like cities and how they have conversations
around funding pre-K access, and fund pre-K access in their communities. Using those models
or tweaking those models have the potential to fit the needs of the Evergreen community.
The process to attain the suggested organizational goal of funding pre-K access will be
incremental. Currently, the city does not fund pre-K access. The first incremental step and
stakeholder performance goal is to have a conversation between the city council members
regarding pre-K access. During these discussions, the council can lay out initiatives already in
motion such as infrastructure – roads and street lights for example, and how pre-K funding
would rank on that initiatives list. The second incremental step is for city council to hold town
hall meetings where the community can offer feedback on their stance regarding pre-K access
and funding. The third incremental step is to gather and analyze data on the number of children
that are currently of pre-K age who will be expected to enroll in pre-K the following year. Once
that number is determined, the stakeholders along with the community can discuss ideas on the
ideal class size, possible class spaces or locations. These can be existing spaces such as
churches during the week, homes, or unused school bungalows. The fourth incremental step is
to assess how much each space conversion will cost. Locations will be established one at a time
as each space will need teachers, furniture, and materials, and must be licensed by the state.
Once the projected cost of space and operating fees are calculated, the next incremental step is
to reach out to community-based organizations that have the capacity to operate a pre-K space.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 24
The city could also partner with a neighboring city to split pre-K access costs near common
borders. The benefit to this goal is to establish community partnerships that can be strategically
beneficial in the future. The final incremental step is to determine if the city can partially fund a
pre-K initiative. The council will determine how much money is currently in their general fund
that can be earmarked for partial pre-K funding. Stakeholders will need to discuss long-term
costs and how to sustain these costs by fundraising, imposing ordinances with a tax attached,
and applying for funds through federal, state, county, and private grants specifically geared
towards funding for children. One benefit of this incremental process is that it helps to break
down the suggested organizational goal into manageable components. Another benefit is that
this process identifies the relationship between the components. And lastly, this process
identifies components that can exist separately, but when combined, can help reach the
suggested organizational goal of having a conversation around funding pre-K access. Possible
obstacles to achievement of the suggested goal are not knowing where to start, absence of a
plan, and limited funding.
Description of Stakeholder Group
Pre-K access and the school readiness gap affects many people. There is a long list of
potential stakeholders: (a) children, (b) parents, (c) teachers, (d) administrators, (e) community
members, and (f) municipalities – including business and council members. For the purposes of
this study and analysis, and due to practical limitations including time preservation and
simplicity, only one stakeholder group was chosen, the city council. The city council, which
consists of five members, is responsible for passing laws, ordinances, proclamations, and
resolutions, and holds the power to effect change for the City of Evergreen. They are aware of
the city’s motto, which is “Moving forward,” and mission, which is, “The City of Evergreen
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 25
provides responsive, respectful, and efficient public services to enhance the quality of life and
safety for its community,” (“City of…”, n.d.). The city operates from a policy agenda that is
driven by a strategic plan with five priority areas: (a) enhance public safety and emergency
preparedness, (b) enhance economic viability, (c) improve organizational effectiveness and
efficacy, (d) improve public facilities and infrastructure, (e) improve the general sense of
community and enhance community engagement, and (f) create a healthy and safe community
(“City of…”, n.d.). The council is regularly consulted for advice and recommendations on
relevant issues by the community. Their goal is to move the city toward best or better practices
in the areas and services that they are charged by the community to develop and coordinate. For
the council to better connect its strategic goals to an actual policy agenda, and their mission,
they would need to be more organized, responsive, and proactive.
Stakeholders’ Performance Goal
The suggested stakeholder goal is that the city council will have a conversation around
funding pre-K access in the City of Evergreen in the coming future. The outcome of these
conversations could then be used as a model for other communities considering providing
universal pre-K. These stakeholders have the ability to contribute to the achievement of the
organization’s suggested performance goal of having a conversation around funding pre-K
access. The number of conversations around pre-K access and programs funded by the city by
the year 2020 is the measure used to track progress in achievement of the goal. The stakeholder
group is of key importance in achieving this suggested goal and assisting their community by
closing the school readiness gap. If achievement of the suggested goal is not attained the
possible risks include a continued lack of local funding for pre-K access and a widening of the
school readiness gap.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 26
Table 1.1
Organizational Mission, Suggested Organizational Global Goal, Suggested Stakeholder Goal
Organizational Mission
The Organizational Mission of the City of Evergreen is to “Provide responsive, respectful,
and efficient public services to enhance the quality of life and safety for its community.”
Suggested Organizational Global Goal
The City of Evergreen will take incremental steps that will lead to the suggested
organizational goal to fund pre-K access. An outside consultant firm will be hired to conduct
a cost feasibility analysis determining if the city is financially able to fund pre-K access.
They will also determine other feasible alternatives.
Suggested Stakeholder Goal
City council will have a conversation around pre-K access and funding. Town hall meetings
will be held at council chambers or another central location that is accessible to the
community to gain feedback from the community on how to initiate next steps.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
For practical purposes the stakeholder focus in this study is the city council members of
the City of Evergreen. The city has roughly 110 staff members including the police department
and interns. There are five council members and their racial makeup is representative of the
community they serve, including the mayor and vice-mayor. The gender make-up of the
council members are three males and two females. The majority of support staff are Latino;
however, different racial, ethnic, and other nationalities are also represented: Black, Iranian,
Assyrian, White, and Asian, including Filipino and Pacific Islanders. A majority of the city
government work force is Latino, and their ages range from 19 to 65 years. There are slightly
more men on staff; roughly 55% are male and the remainder are female. The city’s mission
statement reads, “The City of Evergreen provides responsive, respectful, and efficient public
services to enhance the quality of life and safety for its multi-cultural community” (“City of…,”
n.d.). It is clear that funding pre-K access to decrease the school readiness gap aligns with the
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 27
city’s mission and has the potential to improve the quality of life for its children.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project is to conduct a gap analysis in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources necessary to reach the organizational goal to fund pre-
K access in the community of Evergreen. The analysis will begin by generating a list of
possible needs and will then systematically examine the needs with the focus on actual or
validated needs. Questions that guide this study are:
1. How do the Evergreen City Council members perceive pre-K access and the school
readiness gap?
2. How do the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements impede the City of
Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-K access?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
For the purposes of this qualitative study, gap analysis will be used to analyze and
clarify any existing gaps related to the perceived standing and real standing of this organization
(Clark & Estes, 2008). The purpose of the gap analysis is to identify whether stakeholders have
adequate knowledge (K), motivation (M), and organizational (O) support to implement the
suggested goal of funding pre-K access to close the school readiness gap (Clark & Estes, 2008).
The qualitative design of this study will allow for a deeper analysis of the stakeholders to take
place as well as the ability to collect pertinent information (Clark & Estes, 2008). The small
participant size offers a more personable exploration into the stakeholders’ influences. Data
from agency stakeholders will be gathered to assess knowledge, motivation, and organizational
needs. Empirical data will also be gathered. The results of this analysis will be obtained and
verified using various approaches such as interviews, member checking, and document analysis.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 28
Observations will also be used in the event a pre-K access or school readiness gap issue is listed
on the City Council Agenda. Using the dissertation innovation model, research-based results
will illustrate gaps and offer recommendations to address the gaps.
Definitions
Preschool access, pre-K access, preschool, and pre-K: will be used interchangeably in this study.
Preschool or pre-K: refers to young children learning in a setting they attend in the years before
they enter school (Mitchell, 2001).
Access: refers to having enough pre-K programs available for all children to attend.
Minoritized: refers to any group not considered or labeled “White.”
African-American and Black: are used interchangeably.
Underrepresented, underprivileged, disadvantaged, and underserved: are used interchangeably.
City of Evergreen: a pseudonym used to protect the identity of the city being studied. City of
Evergreen and “the city” are used interchangeably.
City Council, Council Members, Council, Participants, and Stakeholders: are used
interchangeably.
The following terms are courtesy of Merriam-Webster (n.d.):
A priori: is defined as being without examination or analysis.
Resolution: is defined as a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent that is voted on by an
official body or assembly.
Proclamation: is defined as something proclaimed; specifically, an official formal public
announcement.
Ordinance: is defined as an authoritative decree or direction; a law set forth by a government
authority; specifically, a municipality.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 29
Organization of the Study
Five chapters are used to organize this study. This chapter provides the reader with the
key concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about pre-K funding by city
government entities, school readiness gaps, dropout rates, and crimes rates. The City of
Evergreen’s organization mission, goals, and stakeholders, as well as the initial concepts of gap
analysis adapted to needs analysis were introduced in this chapter. Chapter Two provides a
review of current literature surrounding funding pre-K access. Topics of pre-K funding by
federal, state, and city government entities, school readiness gaps, dropout rates, and crime rates
are addressed, as well as benefits gained by children who are able access pre-K. Chapter Three
details the assumed needs for this study, as well as methodology when it comes to selection of
participants, data collection, and analysis. In Chapter Four, the data and results are assessed and
analyzed. Chapter Five provides solutions, based on data and literature, for addressing the
needs and closing the performance gap, as well as recommendations for an implementation and
evaluation plan for the solutions.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 30
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This chapter provides a more thorough insight into the study through a literature review.
The review of relevant literature addresses the research questions by offering the theoretical
foundation and research basis for the knowledge-related influences, major variables, and factors
that are germane to the study. This chapter will address assumed causes of the knowledge and
skills, motivation, and organizational stakeholder performance gaps which lead to the school
readiness gap. The funding of pre-K access in the City of Evergreen will also be explored. This
chapter is divided into three major sections. The first section reviews and briefly defines the
school readiness gap and the factors that lead to the gap. The second section reviews and
defines pre-K access, funding, and factors that affect lack of pre-K access and funding. Lastly,
the third section defines and discusses stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and organizational
elements.
School Readiness, School Readiness Gap, Pre-K Access, and Funding
It is important to note that much of the research on school readiness that has occurred
during the past 40 years has been predicated on theoretical perspectives that have evolved over
the past 100 years (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Indeed, such prominent individuals as Charles
Darwin, Alfred Binet, Henry Goddard, G. Stanley Hall, and Arnold Gesell have influenced how
we characterize the construct of school readiness in general (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Hall and
Gesell, in particular, proposed a maturational perspective stating that children's growth and
development were time-bound and biologically predetermined. These views subsequently led
to developmental assessment programs with placement options, such as developmental
kindergarten and transitional 1st grade (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Unfortunately, the time-
bound, biologically predetermined view of development suggests that school readiness deficits
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 31
lie within children, rather than shifting the focus to preparing early care and education settings
to be ready for all children, regardless of their level of developmental status (Kelley & Surbeck,
1991). Fortunately, current research on school readiness is demonstrating the powerful effects
that well-qualified teachers in well-designed early care and education settings can have on the
child and family.
Early Program Models
Programs for early intervention and school readiness began in earnest during the mid-
1960s, with such initiatives as the War on Poverty and the subsequent passage of the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964 (Winter & Kelley, 2008). During this era, the focus of early childhood
programs centered on enhancing the development of economically and socially disadvantaged
children through comprehensive educational, health, and family services (Winter & Kelley,
2008). These programs were kindled by prior research which demonstrated the success of early
intervention programs for improving the learning outcomes of children with cognitive delays or
disabilities (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Head Start was one of the most notable outcomes of the
War on Poverty Act. This comprehensive model provided an array of social, health, and
educational services for young children and their families. Planned variations of Head Start
emerged, such as High/Scope, Bank Street, Bereiter Engelmann, and other similar program
models (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Lazar and others conducted meta-analyses of follow-up
studies on early intervention programs initiated during the War on Poverty era and have
provided substantial evidence for the positive and lasting effects of early intervention programs
(Winter & Kelley, 2008). Studies continue to document the effects of some programs,
including the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, which is now part of the High/Scope
Educational Research Foundation, and the Carolina Abecedarian Project. Evaluations of the
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 32
Abecedarian, High Scope/Perry Preschool Program, and the Chicago Child-Parent program are
frequently cited as evidence of long-term impacts and high benefits relative to costs of high-
quality programs (Duncan & Sojourner, 2013).
The Carolina Abecedarian Project was an early model that provided one of the most
intensive programs of early intervention services to low-income children at risk for
developmental delays (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Research has continued to demonstrate the
success of this project in preparing disadvantaged children for school. The dramatic and
sustained effects of the project have included higher cognitive scores through age 21 and better
academic achievement in reading and math, compared to children not enrolled in the program
(Winter & Kelley, 2008). Mothers of participants also appeared to benefit, as evidenced by
their attainment of higher educational levels and employment status (Winter & Kelley, 2008).
More than 40 years of longitudinal follow-up of children in the High/Scope Perry Preschool
Program has indicated not only educational and health advantages, but also lifelong and societal
benefits from participation in the preschool program. Public investments in this program have
yielded increased earnings and tax revenues, as well as reduced crime rates and welfare benefits
among program participants (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Economists and educators agree that
early intervention with high-quality school readiness programs provides advantages to
individual children and families and is also economically beneficial to society, because it builds
a stronger workforce and improves the quality of life for all citizens (Winter & Kelley, 2008).
Access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs is important because it can greatly narrow
early learning disparities (Sadowski, 2006)
School Readiness Gap
Many researchers today still cite an analysis from the 1998 Brookings Institution
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 33
book The Black-White Test Score Gap, in which researchers Meredith Phillips, James Crouse,
and John Ralph estimated that about half of the Black-White test score gaps in the twelfth grade
are attributable to gaps already existing in first grade (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; Sadowski,
2006). Researchers have since made similar claims about gaps existing among other ethnic
groups. Most researchers agree that socioeconomic status – closely associated with race and
ethnicity – is one of the strongest predictors of low cognitive skills at school entry (Sadowski,
2006). In a 2002 study, Valerie E. Lee and David T. Burkam of the University of Michigan
found that at the time of kindergarten entry, cognitive scores of children in the highest
socioeconomic group were 60 % higher than those of the lowest group (Sadowski, 2006).
Predictably, the likelihood that a child will attend some kind of preschool is largely tied to
socioeconomic status, according to data from the National Institute for Early Education
Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University (Sadowski, 2006). A 2004 NIEER analysis found that
while 78% of 3- and 4-year-olds from families with incomes over $100,000 attended preschool,
less than half of children from families with incomes below $50,000 attend.
When looking at preschool attendance differences by race and ethnicity, the picture is
more complicated. Among Hispanics, only 23% of 3-year-olds and 50% of 4-year-olds attend
preschool, according to national enrollment data (Sadowski, 2006). However, thanks in large
part to Head Start and similar state-funded programs, African-American children now attend
preschool in roughly the same percentages as their White peers; about 45% of 3-year-olds and
70% of 4-year-olds attend (Sadowski, 2006).
Attending preschool is no guarantee that a child will receive adequate preparation for
kindergarten and the elementary grades, notes Jane Waldfogel, an economist at Columbia
University’s School of Social Work and author of the 2006 book What Children Need
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 34
(Sadowski, 2006). Waldfogel draws a clear distinction between preschool, a term she uses to
include everything from private day care centers to Head Start, and pre-kindergarten (pre-K)
programs, which are usually connected with school districts and are specifically intended to
provide a bridge to kindergarten for young children. Based on studies she conducted using the
Department of Education’s ECLS data and other sources, Waldfogel theorized that one of the
reasons why White and Black children have different levels of school readiness despite similar
preschool attendance rates is that they do not attend the same kinds of programs (Sadowski,
2006). While she acknowledges the benefits of Head Start, she says there is evidence that it
does not foster the same level of school readiness as school-based pre-K programs, or the best
quality private programs, which serve predominantly White children (Sadowski, 2006). It is
important for leaders and educators to be aware of the school readiness gap and the factors that
lead to the gap. The school readiness gap is the variation in academic performance and certain
social skills that exist among children entering kindergarten and first grade. (Sadowski, 2006).
Children from low-income families can especially benefit from a high-quality pre-K experience.
Parker, Atchinson, & Woodman, (2015), found that by 18 months, toddlers from low-income
families already were several months behind their more advantaged peers in language
development. This inequality continues to widen before school entry at age 5, leaving
disadvantaged students up to two years behind their higher-income peers (Parker et al., 2015).
Inequities among schools is reflective of current education systems. California spends
on average $620 less on a student living in a high-poverty area than one in an affluent
neighborhood (Noguchi, 2012). When comparing the City of Evergreen’s School District to
neighboring school districts, the contrast is vastly different. Neighboring districts rank high
regarding test scores; Evergreen’s students consistently rank near the bottom in the district and
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 35
state (W…, 2016). The current formula for funding schools in California is based on property
taxes associated with property values (W…, 2016). In wealthier districts, these taxes fund the
schools within the district and the same formula applies to poorer districts. In the case of the
poorer districts, supplemental funding from the state is necessary to address needs, such as free
or reduced lunch and English-Learner courses (W…, 2016). Expenditures per student is not
dramatically different, however, what is funded differs between districts. For the 2014-15
school year, Evergreen’s District spent $13,292 on each of its 4,216 students, while the
wealthier neighboring district spent $14,321 on each of its 2,904 students (W…, 2016).
Evergreen, because of its demographics, provides additional services that neighboring districts
do not provide. For example, Evergreen District provided three meals per day including snacks,
bus transportation for elementary through high school students who are bused to schools in
other districts, as well as extra help for English learners and those with disabilities (W…, 2016).
In the City of Evergreen, the school’s buildings were built in the 1940’s and have not been
upgraded in over 20 years (W…, 2016), while schools in neighboring districts have brand new
state-of-the-art facilities. School demographics also differ among districts. In neighboring
school districts, over 50% of the students are White, 11% are English Learners, and less than
10% represent low-income families that qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. In
Evergreen’s schools, less than 1% of the students are White, over 60% are English Learners,
and over 90% qualify for free and reduced-price lunches (W…, 2016). Teachers are also paid
differently in Evergreen compared to neighboring districts. The average teacher salary in
neighboring school districts is more than $35,000 a year higher than those teachers in
Evergreen’s district (W…, 2016). These disparities in K-12, from funding to pay scales, are yet
another reason to fund pre-K access.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 36
Achievement gaps are prevalent amongst minority students in part due to a lack of pre-K
access. On average, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian students, the dominant groups in the
City of Evergreen, demonstrate significantly lower reading, math, and vocabulary skills at
school entry than White and Asian American children (W…, 2016). According to Sadowski
(2001), three-year-olds whose parents are professionals have vocabularies that are 50% larger
than those of children from working-class families, and twice as large as children whose
families receive welfare. Data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood
Longitudinal Study (ECLS), (2001), has shown that fewer than 20% of California
kindergartners from non-English speaking backgrounds score above the 50th percentile on
reading and mathematics tests (Flanagan & West, 2004). This trend is echoed in other states.
One of the reasons why children from wealthy and poor families have different levels of
school readiness is that they do not attend the same kinds of programs. There are benefits to
Head Start, however, there is evidence that it does not foster the same level of school readiness
as school-based pre-K or the best-quality private programs, which serve predominantly White
children (Sadowski, 2006). Most researchers agree that socioeconomic status, closely
associated with race and ethnicity, is one of the strongest predictors of a child having low skills
at school entry. One study found that at the time of kindergarten entry, the cognitive scores of
children in the highest socioeconomic group were 60% higher than those of the lowest
socioeconomic group (Sadowski, 2006). Perhaps even more disturbing, these gaps seem to be
getting wider each year. Even when researchers control for socioeconomic status, level of
parental education, and other factors that contribute to scholastic achievement, the score gap
between White and Black students persists (Sadowski, 2001).
It is important for educators and leaders to become aware of the benefits of pre-K and
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 37
advocate for these types of programs. Pre-K access is important for the holistic growth of
children and these programs can increase performance in future school grades (Bajgier, 2015).
According to research, providing pre-K access can assist in alleviating achievement and school
readiness gaps (Wong, Cook, Barnett, & Jung, 2008). Children from extremely poor families
had the strongest gains in pre-reading and math after attending a center-based preschool
(O’Brien & Devarics, 2007). Setting children on a path to academic success early in life is a
proven and effective way to prevent high school dropouts, increase third-grade reading
proficiency, and help to secure the economic stability of the country and future workforce
(O’Brien & Devarics, 2007). Governments cannot become complacent with the education of
our children and our nations’ future; there is still a long road ahead. With just 46% of age-
eligible children attending pre-K across the country and just four percent of three-year-olds, and
28% of four-year-olds attending state-funded programs, policymakers should continue to
prioritize the expansion of high-quality, state-funded pre-K in their states (O’Brien & Devarics,
2007).
Pre-K access and Pre-K funding. Two main factors affecting the school readiness gap
are pre-K access and pre-K funding. The lack of information surrounding local funds and
locally allocated federal funds makes it difficult to determine how much is actually spent on
pre-K in each state (Williams, 2015). Furthermore, states may not allocate funds as they had
originally planned: often times they use leftover funds to phase out old programs or for other
expenditures (Williams, 2015). Due to a lagging economy, increasing deficits, and reduced
federal assistance, states are in a budget squeeze, and this has limited financing for early care
and education and the hardest hit are the struggling low-income parents (Calman & Tarr-
Wheelan, 2005).
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 38
Low income parents typically work low-wage jobs with irregular hours and have limited
daycare or preschool options with no other day care alternatives (Lu, 2013). Some families use
friends or relatives for daycare which is helpful, however, the level of education and learning is
not the same as in a pre-K setting (Lu, 2013). Local governments should create their own pre-K
funding stream so in the event of federal and state budget cuts, pre-K access programs are not
interrupted or cancelled altogether (Calman & Tarr-Wheelan, 2005). The past few years have
brought little new early care and education funding from the federal government. The Child
Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is a program that provides child care assistance
to low income families and the funding has declined. Similarly, the federal Head Start program
has not received adequate funding, and therefore all eligible families are not able to participate
in the program due to a lack of space or program availability (Calman & Tarr-Wheelan, 2005).
Head Start is a federal-to-local grant program that provides comprehensive preschool programs
for children living below the poverty level (Mitchell, 2001). Head Start is delivered by
community organizations, including schools and local government, in every state.
Geographically, all counties in the U.S. are served; however, the funding only covers half of all
eligible children (Mitchell, 2001). There are other federal programs that stress education for all
and set guidelines for funding. Some examples of these programs are:
• Early Head Start: a program beginning prenatally and covering children up to age 3 and
their families, who qualify for Head Start competitive grants.
• Early Reading First: language and literacy grants for schools and pre-school programs
for low-income families.
• Even Start: integrates early childhood education, adult education and family literacy
programs for low-income parents with children ages birth through age 7.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 39
• IDEA: Special education preschool grants and state grants program ages three to five.
• IDEA Part C: Special education grants for infants and families for disabled children,
birth to 2-years-old.
All of these federal programs were established under the authorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Aaron, 2011).
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), was signed by President Barack Obama on
December 10, 2015, and represents good news for our nation’s schools (U.S. Department of
Education - DOE, n.d.). This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding
commitment to equal opportunity for all students. In 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson
signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into law (U.S. Department of
Education, n.d.). From its inception, ESEA was a civil rights law offering new grants to
districts serving low-income students, federal grants for textbooks and library books, funding
for special education centers, and scholarships for low-income college students. Additionally,
the law provided federal grants to state educational agencies to improve the quality of
elementary and secondary education (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). The previous
version of the law, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, was enacted in 2002. NCLB
represented a significant step forward for our nation’s children in many respects, particularly as
it shined a light on where students were making progress and where they needed additional
support, regardless of race, income, zip code, disability, home language, or background (U.S.
Department of Education, n.d.). The law was scheduled for revision in 2007, and, over time,
NCLB’s prescriptive requirements became increasingly unworkable for schools and educators
(U.S. Department of Education, n.d.).
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 40
The U.S. Department of Education granted No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers to
eight California school districts, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Santa Ana,
Fresno, and Sanger (Bidwell, 2013). These school districts combined serve more than one
million students and thought it unrealistic to bring all students to proficient levels by the end of
that school year (Bidwell, 2013). Recognizing this fact, in 2010, the Obama administration
joined a call from educators and families to create a better law that focused on the clear goal of
fully preparing all students for success in college and careers. The ESSA increases funding for
early childhood education in three ways – Title I Funding, Title II Funding, and Preschool
Development Grants (Parker et al., 2016). Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA) provides financial assistance to local educational
agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or percentages of children from low-income
families to help ensure that all children meet the challenging state academic standards (U. S.
DOE, 2015). The purpose of Title II, Part A (Title II) of the of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, as amended (ESEA) is to increase the academic achievement of all students by
helping schools and districts improve teacher and principal quality through professional
development activities and ensure that all teachers are highly qualified (California Department
of Education, 2016; U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Although three funding sources
have been identified, Title I is explained in more detail subsequently.
The Title I funding per district is from the United States Department of Education (U.S.
DOE), and is the sum of the funding each district received in the 2015-2016 school year from
four formulas (U. S. DOE, 2015). The formula allocates Title I dollars to states that provide a
certain amount of financial support for education compared to their relative wealth (as measured
by per-capita income), and takes into account the degree to which education spending among
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 41
districts within the state is equal. Once a state's Title I allocation is determined, funds are
distributed to school districts where the number of poor children is at least 10% and accounts
for at least 5 percent of the district's school-age population (U. S. DOE, 2015). Federal funds
are currently allocated through four statutory formulas that are based primarily on census
poverty estimates and the cost of education in each state. The information for the four formulas
was obtained through the U. S. DOE (2012; 2015) for Title 1, Part A funds, and California DOE
(2016) for Title 2 Part A:
1. Basic Grants provide funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) in which the number of
children counted in the formula is at least 10% and exceeds two percent of an LEA's
school-age population.
2. Concentration Grants flow to LEAs where the number of formula children exceeds
6,500 or 15% of the total school-age population.
3. Targeted Grants are based on the same data used for Basic and Concentration Grants
except that the data are weighted so that LEAs with higher numbers or higher
percentages of children from low-income families receive more funds. Targeted Grants
flow to LEAs where the number of schoolchildren counted in the formula (without
application of the formula weights) is at least 10% and at least 5 percent of the LEA's
school-age population.
4. Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG) distribute funds to states based on factors
that measure:
a. a state's effort to provide financial support for education compared to its relative
wealth as measured by its per capita income; and
b. the degree to which education expenditures among LEAs within the state are
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 42
equalized.
An LEA may not use Title I funds to implement a districtwide preschool program to
benefit all preschool children in the LEA unless all the schools in the LEA are Title I schools
and operating school wide programs (U.S. DOE, 2012). The use of Title I funds to support a
pre-K access program is a local decision (U.S. DOE, 2012). Local governments are able to
create laws, which designate public schools in the district with the task of operating school wide
programs (U.S. DOE, 2012). Once designated, then all existing schools in the district can
support pre-K access through Title I. Even if Title I funds do not cover the entire costs of pre-K
access, the funds can be used to supplement pre-K access funding (U.S. DOE, 2012).
School funding will change substantially under the new presidential administration. The
administration’s new “America First” budget, not yet approved, follows through on slashing
funds for the Education Department by 13.5 percent, or $9.2 billion (Benix, 2017). Trump’s
budget plan would remove $2.4 billion in grants for teacher training and $1.2 billion in funding
for summer and after-school programs. It also curtails or eliminates funding for around 20
departmental programs “that are not effective, that duplicate other efforts, or that do not serve
national needs.” (Benix, 2017). Although decreased funding for the Education Department will
have repercussions for students and educators across the country, low-income students are
particularly vulnerable. In addition to eliminating Supplemental Educational Opportunity
Grants (SEOG), which offer need-based aid to around 1.6 million low-income undergraduates
each year, the Trump administration wants to “significantly” reduce the Federal Work-Study
program (Benix, 2017).
Although work-study programs have been criticized for disproportionately aiding
private institutions, they are typically successful at helping students graduate and find
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 43
employment post-college (Benix, 2017). The budget proposal also calls for around $200
million in cuts to federal TRIO programs which benefit low-income, first-generation, and
disabled students, and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate
Programs (GEAR UP), a program that helps prepare low-income middle and high-school
students for college (Benix, 2017). Pell Grants are not among the programs currently facing
cuts. They retain their $22.5 billion in discretionary funds, although the budget proposes $3.9
billion in cuts from the program’s $10.6 billion surplus (Benix, 2017).
Many Republicans and Democrats anticipated this surplus funding would go toward
helping students attend summer school. The new budget also ensures that students with
disabilities have continued access to special education by maintaining $13 billion in funding for
IDEA programs (Benix, 2017). Furthermore, the administration will offer $492 million in
funding for minoritized institutions and historically black colleges – a similar, yet slightly
smaller, sum than was previously allotted. Overall, decreased funding will make room for one
of Trump’s top education priorities: school choice (Benix, 2017). Under the new budget, the
Trump administration wants to spend $1.4 billion to expand vouchers in public and private
schools, leading up to an eventual $20 billion a year in funding. About $250 million of these
funds will go toward a private school-choice program, while $168 million will be set aside for
charter schools (Benix, 2017). An additional $1 billion would go toward Title I, a program for
disadvantaged students. The Trump administration wants to allow federal, state, and local
funding to follow students to the public schools of their choice (Benix, 2017). The current
Education Secretary also supports and defends school choice and voucher programs.
The American Federation for Children (AFC), the advocacy organization Betsy DeVos,
Secretary of Education, chaired until she was nominated, supports both publicly funded charter
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 44
schools and even more so, "private school choice" which are publicly sponsored programs that
give families money to spend on tuition at private schools (Kamenetz, 2017). Last fall, AFC
issued a report ranking the existing private school choice programs and included only those
programs that explicitly allow students to attend religious schools. The program that AFC
ranked No. 1 in that report was Florida's tax credit scholarships (Kamenetz, 2017). It unites
three broad concepts that DeVos supports and defends: privatization, religious education, and a
hands-off approach to accountability for private schools (Kamenetz, 2017). Most people are
familiar with voucher programs, where state dollars go to pay for tuition at private schools.
These programs have faced constitutional challenges in Florida and elsewhere, among other
reasons, because they direct public money to religiously based organizations (Kamenetz, 2017).
Education has historically been a state and local district responsibility, and that goes
for education funding as well (Camera & Cook, 2016). Due to decreased federal funding, and
the potential for more cuts under the new administration, it is not a stretch for the local
governments to fill the funding gap. States have typically funded their pre-K programs with a
combination of general state revenues and an assortment of federal funds (Stone, 2008). To
provide these funds, some states have turned to alternative sources such as lottery money,
gaming revenues, and dedicated taxes to finance the educational needs of young children
(Stone, 2008). Imminent decreased funding should encourage policymakers such as govenors,
mayors, city council members, and city managers, to think creatively about ways to supplement
and sustain current funding streams for pre-K programs in their own cities and states.
There are four distinct delivery systems for preschool education that operate in
communities with local, state and federal support – kindergarten, Head Start, child care, and
prekindergarten (Mitchell, 2001). Federal Head Start policies promote collaboration between
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 45
Head Start and child care organizations to serve the needs of children (Mitchell, 2001). In
Indiana, state leaders passed legislation in 2013 to establish its first pilot in pre-K education
program through competitive grants and a voucher-style program followed in 2014 (Lieberman
& Loewenberg, 2016). These dollars were reallocated from the Family and Social Services
Administration’s existing budget.
Head Start is the only source of national funding aimed specifically at school readiness
programs and is restricted to children from low-income families with monies set aside for
children with disabilities (Mitchell, 2001). The state of California funds its existing pre-K
programs through a tobacco tax. In Fiscal Year 2007, more than six billion federal dollars
supported almost one million children in nearly 50,000 Head Start classrooms (U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 2007). Some states such as Illinois, New Jersey, and
Wisconsin have developed significant collaborations between Head Start and state-funded pre-
K programs (Stebbins & Scott, 2007). Head Start Collaboration Offices (HSCO) facilitate
partnerships between Head Start agencies and other state entities that provide services to benefit
low income children and their families (ECLKC, 2015). These HSCO offices are awarded
funds under Section 642B of the 2007 Head Start Act (ECLKC, 2015).
Policymakers have realized that early learning programs merit a substantial commitment
of public dollars (Stone, 2008). With the recognition of the importance of pre-K has come a
growing debate over how best to finance increased availability and quality of pre-K programs.
As of the Fiscal Year 2008, 40 states and the District of Columbia fund some type of state pre-K
program or provide additional state funding for Head Start (Stone, 2008). Most states use
general revenues to fund their pre-K programs. Each year, state legislatures appropriate a
specific amount from their budget to fund their states’ pre-K programs (Stone, 2008). General
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 46
state revenues are usually derived from a combination of sales, income, property, and other
taxes and from fees levied by the government. Every state with a pre-K program, except
Georgia, Missouri, and South Dakota, uses some general revenue for pre-K funding (Stone,
2008). Funding pre-K with general revenue requires annual (or bi-annual) legislative approval
and is susceptible to budget cuts. In allocating the state budget, legislators are constantly asked
to choose between competing policy priorities (Stone, 2008). When funds are not dedicated,
pre-K programs are at risk of decreased, flat, or minimally increased funding, which can
compromise quality and access. Since general revenue is subject to the demands of multiple
public programs, without a dedicated revenue source for pre-K there is also the danger that
other critical programs may be denied funding in order to accommodate an increase for pre-K
(Stone, 2008). Moreover, fiscal changes can affect annual spending levels. Voters tend to
oppose cuts in public education: therefore, by including pre-K in the school funding formula
provides stability and politically secure funding (Stone, 2008). The City of Evergreen could
potentially create laws that support a dedicated funding stream for pre-K access.
The lack of pre-K funding leads to the issue of limited access to pre-K which directly
correlates to school readiness (Stone, 2008). Simply investing in additional pre-K slots does not
guarantee high individual and economic payouts. According to Atchinson and Workman
(2015), to make a difference, programs must meet high standards and demonstrate practices
proven to positively affect the child’s development and school success. Ensuring the quality of
current programs is a necessary and required step. Therefore, as policymakers continue to
invest in and expand access to their state’s pre-K programs, they should ensure that high-quality
facilities exist (Atchinson & Workman, 2015). Investments in expanding state-funded pre-K
programs are beneficial, but policymakers must continue to keep in mind that providing access
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 47
along with quality are both integral components of a successful pre-K program, specifically for
children of low-income families (Williams, 2015). Making these kinds of investments go a long
way to support the developmental needs and learning of our youngest children and provide
significant payouts for the individual and our future economy (Williams, 2015).
The KMO Influence on Pre-K Access and Funding
This study will try to decipher the needs, thoughts, feelings, and motivations of the
Evergreen City Council in an effort to reach the suggested stakeholder goal of having a
conversation about pre-K access and a suggested goal of potentially funding pre-K access. The
absence of knowledge and motivation can cause performance gaps (Clark & Estes, 2008).
According to Rueda (2011), there are different types of knowledge: declarative, procedural, and
metacognitive. Declarative knowledge, which is quite complex, involves being able to state and
explain characteristics, terminologies, properties, phenomena, concepts, principles, and
techniques (Oosterhof, 2012). Procedural knowledge consists of rules for how to do something
or procedures for solving conflicts or complex problems (Star & Stylianides, 2012).
Metacognitive knowledge is the awareness of and knowledge about one’s own cognition
(Krathwohl, 2002). Clark and Estes (2008) noted that the investigation of influences in these
categories enables organizations to more readily develop interventions to improve performance.
Without these categories, organizations may make faulty decisions based on incomplete
information.
A lack of motivation can be attributed to the cause of organizational performance gaps
(Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Pintrich and Schunk (1996), motivation is the internal
psychological process that gets us going, keeps us moving, and helps us get jobs done.
Motivation influences three very critical aspects of our work and private lives: first, choosing to
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 48
work towards a goal; second, persisting at it until it is achieved; and third, the mental effort we
invest to get the job done (Clark & Estes, 2008). Individual self-efficacy concerns people’s
beliefs and collective self-efficacy concerns. Self-regulation is defined as self-generated
thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of
personal goals (Rueda, 2011). Mastery goal orientation is a desire to develop competence and
increase knowledge and understanding through effortful learning and performance goal
orientation is a desire to gain favorable judgments of one’s confidence (McCollum & Kajs,
2007). According to Clark & Estes (2008), increasing knowledge, skills, and motivation, and
focusing those assets on organizational goals, are the keys to success in the new world economy
and an avenue to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
The third and final cause of performance gaps is the lack of efficient and effective
organizational work processes and material resources (Clark & Estes, 2008). Organizational
culture inevitably filters and affects all attempts to improve performance, and successful
performance improvement will depend on taking specific organizational culture into account
(Clark & Estes, 2008). In many ways, organizational culture is the most important “work
process” in all organizations because it dictates how we work together to get our jobs done
(Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Clark & Estes (2008), Value Streams are a form of
analysis that describes how an organization’s departments and divisions interact and what
process they implement. Table 2.1 below illustrates the KMO influences on stakeholders’
performances.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 49
Table 2.1
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Assumed Influences and related Literature
Assumed Influences on Stakeholders’ Performance
Knowledge Motivation Organization
Learning and
Motivation
Theory
• Need knowledge
on pre-K access and the
school readiness gap.
• Need knowledge
on how to fund pre-K
access.
• Need knowledge
on how to close the
school readiness gap
through funding pre-K
access.
• Need to believe
they are capable of
funding pre-K access.
• Need to believe
they can close the
school readiness gap.
• Need time to
implement
suggestions.
• Need an
environment open to
change and that
supports funding pre-
K access and closing
the school readiness
gap.
Related Literature • Need knowledge
of how to implement pre-
K access, policies and
programs, and avoid
problems.
• Need knowledge
of pre-K access options.
• Need to value
pre-K access and tailor
to local city needs.
• Need to build
self-efficacy from
completing tasks of
researching programs.
• Need an
environment that
supports funding pre-
K access.
• Need to know
about resistance within
the organization.
Knowledge and Skills
It is critical that the city take part in providing education for its youngest citizens. By
funding pre-K access, the City of Evergreen can move closer to fulfilling its mission of
providing responsive, respectful, and efficient public services which enhance the quality of life
and safety for its multi-cultural community. The aim of this section is to review relevant
literature on knowledge-related influences and skills that are germane to the attainment of the
suggested organizational goal of the City of Evergreen. The suggested organizational goal of
the City of Evergreen is to potentially fund pre-K access within the city limits by the year 2020.
This research is also beneficial to similar cities interested in creating pre-K facilities in their
community. For this paper, an analytical perspective is used to identify literature that can better
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 50
describe knowledge types.
Knowledge Influences
There are many influences in the attainment of knowledge. The City of Evergreen’s
city council members need to gain knowledge to achieve their suggested goal of having a
conversation about pre-K access and funding. Cognition has often been thought to be
connected to knowledge. A guide to knowledge is Bloom’s Taxonomy (Rueda, 2011) and one
of the contributions of cognitive approaches to learning has been to highlight the different types
of knowledge. There are four known types of knowledge that aid in learning and performance
(Krathwohl, 2002). Factual Knowledge, commonly known as “facts,” refers to knowledge that
is basic to discreet isolated content elements. Conceptual Knowledge is the knowledge of
categories or complex organized forms of knowledge. These two are combined to create
Declarative Knowledge. Next, there is Procedural Knowledge, which refers to knowing how to
do something. Lastly, Metacognitive Knowledge is the knowledge of self and refers to the
awareness of and knowledge about one’s own cognition; it allows one to know when and why
to do something (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011). The City of Evergreen’s council members
will need to utilize declarative, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge influences to achieve
their suggested goal. They will also need to gain knowledge on pre-K access, how to fund pre-
K access, and how offering pre-K access can potentially close the school readiness gap in their
community.
Pre-K Program Implementation
In order for any organization to embark on something new a plan of action is needed.
Stakeholders need to ask questions about location, funding, staffing, children, and resources.
Policy makers have a variety of tools from which to choose when designing childcare policy
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 51
(Rigby, Tarrant, & Neuman, 2007). Some examples of tools already suggested by the
researcher include: issuing vouchers, initiating a grant program, or contracting with community
organizations to operate the program (Duncan et al., 2016).
Declarative knowledge involves being able to state and explain characteristics,
terminologies, properties, phenomena, concepts, principles, and techniques (Oosterhof, 2012).
The Evergreen City Council members must first acknowledge that funding pre-K access has
value not only to the students, but also to the community at large. Stakeholders need to
understand legislative dynamics, budgetary policy, technology, public relations, and political
strategy to avoid any implementation problems (Raden, 1999). The city should evaluate and
compare what other countries, states, and cities are doing to fund and promote pre-K access.
Development of this knowledge can shed light on the relationship between funding pre-K
access and the long-term benefits to the entire community.
When selecting or developing tasks, the validity of assessments of declarative
knowledge benefits from considering the types of changes associated with increased declarative
knowledge (Oosterhof, 2012). The importance of the stakeholder group in the achievement of
the suggested goal is to gather feedback from a representative group that has the potential to
affect change. A researcher suggestion is for the stakeholders to commit to conducting pop-ups
or workshops to help increase their declarative knowledge regarding the benefits of funding pre-
K access in their communities.
Use pre-K access from similar cities as a guide. Using proven methods from other
cities and states can improve strategies for funding pre-K access (O’Riordan, 2013).
Stakeholders will need procedural knowledge to start planning to execute their suggested goal.
Procedural knowledge consists of rules or procedures necessary for solving conflicts or
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 52
establishing how to do something (Star & Stylianides, 2012). How will the stakeholders have a
conversation about and begin to strategize funding pre-K access in their community? In 1995,
the State of Georgia established the first universal pre-K program (McCann, n.d.). Georgia's
universal prekindergarten program is the oldest in the country. It thrives in a red state and is
championed by classic conservatives (Johnson, 2014). The program is open to all students, and
it embraces choice — any school that meets the state standards, whether religious, corporate, or
private, can apply for funding. And its continued success and popularity reflects the gulf
between congressional Republicans (Johnson, 2014). Most universal pre-K programs are
created with the goal of changing the odds for low-income children, and that goal is the
justification for the significant public funding required (Dorman, Anthony, Osborne-Fears, &
Fischer, 2017). In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1999, private foundations joined with the county
government to create an early childhood initiative to provide an array of services from prenatal
care to kindergarten (Dorman et al., 2017). This county garnered support from over 100
community members from the private and public sectors, and national experts were hired to
consult on this initiative. To determine whether there was capacity in current programs,
statistics were gathered (Dorman et al., 2017). Along with consultants, community focus
groups, and interviews, they were able to determine teacher requirements, program sections, and
if children were eligible for existing scholarships. Stakeholder engagement in planning was key
to the success of this program (Dorman et al., 2017). If the City of Evergreen researches
successful programs in other states or cities, it may assist in the launching of a pre-K initiative
of their own.
The City of Evergreen needs to know how they can use existing data to affect change
within their own community. Any prior knowledge, beliefs, or attitudes greatly influence the
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 53
way stakeholders interpret and implement change (Marsh, 2012). There are pressures and
barriers to data use, most notably, the lack of time allocated to examine and engage in data-
related discussions and actions; also, the lack of adequate skills and knowledge needed to
formulate questions, select indicators, interpret results, and develop solutions (Marsh, 2012).
The city needs to know how they can employ a formative assessment system linked to coaching,
workshops, and rewards, to develop more narrowly focused results and establish protocol to
help staff analyze data. Another option could be a seminar bringing all stakeholders together to
reflect on data results (Marsh, 2012). Stakeholder Reflection Metacognitive Knowledge is the
awareness of and knowledge about one’s own cognition (Krathwohl, 2002). Such awareness
can lead to flexible and confident problem solving as well as feelings of self-efficacy and pride
(Paris & Winograd, 1990). Metacognitive Knowledge occurs when stakeholders know they
have gaps regarding their opinions of pre-K access and need to think about why that is, and if
they themselves might be hindering the suggested organizational goal. Stakeholders can reflect
by asking themselves if they are doing everything they can to help achieve the suggested goal.
Are they focused on the suggested goal and is previous knowledge blocking forward progress
towards the suggested goal? To follow up on achieving the prescribed suggested goals, city
council members need to determine tasks, select proper approaches, and organize how to
effectively conduct strategies (Iwai, 2011). Table 2.2 illustrates stakeholder knowledge
influence, type, and assessment for knowledge gap analysis.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 54
Table 2.2
Knowledge Influence, Type and Assessment
Knowledge Influences Knowledge Type (i.e.,
declarative (factual/conceptual),
procedural/metacognitive)
Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Stakeholders should
compare what other
countries, states, and
cities are doing to
promote pre-K access.
Declarative (Conceptual) Interview item: “What do
you know about other
countries, states, and cities
that promote pre-K access?”
Stakeholders should
know about pre-K and
the school readiness
gap.
Declarative (Conceptual) Interview item: “What do you
know about the pre-K access
gap and the impact of access
on the school readiness gap?”
Stakeholders need to
know how they can use
existing data to affect
change.
Procedural Interview item: “How would
you use existing data to affect
change?”
Stakeholders need to
reflect on why there are
gaps in pre-K access
and their possible role in
those gaps.
Metacognitive Interview items: “Why do you
think there is a preschool issue
in your city? “How do you
think the absence of universal
pre-K access affects children
in the city?”
Motivation
Motivation is the internal psychological process that compels one to action (Pintrich &
Schunk,1996). Motivation is critical in goal achievement and influences our lives based on the
following three aspects: make an active choice to act, persist through an action, and invest in
mental effort to achieve a goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Clark & Estes (2008),
change is not always welcomed by people, however change is needed to solve complex
problems.
Self-Efficacy Theory
Individual self-efficacy concerns people’s beliefs and collective concerns. Self-
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 55
regulation is defined as self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and
cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals (Rueda, 2011). In many activities
however, people do not often have direct control over social conditions and institutional
practices that affect their lives (Bandura, 2000) and can cause low self-efficacy. Many
government jurisdictions and agencies are led by elected or politically-appointed leaders and
officials, with brief tenures, specific policy agendas, and short-term perspectives (Lavigna,
2014). Political turnover, without any real succession planning, makes it difficult to sustain
engagement or emphasize engagement that comes with applying long experience to solving
problems (Lavigna, 2014). This shift in ideas, motivation, and people can cause people to have
low self-efficacy and to give up on goals. Stakeholders need to know that successful program
development requires input from policy makers (Raden, 1999).
The work of government is uniquely visible, due to open meetings and records laws that
require agencies to meet in public, and also provide upon request, meeting memos, decision
documents, emails and even text messages (Lavigna, 2014). This transparency can encourage
stakeholders to have high self-efficacy if they feel that what they do individually helps the
group and therefore helps the people they agreed to serve (collective agency). Research has
shown that public servants find meaning in their work by making a positive difference in the
lives of the citizens they serve (Lavigna, 2014). Stakeholders need to understand and know
how to work with outside organizations and institutions to gain inspiration (Raden, 1999).
Stakeholders usually enter public service because they are already committed to the mission of
the government (Lavigna, 2014). A group’s attainments are the product of the shared
knowledge and skills of each member, and of the interactive, coordinative, and synergistic
dynamics of their transactions (Bandura, 2000).
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 56
Stakeholder’s self-efficacy. Self-efficacy has influence over people's ability to learn,
their motivation, and their performance, as people will often attempt to learn and perform only
those tasks for which they believe they will be successful (Bandura, 2000). The stakeholders
need to have or attain high self-efficacy. They must believe that they can develop a plan,
execute steps to that plan, and follow the task of funding pre-K access to achieve the suggested
organizational goal.
Self-efficacy can provide stakeholders with a basis for motivation, accomplishment, and
well-being (Pajares, 2009). Stakeholders have a role in community development including the
planning and provision of community and cultural services, such as: childcare and family
support, specialist services to elderly people, people with disabilities, low-income households,
and young people, and working with indigenous people and organizations (Woods, Artist, &
O’Connor, 2015). The stakeholders will begin to see the value in their work effort and choices
when they commit to their role in community improvement.
Goal Orientation Theory
Goal orientation theory is helpful in determining what motivates the stakeholder group
to achieve their suggested goal. Yough and Anderman (2006) describe goal orientation theory
as a social cognitive theory of achievement of motivation and examines the reasons why
students and employees engage in their work. This research also states that motivation
researchers who study goal orientation acknowledge that both people’s individual
characteristics and contextual influences affect the types of goals that people adopt in various
learning environments. This research states that with mastery, students and/or employees are
interested in self-improvement and compare prior levels to current levels. With performance,
students and/or employees are interested in competition, demonstrating their competence,
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 57
outperforming others, and use others as points of comparison, rather than themselves Yough &
Anderman, 2006). Motivational beliefs and processes largely drive engagement (Rueda, 2011).
In this framework, it is important to state that students and/or employees can have more than
one goal at the same time (Youghman & Anderman, 2006).
Stakeholder goal orientation. The definition of mastery goal orientation is one’s wish to
increase ability, knowledge, and understanding via learning and performance goal orientation,
and one’s wish to have their confidence seen in a more positive light (McCollum & Kajs, 2007).
Stakeholders should want to participate more in funding pre-K access. Much research
examining goal orientation has used self-report survey instruments and suggest that
stakeholders should complete surveys to assess their personal goals and perceptions of the
organizational goal (Yough & Anderman, 2006). According to Yough & Anderman (2006),
one of the most commonly used measures is the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Survey (PALS).
The PALS contains measures of stakeholder’s personal goals, as well as their perceptions of
organizational goal structures. The City of Evergreen can accomplish its goals by assessing
their personal goals and perceptions of the suggested organization goal, in addition to building
strong relationships and enhancing the social environment at work (Raden, 1999). Table 2.3
illustrates the motivational influence and assessment for motivation gap analysis.
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Table 2.3
Stakeholder Assumed Motivation Influences
Assumed Motivation Influences Motivation
Construct
Motivational Influence Assessment
Stakeholders need to be able to
believe they are capable of
establishing funding for pre-K
access.
Self-Efficacy Interview item: “What would you
offer as possible suggestions to your
organization funding pre-K access?”
Stakeholders should want to
participate more in establishing
pre-K funding.
Goal
Orientation
Theory
Interview item: “In your current
position, what have you done to
advocate for establishing pre-K
funding.”
Organization
The third and final cause of performance gaps is the lack of efficient and effective
organizational work processes and material resources (Clark & Estes, 2008). The prevention of
achievement goals can be the result of absent or less than satisfactory process materials.
Organizational culture inevitably filters and affects all attempts to improve performance, and
successful performance improvement will depend on taking specific organizational culture into
account (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Work Process
All organizational goals are achieved by a system of interacting processes that require
specialized knowledge, skills, and motivation to operate successfully (Clark & Estes, 2008). In
many ways, organizational culture is the most important “work process” in all organizations
because it dictates how we work together to get our jobs done (Clark & Estes, 2008). All work
goals must be monitored and changed to achieve the goal (Clark & Estes, 2008)
Material resources and value streams and chains. It is important for any organization
to provide adequate equipment and supplies to their employees to make the job or task easier to
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 59
complete. Organizations also require tangible supplies and equipment to achieve goals (Clark &
Estes, 2008). According to Clark & Estes (2008), Value Streams are a form of analysis that
describe how an organization’s departments and divisions interact, and what processes they
implement. The authors also state that value chains use information to identify the way that
divisional or team processes achieve goals for internal and external customers or community, in
this case. Furthermore, value chains: “are a set of activities that an organization performs in
order to deliver or offer a valuable service” (Business Dictionary, n.d.).
Stakeholder Specific Influences
Human beings can be stubborn. Research shows that “human beings tend to resist or be
hesitant to change, even when change represents growth and development and will lead to
greater efficiency and productivity” (Baker, 1989). Since changes in an organization affect the
individuals within that organization, individuals have the power to facilitate or thwart the
implementation of innovation (Baker, 1989). Why do people resist or become hesitant to
change? Primarily because they fear the unknown. Thus, resistance or hesitance to change is
inevitable, and leaders must allow for some resistance when they are planning to implement
change. To manage change effectively, administrators must understand exactly why an
employee resists or is hesitant to change (Baker, 1989).
To obtain the suggested stakeholder goal, by 2020, the City of Evergreen will potentially
fund pre-K access. An outside consultant firm will be hired to conduct the cost feasibility
analysis to determine if the city is in a position financially to fund pre-K access, and, to
determine other feasible alternatives. Government organizations are continuously under
pressure to answer the tax payers regarding the performance improvement of its services
(Dubey & Bansal, 2013). Issues such as innovation and risk taking are important to bring about
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 60
enhanced performance (Dubey & Bansal, 2013). Cultural models and cultural settings will be
explored as a way to decipher organizational barriers to achieving the suggested organizational
goals.
Cultural model. A common feeling in the work environment is of having too little time
to do many tasks. Work overload is an issue that can be caused by a multitude of factors.
Issues such as unrealistic deadlines, lack of appropriate break periods, and increasingly
heightened expectations are all common causes of work-related stressors that exist throughout a
wide variety of occupations (Shimazu & Kosugi, 2003). The authors suggest rapid change,
disordered multitasking, uncertainty, and interruptions during work also contribute to work
overload and can be harmful. An effective solution to address resistance or hesitance to change
is to involve people in making the change (Lawrence, 1969). Participation presents as a feeling,
not just the mechanical act of being called in to take part in discussions (Lawrence, 1969).
In the City of Evergreen staff retention has been a problem and remaining staff have had
to pick up the slack. In other words, remaining staff are overloaded with their own work in
addition to the work of those employees who have left the organization. This could likely cause
resistance or hesitance to add more tasks or change. In addition, adding new priorities to an
already overloaded priorities list can cause resistance or hesitance. Stakeholders have their own
individual strategies, based on their abilities, needs, and goals (Preuss & Walker, 2011), and this
can lead to internal and external adaptation processes. In addition, individual factors, such as
motivation, perceptions, attitudes, and values have a part to play in explaining resistance or
hesitance. These factors can be shaped by organizational norms, routines, and culture and it is
up to leadership to commit to foster motivation, values, and integrate these into their own
behavior and communicate them across the organization (Preuss & Walker, 2011).
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 61
Cultural setting. Not being aware of the process of establishing pre-K funding could
account for the resistance or hesitance of stakeholders. It will take more than an individual to
establish pre-K funding, requiring many people to deliberate and decide on the best plan of
action. Barriers to pre-K access could include policy decisions and the organizational priorities
of the local government elected officials, the council members. According to Preuss and
Walker (2011), a lack of skills, training, and knowledge can be a barrier or obstacle in any
organization. The overcoming of group boundaries can become problematic as the different
thought worlds are shared within but not necessarily between groups. This literature suggests
that groups do not necessarily make the best use of the entire pool of information its members
hold: however, genuine information sharing could shift group decision as all the facts are made
known to its members (Preuss & Walker, 2011). Lack of communication can also be a barrier.
Poor communication is a major cause of change stagnation (Rosenberg & Mosca, 2011). Any
change, regardless of the degree of impact, should be fully communicated to employees on all
levels of the organization.
There are usually barriers or obstacles when change is involved. Dubey and Bansal
(2012) observed that the barriers or obstacles to incremental and radical changes are linked to
effective change transformation (Dubey & Bansal, 2013). Effective change transformation
challenges the old ways of doing process and proposes new methodologies. The researchers
also opine that organizations undergoing radical change processes should set aggressive goals
with updated technology, empowering people, and building a consensus on change acceptance
and change processes necessary for success. The change process focuses on objectives and end
results (Dubey & Bansal, 2013). Table 2.4 illustrates the organizational influence and
assessment for analysis.
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Table 2.4
Organizational Influences and Assessment for Organizational Context
Assumed Organizational Influences Organizational Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence 1:
There is hesitance to establish pre-K funding.
Interview items: “How do feel about
establishing pre-K funding?” “Share how
your organization supports pre-K access?”
Cultural Model Influence 2:
There is hesitance to add additional priorities to
an overloaded list.
Interview items: “Do you feel that having
pre-K access is important? Why or Why not?
“How do feel about your ability to contribute
to establishing pre-K funding?”
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
City Council not aware of the process of
establishing pre-K funding.
Interview item “How would you feel about
asking similar cities who have pre-K access
for guidance? “How would you go about
asking?”
Conceptual Framework: KMO Assumed Influences
The conceptual framework is a written product narrative that explains the system of
concepts, assumptions, expectations, beliefs, and theories that supports and informs the research
(Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2013). In addition, the conceptual framework illustrates
the connections of ideas and concepts to foster a better understanding of the topic for the reader.
The conceptual framework for this study considers the nexus between KMO influences and the
related literature. The function of this theory is to inform researcher design – to help assess and
refine researcher goals, develop realistic and relevant research questions, select appropriate
methods, identify potential validity threats to researcher conclusions, and help to justify
research (Maxwell, 2013).
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Table 2.5
Conceptual Framework of KMO Influences
Assumed Influences General Literature Assessment
Knowledge: Stakeholders need to
know legislative dynamics,
budgetary policy, technology, public
relations, and political strategy to
avoid implementation problems
(Communication/Factual).
(Raden, 1999) Interview item: “What
have you heard about
No Child Left
Behind?” “…ESEA?”
“…ESSA?” “…Title I
and Title II funding?”
Stakeholders need to know there are
pressures and barriers to data use –
most notably, lack of time allocated
to examine and engage in data-
related discussions and actions, lack
of adequate skills and knowledge to
formulate questions, select
indicators, interpret results, and
develop solutions (Procedural).
(Marsh, 2012). Interview item: “What
do you know about
other countries, states,
and cities that
promote pre-K
access?”
Stakeholders need to know they
have a role in community
development, which includes the
planning and provision of
community and cultural services,
such as: childcare and family
support, special services to elderly
people, people with disabilities, low-
income households and young
people, and organizations
(Accountability).
(Woods, Artist, & O’Connor,
2015)
Interview item: “In
your current position,
what have you done
related to advocating
for pre-K access?”
and possibly
observed.
Motivation: Stakeholders believe
they are capable of funding pre-K
access (Self/Collective – Efficacy).
(Frede & Barnett, 2011) Interview item: “What
would you
recommend as a
possible suggestion to
your organization for
funding pre-K
access?”
possibly observed.
Stakeholders need to know that
successful program development
requires input from policy makers.
(Raden, 1999) Interview item: “What
do you know about
other countries, states,
and cities that
promote pre-K
access?”
possibly observed.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 64
Stakeholders need to understand and
know how to work with outside
organizations and institutions to gain
insight.
(Raden, 1999) Interview item: “How
would you conduct
research on what
similar cities are
doing that offer/fund
pre-K access?”
possibly observed.
Organization: Stakeholders
experience a lack of focus on goals
geared towards pre-K access and
funding (Leadership).
(Woods, Artist, & O’Connor,
2015)
“How would you use
existing data to
inform change?”
possibly observed.
Stakeholders need to know a lack of
skills, training, and knowledge can
be a barrier in any organization.
(Preuss & Walker, 2011), Interview item: “What
do you think could be
barriers within your
organization to
funding pre-K
access?”
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 65
Conceptual Framework Model
Figure 2.1. The conceptual framework model.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 66
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
This chapter offers research design descriptions, data collection methods, along with
analysis to answer the following research questions: 1) How do the Evergreen Council members
perceive the school readiness gap? and 2) How are the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational elements impeding Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-K access? The
knowledge, motivation, and organizational framework is based on the research questions, the
problem of the school readiness gap, and pre-K access.
This chapter is divided into seven sections. The first describes the stakeholders. The
second focuses on interview, document analysis, observation criteria, and recruitment rationale.
The third outlines data collection, interview instruments, document analysis, and observation
protocol. The fourth focuses on data analysis. The fifth discusses credibility and
trustworthiness. The sixth discusses ethics. The seventh discusses limitations and
delimitations.
Participating Stakeholders
For the purposes of this study and analysis, the city council members are the only
stakeholders chosen. There are five council members, which is common for small cities. These
stakeholders were chosen because they are the leaders within the City of Evergreen local
government and are the people who make decisions and create laws within the city. The
potential to improve pre-K access by funding pre-K in this community makes this city a good fit
for this study. In addition, the importance of the stakeholder group is to gather feedback from a
small representative group that has the potential to affect change. The stakeholders will not be
offered any incentives to participate in this study, since as they are elected officials, an incentive
may be interpreted as a bribe.
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This section discusses the criteria and rationale for the selection. The City of Evergreen
is the chosen site for this study. The city is appropriate for this study because it does not have
any local government funded pre-K access programs. The city has a large minoritized
population that has high dropout rates, high teen pregnancy, and high crime. Evergreen’s
dynamics indicate a need that access to pre-K can meet, therefore this site is a good fit for this
study.
Prior to the commencement of the study, I will explain in person to each stakeholder
individually the purpose and objective of the study (Creswell, 2014). I will explain where and
how the data will be stored as well as well as ensure their confidentiality. During this time, I
will also remind the stakeholders that they may withdraw from the study at any time without
any repercussions. Consent forms will be delivered in person and via email for stakeholder
convenience.
Interview Criterion and Rationale
This section discusses the criterion, rationale, and sampling for the interview section of
Evergreen City as a site for this study. The criteria and rationale for selecting stakeholders
includes:
1. Stakeholders have been in their positions for three years or more. The rational
for this is to ensure that the stakeholders have some consistency and longevity in
their positions, and commitment to the city, as well as the ability to provide
historical knowledge or perspective on laws previously passed.
2. Stakeholders have been in a position to make laws and affect change. Because
the stakeholders are law makers, they have the political power or influence and
political potential to effect pre-K access and funding.
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3. Stakeholders are required to represent the community they serve. The rationale
for this criterion is that the community members should be adequately
represented on the council. In the past, the population of the City of Evergreen
was predominantly African-American, however, currently Latin-Americans
make up the bulk of the population with African-Americans in second place.
The current city council is representative of their community.
Interview Recruitment Strategy and Rationale
Interviews aim to capture the perspectives of the participants, in this case all City
Council members of the City of Evergreen (Patton, 2002). A smaller group is easier to recruit
and host and are more comfortable for participants. Also, this number of participants is
convenient in the interest of time and for brevity. The disadvantage of this approach is that it
limits the local range of experiences simply because the group is smaller. The interviews will
assist in understanding stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation as it relates to pre-K access,
funding pre-K access, and the school readiness gap.
Observation (Access) Strategy and Rationale
The participants will be observed in City Hall at City Council meetings, a familiar
location for them as it is the site of City Council meetings convened the first and third Tuesday
of each month. These meetings are open to the public and there is no need to be invited to
attend. Other community meetings or community interactions that glean more insight into the
community context and perspective may also be observed. The entire study process may take
anywhere from two to three months depending on the availability of the participants for
interviews. There should not be a scheduling conflict for observations since the participant’s
Tuesday schedules are predictable. One advantage of the observation strategy is that it enables
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 69
the researcher to draw inferences about the participant’s perspective (Maxwell, 2013). A
disadvantage of this sampling is that gleaning past knowledge, actions, or behaviors of
participants is impossible (Maxwell, 2013). It is important to note that observations at City Hall
will only take place if an agenda item related to pre-K access, pre-K funding, or the school
readiness gap is scheduled.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
This qualitative study will use a variety of methods to collect data. Interviews will be
conducted face-to-face. If an item related to pre-K access or the school readiness gap is
scheduled on the agenda, observations will be conducted at City Hall. The interviews and
observations will be recorded. The purpose of this methodology is to gain as much information
as necessary, void of bias, and to make the participants more comfortable (Bogden & Biklen,
2007; Clark & Estes, 2008). In addition, documents will be collected and analyzed. The types
of documents include city council meeting agendas, notes, ordinances, proclamations, and or
resolutions. This information is free and easily accessible. These methods assist with
answering the research questions, and they will also assist with the credibility and
trustworthiness of this study. Using a combination of these methods and triangulation,
increased credibility and reduced risk of researcher bias is produced, similar to checks and
balances (Maxwell, 2013). The interviews, data analysis, and potential observations will offer
in-depth qualitative data collection of the stakeholders’ positions and experiences. These
methods will also be used to examine the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements
of the stakeholders’ position on the suggested goal. Prior to participation consent forms will be
issued, reviewed, and signed. This will guarantee that participants are aware of the breadth of
activities within this study and that their rights and their confidentiality is protected. Member
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 70
checking will be conducted during and after the study by permitting the stakeholders to review
my handwritten notes and transcribed recordings, to confirm or deny researcher interpretations
(Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2007).
Interviews
There will be five participants in this study. The number of participants is convenient in
the interest of time and brevity. For the purposes of this study, two interview approaches will
be combined to collect qualitative data, general interview guide approach and a standardized
open-ended interview approach. According to Patton (2002), contrasting interview strategies
are not mutually exclusive. The researcher will outline a set of issues that will be explored with
each respondent before interviewing begins, the general interview guide approach. The
standardized open-ended approach will also be applied. This approach consists of a set of
questions carefully worded and arranged and is intended to take each respondent through the
same sequence with the same questions. The goal for combining these approaches is to gain as
much information as possible and to listen actively and neutrally void of bias (Clark & Estes,
2008; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). Additional rationale is to get the participants to feel more relaxed
and open to discuss these questions in a more meaningful way (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
Furthermore, the aim is to illustrate the mindset of the stakeholder, as well their experiences
(Patton, 2002; Weiss, 1994). Both interview approaches will assist in exploring the KMO
elements. Questions assessing the stakeholders’ personal interests and opinions will cover the
knowledge elements. Questions assessing the stakeholders’ beliefs and values will cover the
motivation elements. Questions assessing perceived support will cover the organizational
elements.
The stakeholders will be interviewed individually in the same location, a small two-
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 71
person office located at the Evergreen City Hall building. This location is isolated, provides
privacy, and shields from interruptions (Glesne, 2011). It is also important to note that the
researcher is not a supervisor of the participants. The interviews will take up to one hour and
will be scheduled based upon the stakeholders’ availability. The researcher will take notes, as
well as record the interview session, with stakeholder permission. After each interview, the
researcher will include reflective notes. In addition, after each interview, the researcher will
provide the opportunity for the stakeholders to review the handwritten and digital information.
The researcher will inform the stakeholders that they will have another opportunity to review
after all information has been transcribed. The recorded interview sessions will be transcribed
by a third-party. All information, including hand written notes and digital recordings, will be
securely stored on a password protected computer at the researchers’ house. All computer files
including word processing and audio files with sensitive data will be encrypted and password
protected. All identities in this study will be coded using a unique pseudonym. Audio files will
be kept on file for one year, after which they will be expunged.
Observations
The participants may be observed, if necessary, in City Hall by the researcher who will
sit in the audience. This location is a familiar location for the participants as it is the site of City
Council meetings. These meetings are convened the first and third Tuesday of each month.
These meetings are open to the public and there is no need to be invited to attend. There should
not be a scheduling conflict for observations because the participant’s Tuesday schedules are
predictable. The entire process may take anywhere from two to three months depending on the
availability of the participants for the interviews and potential observations. For the specific
observation, city council meetings last anywhere from three to four hours depending on the
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 72
length of the agenda, presentations, and public forums. Public forums allow for public
comment. One advantage of the observation strategy is that it enables the researcher to draw
inferences about the participant’s perspective (Maxwell, 2013). Another advantage for the
researcher will be the ability to observe reactions to any pre-K related agenda items. A
disadvantage of this method is that the researcher cannot glean the past knowledge, actions, or
behaviors of participants (Maxwell, 2013). To avoid bias resulting from researcher effects on
the site, and to assist with reliability and validity of this study, the researcher will be as
unobtrusive as possible (Miles et al., 2014). If no pre-K access or school readiness items appear
on the agenda during the three-month period of time that this study is conducted, then
observations will not be conducted at City Hall.
Documents and Artifacts
Additional data will be collected to assist in answering the research questions. Previous city
council meeting agendas and minutes will be collected, as well as any proclamations,
resolutions, or ordinances that were passed that relate to pre-K funding, pre-K access, and or the
school readiness gap. The information will be pulled from the city’s inception to present day,
and take place over a three to four-month period. This information is available on the city’s
website as it is public information. Anything that cannot be found on the website, will be
requested from the City Clerk’s Office, who holds all information pertaining to the city.
Collecting the data will assist in a historical search to confirm or deny if the city has ever
discussed the school readiness gap, pre-K access, and or pre-K funding. Past ordinances,
proclamations, and resolutions will be researched to identify if the stakeholders passed any laws
during the city’s history. The purpose of using artifacts or documents in qualitative studies is
that it is easily accessible and avoids intruding upon, or altering day-to-day operations (Merriam
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 73
& Tisdell, 2016). The data can also reveal decisions or actions that might not otherwise be
known or seen through direct observation and may have taken place prior to this study
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Data Analysis
For interviews and possible observations, data analysis will occur during and after data
collection. Data analysis allows the researcher to organize the data and discover the findings
(Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). A third-party will be used to transcribe recorded interviews.
Researcher will collect, code, and analyze the data and write memos after each individual
interview. This is recommended to assist with coding. Thoughts, concerns, and conclusions
about the data in relation to researcher conceptual framework will be documented.
The first step of analysis is to read through each conversation and highlight key concepts
that codes may fit in based on my conceptual framework (Harding, 2013). This will give me an
indication of the general ideas that are taking shape. In the second step of analysis, I will create
a codebook to consolidate data (Creswell, 2014). In the third step of analysis, I will open code,
looking for empirical codes and applying a priori codes from the conceptual framework.
Empirical coding will allow the researcher to identify common ideas (Harding, 2013). A priori
codes reflect categories that are created before data is collected (Harding, 2013), and codes will
be applied as related to the conceptual framework (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The fourth step
of the analysis will be conducted when I combine the codes from open coding into categories.
This is done when empirical and a priori codes are aggregated into axial codes (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). In the fifth step of the analysis, I will review the categories and look for pattern
codes and themes that emerge in relation to the conceptual framework and research questions.
Harding (2013), suggested that it is important for the researcher to review the list of categories
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 74
and figure out the story the data is telling to develop themes. The sixth step is when I analyze
the documents and artifacts for evidence consistent with concepts in the conceptual framework.
Data analysis will provide findings for the study, but it also is important that the findings are
credible and trustworthy.
Table 3.1
Timeline for dissertation defense, data collection, analysis, and recommendations.
Date Activity
May 22, 2017 Proposal Defense
Week of June 5, 2017 Submit to IRB
Week of August 28, 2017 Receive approval from IRB
Week of September 18, 2017 Start document collection and analysis and
start interviews (stakeholders have informally
agreed to participate, have to provide,
discuss, and collect consent forms). Start
observations (observations may occur if pre-
K policy items on city council agenda).
Week of October 30, 2017 Complete interviews, complete transcription,
coding, interpreting (coding and interpreting
will occur simultaneously).
Weeks of September 18 - November 2, 2017 Stakeholders review transcriptions
Week of December 18, 2017 Complete observations, coding and
interpreting (coding and interpreting will
occur simultaneously).
Week of January 15, 2018 Complete document analysis, complete
coding and interpreting (coding and
interpreting will occur simultaneously).
Week of January 29, 2018 Complete document analysis, start
dissertation write up.
Week of February 26, 2018 Submit dissertation draft to chair.
Week of March 5, 2018 Receive chair feedback.
Week of March 5, 2018 Resubmit dissertation revision to chair and
committee.
Week of March 19, 2017 Defend dissertation.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Part of ensuring the trustworthiness and credibility of a study is that the researcher
himself or herself is trustworthy in carrying out the study in as ethical a manner as possible
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 75
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The trustworthiness of a qualitative study also depends on the
credibility of the researcher, because the burden of producing a study that has been conducted
and disseminated in an ethical manner lies with the individual investigator (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). Trustworthiness of the data is tied directly to the trustworthiness and competence of
those who collect and analyze the data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). By working with City
Council, I may hold opinions and or have feelings that differ from their perspectives. Another
bias I may have is my position on the school readiness gap, pre-K access, and the stakeholders
may have a different position. My position could affect how I ask questions. The study intends
to discern if there are any barriers or gaps that impede the stakeholders’ having a conversation
about pre-K access, the development of strategies to potentially fund pre-K access and close the
school readiness gap in their city. For the data analysis phase I will use triangulation and
member checking to check for any inherent researcher bias, or influence to ensure credibility
and trustworthiness. I will not take any bribes or intentionally misrepresent the data. Mutual
collaboration will also be implemented. The researcher will collect any comments or
suggestions from the participants to glean their perception of how the study was conducted and
if they feel their feelings or statements were represented properly in this study.
Triangulation
Triangulation allows the researcher to compare and examine multiple sources of data
and is a means of checking the integrity of the inferences one draws (Wargo, 2013). The data is
collected from the interviews, documents, and observations, and categorized into themes with
multiple sources of data to justify themes (Creswell, 2014; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Data is
more credible when themes are created using several data sources (Creswell, 2014). The study
will consist of interviews, document analysis, and observations. To further the credibility of
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 76
this study, member checking will also be utilized.
Member Checking
Research suggests that feedback from participants is important to credibility and
trustworthiness (Creswell, 2014; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Miles et al., 2014). With member
checking, the validity procedure shifts from the researcher to the stakeholder (Creswell &
Miller, 2000). To ensure that the stakeholders’ ideas are correct and identify any biases or
misunderstandings they will be asked to review raw data such as interview notes, handwritten
and recorded (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Once a third-party has transcribed the interviews and
the researcher has shared the transcriptions, the stakeholders can offer their feedback. The
purpose of member checking is to increase credibility and eliminate confusion or
misunderstandings between the stakeholder and the researcher (Creswell, 2014; Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016).
Ethics
The validity and reliability of this study depends on my ethics as an investigator
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Rubin & Rubin (2012), state that researcher responsibilities involve
using the most rigorous methods to ensure that the researcher show respect, honor promises,
protect confidentiality, avoid applying pressure, and do no harm. Showing respect is interpreted
as being straightforward, and honoring promises is interpreted as I will do what I say I am going
to do. I will use pseudonyms to protect confidentiality and not coerce my stakeholders by
applying undue pressure on them. By avoiding questions that may cause harm I will in turn do
no harm. In addition, I will give informed consent to my participants by informing them of the
purpose of the study, expectations, length of time of the study, and by issuing consent forms
after gaining permission. Informed consent is necessary to ensure that participants are aware of
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 77
the direction of the study, that their participation is voluntary, and they can withdraw at any
time (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I will explain to all stakeholders that all the discussions will be
kept confidential, and all gathered data will be stored on a computer with no internet access
during the study, and destroyed after the study (Glesne, 2011). Participants will be reminded
that I will not provide any incentives so as to coerce them; however, at the conclusion of the
study and without their foreknowledge, I will send them a thank you card as a gesture of
appreciation for participation in the study.
I am an Administrator for my organization and the study will take place at the City Hall
building. Although I am not a lead or a supervisor, I believe pre-K should exist for all, and my
interest is to ascertain why pre-K is currently not funded in this low-income, high-poverty, high
crime, community. I will also inquire upon where the stakeholders stand on the issues of pre-K
access, funding, and the preschool readiness gap. From the beginning of the study and for the
duration of the study I will explain to the participants the distinction between my work role and
my researcher role, one will not directly impact the other. My direct report is to the
Administrator Director who reports to the City Manager, who reports to City Council. The
members of the City Council are my stakeholders. As such, the stakeholders in my study are
not subordinate to me, but I am subordinate to them indirectly.
My bias is the fact that I feel that pre-K should exist for all children. I may assume that
funding pre-K is not a priority my participants care to discuss. Another bias I may have is I
look at the participants with some suspicion as to why they personally, or as a group, may or
may not have initiated funding pre-K initiatives prior to my study. As far as data collection is
concerned, there is a possibility of bias. My feelings on this subject may affect the types of
questions I ask or how I ask them. This would then affect stakeholder responses. My intent is to
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interview the stakeholders individually. I am aware that I am compelled to do no harm, and in
this case not to embarrass them or cause any disrespect with my line of questioning (Rubin &
Rubin, 2012). This group of participants have worked together for many years and from my
observation, they are open to sharing their positions on issues, whether they agree or disagree.
In addition, I do not believe they will feel any pressure from me to answer one way or another.
Limitations and Delimitations
There are limitations to this study as with any study. One limitation is the non-
generalizability of the results. As this participant group is small, the results of this study cannot
be generalized to other local governments. This study does focus on the knowledge,
motivation, and organization goals and gaps from the participant perspective. Another
limitation is that the researcher may inadvertently influence the participants. This can occur
when the researcher has an opinion about the research problem and steers stakeholders in a
certain direction by asking questions in a certain way. This can also be influenced just by the
researcher’s presence or their knowledge of the researcher reading their responses (Creswell,
2014). Another limitation is that participant responses cannot be regulated. This study assumes
that participants will be open and honest with their responses. However, researchers cannot
guarantee that participants’ answers will be open and honest (Creswell, 2014).
The research instrument for this qualitative study, the researcher, is a delimitation of the
study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Since I will conduct the interviews and possible observations
I can interpret the non-verbal cues of the interviews and possible observations. One positive
aspect to interviewing is that the researcher can better understand stakeholder responses through
non-verbal cues (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). It is possible to have a second party conduct the
interviews and transcribe the data. However, they may not interpret body language or any other
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 79
non-verbal cues in the same manner as I would. The second party may also not ask the same
questions that I would or respond to participant responses, as I would.
Conclusion
The interviews, observations, and document analysis will take place over a three to four-
month period at the study site. This study will provide the depth of data necessary to understand
the Evergreen City Council members’ perceptions on pre-K funding and access. If this study
provides insight on how cities can have a conversation about pre-K funding and potentially fund
pre-K access, other cities can then apply similar methods for success.
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CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
Using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis as a framework, this study explored the
City of Evergreen City Council members’ perceptions of pre-K access and the school readiness
gap. Additional areas of study were the discovery of knowledge, motivation, and the
organizational (KMO) elements that impede the City Council’s suggested goal of funding pre-K
access. Funding pre-K access supports the City’s mission to provide responsive, respectful, and
efficient public services to enhance the quality of life and safety for its multi-cultural
community (“City of”…, n.d.).
The analysis began by generating a list of possible needs and then systematically
examined the needs within the focus of actual or validated needs. This study was guided by two
questions:
1. How do the Evergreen City Council members perceive pre-K access and the school
readiness gap?
2. How do the knowledge, motivation, and organization elements impede the City of
Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-K access?
The qualitative methods employed in this study were interviews, document collection,
and analysis. Observations of city council meetings were slated to occur, however, during this
study, there were no items on the city council’s agenda, from September 2017 to December
2017, relating to pre-K access or funding pre-K access. Five members of the city council were
interviewed. Interview times varied from 23 minutes to over one hour. The interviews were
audio recorded using a portable digital recording device, in addition to handwritten notations.
Rev.com was used to transcribe the five interviews. Documents collected and analyzed were
from previous city council agendas, and agenda minutes in the absence of agendas. Document
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files from 2002-2017 were available online on the city’s website. The researcher collected
online data over a one-month period at home. Document files from 1983-2001 were not
available online, but instead are stored in 57 file boxes in a secure storage facility with an alarm.
The researcher physically visited this site, collected and analyzed documents in each of the 57
boxes over a three-month period. After the interviews and document collection concluded, the
data was coded and analyzed. Member checking was also utilized. Immediately after each
interview, the researcher reviewed handwritten notes with each participant to discern if their
meaning was captured correctly. In addition, all five participants were given an envelope with
their individual transcribed recorded notes. Also enclosed in the envelope was a cover sheet
requesting any feedback or comments regarding their transcribed recorded notes. This chapter
presents answers to the research questions and the findings for the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences in relation to the research questions and conceptual framework. Each
of the influences are discussed and organized by KMO themes.
Participating Stakeholders
For the purposes of this study and analysis, only city council members from the City of
Evergreen were chosen to participate. These stakeholders were chosen to participate because
they are leaders within the City of Evergreen’s local government and are responsible for making
decisions and creating laws within the city. There are five council members, which is common
for small cities, and all five council members participated in this study. The pseudo-names of
the participants are, Sue, May, Bob, Sam, and Joe. All participants are residents of the City of
Evergreen and have a long history in this community.
The potential to improve pre-K access by funding pre-K in this community made this
city a good fit for this study. In addition, the importance of the stakeholder group was to gather
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 82
feedback from a small representative group that has the potential to affect change. Stakeholders
were not offered any incentives to participate in this study, as they are elected officials, an
incentive may be interpreted as a bribe. Pseudonyms were used to protect the confidentiality of
the participants.
Findings
The collection of data through interviews, document collection, and analysis were used
to answer two research questions, how do the Evergreen City Council members perceive pre-K
access and the school readiness gap, and how do the knowledge, motivation, and organization
(KMO) elements impede the City of Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-K access?
Triangulation allows the researcher to compare and examine multiple sources of data and is a
means of checking the integrity of the inferences one draws (Wargo, 2013). This study
originally planned to collect data via interviews, document collection and analysis, and
observations. Observations of city council meetings were slated to occur, however, during this
study, there were no items on the city council’s agenda, from September 2017 to December
2017, relating to pre-K access or funding pre-K access. Researcher is aware that multiple data
sources help to operationalize the data collected, therefore member checking was also employed
for this study to assess the validity of the data collected. Immediately after each interview, the
handwritten notes were reviewed to discern if the participant’s meaning was captured correctly.
This was the first wave of member checking. All five participants confirmed that their meaning
was captured correctly. In addition, an envelope containing participant transcribed notes and a
feedback form was provided to each of the five participants. Three out of five participants
participated in this second wave of member checking. One participant returned their envelope
with cover sheet and replied that the notes represented his meaning correctly. One participant
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verbally replied to the researcher in person that the notes captured her meaning correctly. And a
third participant replied via phone that the notes captured his meaning correctly. Two of the
participants did not reply.
The next section examined the city council’s perceptions of pre-K access and the school
readiness gap. In subsequent sections, the KMO framework was used to examine various
themes. The knowledge (K) themes examined were the city council’s knowledge of what other
countries, states, and cities are doing to promote pre-K access and the school readiness gap;
how to establish funding for pre-K access; how they can use existing data to affect change; and
how they reflect upon why there are gaps in pre-K access and their possible role in these gaps.
The motivation (M) themes examined were the city council’s belief that they are capable of
establishing funding for pre-K access and their desire to participate more in activities that
establish pre-K funding. The organization (O) themes examined were the city council’s
hesitance to establish pre-K funding, hesitance to add additional priorities to an overloaded
priorities list, and not being aware of the process of establishing pre-K funding.
Council Members’ Perceptions of Pre-K Access and the School Readiness Gap
Participants were presented with the question, “How do the Evergreen City Council
members perceive pre-K access and the school readiness gap?” Individual city council
members appeared to have a favorable perception of pre-K access and some knowledge of
the school readiness gap. Sue, a city council member stated, “If you don’t have these
preschools, there’s going to be significant challenges for their child, and what I mean by that
is their readiness to enter the school system.” This claim is evidenced by comments from
city council members such as, “Preschool lays the foundation for, even equalizes education
to a point,” and, “Preschool gives them that educational value and their social development
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 84
was really enhanced by being in the pre-K program.”
The city currently has a few state funded preschools within its city limits, and of
those four schools, there are only 185 slots for 1,500 children ages 2-5 (Super County Office
of Education, 2009). Due to the number of available slots and the actual number of children,
there is an obvious gap in pre-K services offered in the Evergreen community. Based on
document collection and analysis, there is one instance on June 26, 1995, of the City Council
approving to accept a grant from a foundation to develop a five-year plan to deliver
comprehensive collaborative services to kids from birth to eight years. This is evidence that
in the mid-nineties, they had an interest in this issue, and that the city applied for money to
address this issue, however, no pre-K programs or funding spawned from this plan. Overall,
the participants’ suggestions on how to possibly fund pre-K access were positive and could
inform future conversations in the Evergreen community.
In light of these points and previous stakeholder comments, it is necessary to
establish why the city has not contemplated established funding for pre-K access.
Speculation cannot be placed on past council member’s motivations, as to whether they
valued pre-K access or believed there was a need. However, based on current council
member comments, the expectation is that they would take action on this issue.
A growing body of research has suggested that any serious efforts to eliminate
disparities at the primary and secondary school levels must also address what some
researchers call the school readiness gap – the variations in academic performance and
certain social skills – among children entering kindergarten and first grade (Sadowski, 2006).
Achievement gaps are prevalent amongst minority students due in part, to a lack of pre-K
access. On average, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian students, the dominant groups in
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 85
the City of Evergreen, demonstrated significantly lower reading, math, and vocabulary skills
at school entry than White and Asian American children (Wo, 2016). When comparing the
City of Evergreen’s School District to neighboring school districts, the contrast is vastly
different. Neighboring districts rank higher than the City of Evergreen on test scores;
Evergreen’s students consistently rank near the bottom in the district and state (Wo, 2016).
According to research, providing pre-K access can assist in alleviating achievement and
school readiness gaps (Wong et al., 2008). Therefore, it is important for leaders and
educators to be aware of the school readiness gap, the factors that lead to the gap, and
advocate for pre-K access to alleviate gaps.
Based on the data collected via interviews and document analysis, a majority of the
current council had favorable perceptions about pre-K access and had some knowledge of the
school readiness gap. One participant did not personally have experience with pre-K and did
not offer a definitive answer on either side of the pre-K question. Previous councils had
applied for and accepted funding to deliver a five -year plan to deliver comprehensive services
to kids from birth to eight years. However, no pre-K programs or future funding spawned from
this plan. It appears that as individuals, the current council has a favorable perception of the
importance of pre-K access and see its value, but as a group they have not yet created traction
on the issue.
Findings for Knowledge Influences
Knowledge influences were evaluated using data acquired through interviews, document
collection, and analysis. Themes emerged through the analysis of the data and the relationship
the findings from the data had to the research question: How do the KMO elements impede the
City of Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-K access? Knowledge influences were found
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 86
to include the city council’s knowledge of what other countries, states, and cities are doing to
promote pre-K access, knowledge of pre-K, and the school readiness gap. How they can use the
existing data to affect change, and how they reflect upon why there are gaps in pre-K access,
and their possible role in these gaps are all factors as well.
Knowledge: What other Countries, States, and Cities Do to Promote Pre-K Access
Participants were presented with two questions, “What do you know about other
countries, states, and cities that promote pre-K access?” and “How would you conduct
research on what others are doing?” All participants were open to disclose that they did not
have a lot of knowledge about what other countries, states, and cities are doing. Sue stated,
“I have to admit I don’t know a lot, but I do know that some cities, some other countries they
do have preschool access for their employees.” In addition, four of the five participants were
open to finding out that information. One participant, Joe, stated that he would not conduct
research, but would be open to some joint committee with the school district and the city to
move forward on this, if the city does this unilaterally.
In order for the City of Evergreen to embark on something new, they need a plan of
action. Planning involves using declarative knowledge. Declarative knowledge is being able to
state and explain characteristics, terminologies, properties, phenomena, concepts, principles,
and techniques (Oosterhof, 2012). Stakeholders need to ask questions about location, funding,
staffing, children, and resources. Policy makers have a variety of tools from which to choose
when designing childcare policy (Rigby et al., 2007). The Evergreen City Council members
must first acknowledge that funding pre-K access has value not only to the students, but also to
the community at large. Stakeholders need to understand legislative dynamics, budgetary
policy, technology, public relations, and political strategy to avoid any implementation
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 87
problems (Raden, 1999).
There are examples within the United States of states that offer pre-K access. In 1995,
the State of Georgia established the first universal pre-K program (McCann, n.d.). Georgia's
universal pre-Kindergarten program is the oldest in the country. It thrives in the red state and is
championed by classic conservatives (Johnson, 2014). The program is open to all students, and
it embraces choice — any school that meets the state standards, whether religious, corporate, or
private, can apply for funding. The City of Evergreen serves a high concentration of low-
income families, and part of the city’s mission is to enhance the quality of life and safety for its
multi-cultural community (“City of” …, n.d.). Using this or any other example, the city can
evaluate and compare what other countries, states, and cities are doing to fund and promote pre-
K access. Development of this knowledge can shed light on the relationship between funding
pre-K access and the long-term benefits to the entire community.
Based on comments from all five participants, there is no evidence to support the
notion that participants have knowledge of what other countries, states, and cities are doing
to promote pre-K access. After document analysis, in the history of the city, there is no
mention of mirroring other countries, states, and citys’ initiatives to promote pre-K access.
However, this evidence does not prove an unwillingness to do the research. Four of the five
participants were open to learning about what others do regarding pre-K access and one
participant was open to forming a committee to move the pre-K issue forward.
Knowledge: Of Pre-K Access and the School Readiness Gap
Participants were presented with three questions, “Did you attend preschool?” And
“If you have children, did you enroll them in preschool?” They were also asked to walk the
researcher through that experience. The last question presented was, “What is your opinion
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of the school readiness gap?” Responses varied between participants. Two participants
shared their personal experience of attending preschool. May stated, “Yes, I did. I believe I
started the Head Start program here in Evergreen. I remember working on letters and having
pineapple juice with grilled cheese sandwiches.” Three of the five participants sent their
children to preschool. Sue stated, “I had a son who was in preschool. And the reason why I
did that was because I felt he needed a head start in preparation for kindergarten. He needed
to be able to socialize with other children and learn different skills.” Two of the participants
did not personally attend preschool and did not have children in preschool. Sam stated, “No,
I did not attend preschool and I did not have children. I did however, have a much younger
sibling who went to preschool. I remember him being happy there.” Responses to the third
question were quite similar. All of the participants seemed to have some knowledge of the
school readiness gap. One participant seemed upset about the topic. Bob stated, “Well, I
think it’s, it’s just a systemic, social injustice. It’s an injustice, right? I think it’s just another
mechanism to acknowledge the have and the have-nots, that creates this separation for
children and families, especially for the kids.” Most participants seemed to have some
knowledge of pre-K and the school readiness gap. However, it did not appear to be a deep
knowledge of the school readiness gap.
In order for the city council to acquire knowledge about pre-K access and the school
readiness gap, they would need to employ declarative knowledge. Declarative knowledge
involves being able to state and explain characteristics, terminologies, properties,
phenomena, concepts, principles, and techniques (Oosterhof, 2012). Any prior knowledge,
beliefs, or attitudes greatly influence the way stakeholders interpret and implement change
(Marsh, 2012).
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With this element, it appears that all members have some knowledge of pre-K and the
school readiness gap. However, it is beneficial for them to learn more about pre-K access
and the school readiness gap in order to enact change in their community. As city council
members, they hold a duty to their community and looking into providing more access to
pre-K would greatly benefit the community.
Knowledge: How to Use Existing Data to Affect Change
Participants were presented with the question, “How would you use existing data to
affect change?” Responses ranged from doubtful to pragmatic. Joe wondered if the data
could be successfully presented within the context of a school district joint committee, as
jurisdictional boundaries might keep the school district from acting on the advice of the
council. “The council’s area of influence is non-educational for the most part,” Joe stated.
“Those jurisdictional boundaries are clear and set. I am not quite sure the district would be
interested in listening to the council, or for that matter, the council members on the joint city
council school district committee talking to them about pre-K stuff.”
However, the other participants were more optimistic. Existing data, they felt, could
provide insight into the positive effects of pre-K access in more affluent communities,
compared to the disadvantaged position of students from low-income families in the
Evergreen community. Such information could inform on resource allocation to preschools
in other communities and be used to motivate public policy change in Evergreen in future
years. “Let’s face the reality that our kids are behind,” stated Sam. “What’s wrong with
that? Because unless you have the data and you accept it, how are you going to make a plan
to improve next year?”
In order to acquire knowledge on how to use existing data to affect change,
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stakeholders need procedural knowledge to start planning to execute their suggested goal.
Procedural knowledge consists of rules or procedures necessary for solving conflicts or
establishing how to do something (Star & Stylianides, 2012). Using proven methods from
other cities and states can improve strategies for funding pre-K access (O’Riordan, 2013).
However, there are pressures and barriers to data use; most notably, the lack of time
allocated to examine and engage in data-related discussions and actions; also, the lack of
adequate skills and knowledge needed to formulate questions, select indicators, interpret
results, and develop solutions (Marsh, 2012). The participants need to employ procedural
knowledge to reach this goal.
Overall, participants seemed to believe that knowledge of existing data could be used
to affect change in policy regarding pre-K access, provided the information could be applied
in the correct context. Participants were aware of the need for more data regarding pre-K
access and any affects pre-K access may have on other communities but were also realistic
about using data to drive policy change in Evergreen. In spite of their willingness to consider
the need for pre-K access, document review showed no evidence, in the city council agendas,
past or present, that prioritized the use of existing data to inform change.
Knowledge: Reflect on Why There are Pre-K Access Gaps and Their Possible Role in
Those Gaps
Participants were presented with two questions, “How do you think the absence of
pre-K access affects children in the city?” And, “What do you think the government’s role is
in funding pre-K access?” All five participants felt that not having pre-K access in their
community negatively affected the children in the community. Sam stated, “I think it
(absence of pre-K access) does impact our kids because they start getting behind.” Joe
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 91
stated, “I would say it is important for our families and children to have access to pre-K
given the socioeconomic and demographic makeup of the community.” Expanding on Joe’s
response, he said “… It is important for our families and children…” This highlighted a
shared feeling or shared commitment to the community, and some shared responsibility for
the problem. For the second question, all participants believed the government should have a
role in funding pre-K access. Three participants felt the federal government should fund pre-
K access. May stated, “You know, I do feel there is a role for government.” Bob stated,
“Yeah, it’s their responsibility. It’s the government’s responsibility to lead.” Only one
participant, Joe, asked for a definition of government prior to answering the question. The
researcher informed him that the definition encompassed all forms of government. He then
gave an overall yes answer to the question and explained how education is a foundation of
this democracy, and in order to level the playing field, the government should fund
education.
In order for the council to acquire knowledge on why there are pre-K gaps and their
possible role in those gaps, they will need to use metacognitive knowledge. Metacognitive
knowledge is the knowledge of self and refers to the awareness of, and knowledge about
one’s own cognition; it allows one to know when and why to do something (Krathwohl,
2002; Rueda, 2011). Such awareness can lead to flexible and confident problem solving, as
well as to feelings of self-efficacy and pride (Paris & Winograd, 1990). Metacognitive
knowledge occurs when stakeholders know that they have gaps regarding their opinions of,
in this case, pre-K access and need to think about why there are gaps, and if they themselves
might be hindering the suggested organizational goal. Stakeholders can reflect by asking
themselves if they are doing everything they can to help achieve the suggested goal. Are
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 92
they focused on the goal and is previous knowledge blocking forward progress towards the
goal? Based on the data presented, council members have not reflected on pre-K access gaps
and their possible role in those gaps prior to this study.
Table 4.1
Summary of Knowledge Influences
Assumed Knowledge Influence: Cause, Need, or Asset* Validated
Yes, High Probability, or No
(V, HP, N)
City council members should compare what other countries,
states, and cities do to promote pre-K access. Conceptual (D)
YES
City council members should be aware of pre-K and school
readiness gaps.
Conceptual (D)
YES
City council members need to know how they can use
existing data to affect change.
Procedural (P)
YES
City council members need to reflect on why there are gaps
in pre-K access, and their possible role in those gaps.
Metacognitive (M)
YES
Findings for Motivation Influences
Motivation influences were evaluated using data acquired through interviews,
document collection, and analysis. Different themes emerged through the triangulation of the
data and its relationship to the research question: How do KMO elements impede the City of
Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-K access? Motivation influences were found to
include the city council’s current capability for funding pre-K access, as well as participating
more to establish ideas on how to fund pre-K access.
Motivation: Believe They Are Capable of Establishing Funding for Pre-K Access
Participants were presented with a question, “What would you offer as possible
suggestions to your organization funding pre-K access?” Responses varied but were all
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 93
positive. They were all open to offering suggestions for the city to fund pre-K access. Sue
stated, “I would say start by re-establishing that liaison from the city and meet with the
liaison from the school district and start talking about how we can work together to make
sure there’s enough access to pre-K.” Sue was also open to reviewing the city’s budget and
suggesting funds be set aside. Joe stated, “I hadn't thought this out thoroughly, but if we
wanted to fund some sort of pre-K access piece if you could work on a tax that would fund ...
I'm trying to interest the city. If you were gonna issue a tax that would fund joint facility
development, but I don't think it's going to happen. We've already approached the city, the
school district, and rightly so they've said ‘we're not interested in talking about a new civic
center that has a new school district board and new offices of the school district and new
offices for the city,’ but if you could incentivize them through this process of saying, ‘Let's
do a tax that's gonna help us fund the development of this physical plant and let's make sure
we can carve off a piece of that tax for pre-K funding,’ you might be able to ... within this
city, to motivate the city council and the school district to work on this issue and potentially
have some of that tax money pay for preschool.” These suggestions provided positive
insight to the council’s motivation. Even though pre-K access was not directly discussed,
there is evidence of some desire to help young children.
In order for the council to be motivated, they need to have or attain high self-efficacy.
They must believe that they can develop a plan, execute the steps required to achieve that plan,
and follow the task of establishing funding for pre-K access to achieve the suggested
organizational goal. Self-efficacy can provide stakeholders with a basis for motivation,
accomplishment, and well-being (Pajares, 2009). The stakeholders have a role in community
development including the planning and provision of community and cultural services, such as:
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childcare and family support, specialist services to elderly people, people with disabilities, low-
income households and young people, and working with indigenous people and organizations
(Woods et al., 2015). When stakeholders commit to their role in community improvement, it
follows that they would begin to see the value in their work effort and choices.
The work of government is uniquely visible, due to open meetings and records laws
that require agencies to meet in public, and also provide, upon request, meeting memos,
decision documents, emails, and even text messages (Lavigna, 2014). This transparency can
encourage stakeholders to have high self-efficacy if they feel that what they do individually
helps the group and therefore helps the people they agreed to serve – collective agency. By
feeling capable, council members increase their individual and collective self-efficacy.
In comparison, May illustrated her ability to bring an initiative to council and gained
a vote of approval. May stated, “In my capacity of mayor, while I was in Washington D.C.
for some meetings, and I brought back My Brother's Keeper initiative to the city. That
initiative or challenge has six principles. I brought it back to the council. The council agreed
to it and we've adopted it as a city. Right now, we're working on rolling out our My
Brother's Keeper Initiative within our city. This initiative has a goal to close the opportunity
gaps facing boys and young men of color across the United States (White House, 2016).
We're working with an organization right now, trying to get the non-profits and the school
district to the table because we can't do anything without the school district.” This data point
showcases the mayor’s self-efficacy and how motivation informed change.
All five participants provided suggestions on how they would fund pre-K access.
Based on interviews, they demonstrated in their responses that they feel capable of actually
establishing pre-K funding. The next step in the process is establishing how to fund pre-K
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 95
access.
Motivation: Establish Funding for Pre-K Access
Participants were presented with the question, “In your current position, what have
you done to advocate for pre-K access?” Responses varied between participants. Two of the
participants advocated for either universal childcare or education. Bob stated, “I have been a
strong advocate for universal childcare for all, and I had done things as a council person and
certainly as a school board member to create these listening sessions for the community
about the importance of a healthy pathway of education for our kids.” There was no
indication from Bob if these listening sessions were for K-8 education or pre-K. One
participant, May, is heavily involved in a presidential initiative that has some barring on pre-
K, but the focus is mostly on school-aged children. Joe has not advocated for pre-K access.
Overall, participants did not appear to have participated in activities geared specifically
toward promoting pre-K access.
In order for council members to be motivated to participate more in establishing pre-
K funding, they need to practice goal orientation. The definition of the mastery of goal
orientation is one’s wish to increase ability, knowledge, and understanding via learning and
performance goal orientation, and one’s wish to have their confidence seen in a more
positive light (McCollum & Kajs, 2007). Stakeholders should want to participate more in
funding pre-K access. Much research examining goal orientation has used self-report survey
instruments and suggested that stakeholders should complete surveys to assess their personal
goals and perceptions of the organizational goal (Yough & Anderman, 2006). According to
Yough and Anderman (2006), one of the most commonly used measures is the Patterns of
Adaptive Learning Survey (PALS). The survey contains measures of stakeholder’s personal
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 96
goals, as well as their perceptions of organizational goal structures. The participants can
accomplish goals by assessing their personal goal and perceptions of the organization goal,
in addition to building strong relationships and enhancing the social environment at work
(Raden, 1999). There was no evidence of council participation in activities establishing pre-
K funding. This does not mean however, that the council is unwilling to participate in such
activities in the future.
Table 4.2
Summary of Motivation Influences
Assumed Motivation Influence: Cause, Need, or Asset* Validated
Yes, High Probability, No
(V, HP, N)
City council members need to be able to believe they are
capable of establishing funding for pre-K access (self-
efficacy).
YES
City council members need to participate more in
brainstorming ideas on how to establish funding for pre-K
access (goal orientation theory).
YES
Findings for Organization Influences
Organizational influences were evaluated using data acquired through interviews and
document collection, and analysis. Themes emerged through data triangulation and its
relationship to the research question: How do KMO elements impede the City of Evergreen’s
suggested goal of funding pre-K access? Organizational influences were found to include the
city council’s current organizational barriers: hesitance to establish pre-K funding, hesitance to
adding additional tasks to an already-overloaded priorities task list, and a lack of knowledge of
the process of establishing pre-K funding.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 97
Organization: Hesitance to Establish Pre-K Funding
Participants were presented with the question, “What do you think could be barriers
within your organization to funding pre-K access?” Some of the items that were mentioned
were a lack of coordinated effort, leadership, and resources. Interestingly, two major themes
that arose were funding and jurisdiction. All five participants mentioned jurisdictional issues
with the school district. Joe stated, “Just jurisdictional issues… I think you could potentially
run into council members saying this is ... we shouldn't be doing this. If there was someone on
council who was trying to push this at this year's upcoming strategic priorities discussion, I
would have to say I'm not ready, personally, I'm not ready to have to commit any funds to this.
I think I would like to see what role, what would be the appropriate city council role ... Maybe
we do a study session, and I would also, based on our experience with the school district, and I
was not privy to those discussions at the committee level, but based on our experience with the
school district around truancy, I would have to think very hard if we would want to engage in
another process that impinged on areas of policy and practice that following of the jurisdiction
of the school district.” One of the participants appeared bothered by the situation. Bob stated,
“The district's unwillingness to work collaboratively with local government. Because they feel
their work is not impacted by the efforts of the city, even though the city wants to be a partner.
They choose who they're going to coexist with, who they're gonna mingle with. It’s tragic. No
other healthy city operates in that manner.” Based on these comments, there appears to be
some apprehension around collaborating with the school district. Deeper research is required
to discover the cause of this apprehension. Such research is outside the scope of this study.
Based on document collection and analysis, the city, on numerous occasions,
accepted funds in the form of grants from foundations to offer some type of programming.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 98
On June 19, 1992, the city accepted funds to run a summer sports camp. On July 31, 1995,
the city accepted money from a foundation to offer summer youth programs. There is also
evidence of city support for child initiatives. On May 2, 1988, the city drafted a resolution
that supported the Act for Better Child Services. Overall, there seems to be hesitance and or
resistance among city council members to get involved with anything related to education for
fear of infringing on the jurisdiction of the school district.
In order for the city and the culture of the organization to recognize priorities and duties,
they need to employ a work process to help overcome hesitance. All organizational goals are
achieved by a system of interacting processes that require specialized knowledge, skills, and
motivation to operate successfully (Clark & Estes, 2008). In many ways, organizational culture
is the most important “work process” in all organizations because it dictates how we work
together to get our job done (Clark & Estes, 2008). All work goals must be monitored and
changed to achieve the goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). An effective solution to address hesitance
or resistance to change is to involve people in making the change (Lawrence, 1969).
Participation presents as a feeling, not just the mechanical act of being called in to take part in
discussions (Lawrence, 1969).
Based on the interview data, the findings show that there is hesitance to establishing
pre-K access initiatives. This may be due to apprehension on collaborating with the school
district and other city priorities. Based on interviews, document collection, and analysis, it is
apparent that there is a strained relationship between the city and the school district. There is
evidence of funding (internal barrier) and leadership (external barrier) that impedes upon the
city’s participation in initiatives that establish pre-K access.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 99
Organization: Hesitance to Add Additional Priorities to an Overloaded Priorities List
Participants were presented with the question, “What do you think the role of the
government is in funding pre-K access?” All five participants agreed that the government
has a role in funding pre-K access. However, it was mentioned that there were many
priorities on the local level and adding pre-K access as a priority was not strongly
emphasized. Another item mentioned was obligation. Joe stated, “Discussing whether or
not there's a role the city could play, given the path they have different issues we have to deal
with, I think we'd have to stack it up in terms of priorities.” Even though the city has been
around for over 30 years, it is still seen as a relatively young city. Sam stated “Well, one, so
being a new city, we have all these goals and you follow the traditional path of city
governments, so police issues, all this stuff… If we had been able to do it, or perhaps if we
had more resources… We just had too many things on our hands.” Sue made a comment
regarding the city’s obligation, “Certain council members think they’re not obligated to
really provide any funding towards education, that they’re not in the business of education.”
Based on document collection and analysis, the city had many goals and priorities to
accomplish, and are still working towards them. One of the main themes witnessed in the
documents was that the city was trying to hire a police force to help reduce crime and hire
other city staff to run the operations of the city. The city was and still is focused on capital
improvement projects (CIP), elections (for office and boards and commissions), budgets, and
rent stabilization and housing. Evergreen was one of the few cities that advocated for rent
control. Over the years through the documents, these priorities remained constant. Capital
projects such as roads, parks, street lights, and so on are still an issue. On September 22,
1988, council deliberated on how one particular grant could be used to fund public facilities.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 100
High staff turnover is a reality, and therefore hiring and retaining staff is still an issue.
Overall, the city appears to have and have had many pressing priorities and there may be
hesitance to adding more priorities to their priorities list.
Work overload is an issue that can be caused by a multitude of factors. Issues such as
unrealistic deadlines, lack of appropriate break periods, and increasingly heightened
expectations are all common causes of work-related stressors that exist throughout a wide
variety of occupations (Shimazu & Kosugi, 2003). In the City of Evergreen staff retention
has been a problem and remaining staff have had to pick up the slack. In other words,
remaining staff are overloaded with their own work in addition to the work of those
employees who have left the organization. This could likely cause hesitance to the addition
of more tasks or change. In addition, adding new priorities to an already overloaded
priorities list can cause hesitance or resistance. Stakeholders have their own individual
strategies, based on their abilities, needs, and goals (Preuss & Walker, 2011), and this can
lead to internal and external adaptation processes. In addition, individual factors, such as
motivation, perceptions, attitudes, and values have a part to play in explaining hesitance.
These factors can be shaped by organizational norms, routines, and culture and it is up to
leadership to commit to foster motivation, values, and integrate these into their own behavior
and communicate them across the organization (Preuss & Walker, 2011). Based on
interview and document analysis data, the finding is that stakeholders may be hesitant or
resistant to adding priorities, and always have to collectively determine the order of those
priorities.
Organization: Not Aware of Process to Establish Pre-K Funding
Participants were presented with the question, “What is your current knowledge of
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 101
how pre-K access is funded?” Two of the participants thought that pre-K access was funded
privately. Bob stated, “It’s privately funded.” Two other participants thought that pre-K
access was funded by the state. Sue stated, “The state probably adds a portion of the
money.” And one participant thought that the federal government funds pre-K access. Joe
stated, “Certainly I know that the federal government has played a role in funding some pre-
K work.” All participant answers were correct. The Child Care and Development Block
Grant (CCDBG) is a program that provides child care assistance to low income families;
however the funding has declined due to budget cuts. Similarly, the federal Head Start
program has not received adequate funding, and therefore all eligible families are not able to
participate in the program due to a lack of space or program availability (Calman & Tarr-
Wheelan, 2005). Head Start is a federal-local grant program that provides comprehensive
preschool programs for children living below the poverty-level (Mitchell, 2001). Head Start
is delivered by community organizations, including schools and local government, in every
state. Geographically, all counties in the U.S. are served; however, the funding from the
federal government only covers half of all eligible children (Mitchell, 2001).
In order for the city to become aware of the process for establishing pre-K funding, the
organization needs to provide adequate equipment and supplies to their employees to make the
job or task easier to complete. Organizations require tangible supplies and equipment to
achieve set goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Clark & Estes (2008), value streams are
a form of analysis that describe how an organization’s departments and divisions interact, and
what processes they implement. The authors also stated that value chains use the information to
identify the way that divisional or team processes achieve goals for internal and external
customers (Clark & Estes, 2008). It will take more than an individual to establish pre-K
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 102
funding; it requires many people to deliberate and decide on the best plan of action. Barriers to
pre-K access could include policy decisions and the organizational priorities of the local
government elected officials, the council members. According to Preuss and Walker (2011), a
lack of skills, training, and knowledge can be a barrier in any organization. The overcoming of
group boundaries can become problematic as the different thought worlds are shared within, but
not necessarily between groups. This literature suggested that groups do not necessarily make
the best use of the entire pool of information its members hold; however, genuine information
sharing could shift group decision making efforts as all the facts are made known to its
members (Preuss & Walker, 2011).
Based on interview data, the researcher found that stakeholders are aware of how pre-K
access is funded, however, they are not aware of the process to establish pre-K funding in their
community. Not being aware of the process does not imply that the city is not open to the
learning about the process. The participants did seem open to learning about this process.
Table 4.3
Summary of Organization Influences
Assumed Organizational Influence: Cause, Need, or
Asset*
Validated
Yes, High Probability, or No
(V, HP, N)
Cultural Model Influence One:
There is hesitance to establish
pre-K funding.
YES
C98ultural Model Influence Two:
There is hesitance to add additional tasks to an overloaded
priorities worklist. For example, ten top priorities on a task
list, and pre-K access is not in the top ten.
YES
Cultural Setting Influence One:
City council not aware of the process of establishing pre-K
funding.
YES
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 103
Conclusion
One of the main factors affecting the school readiness gap is pre-K access and pre-K
funding. The lack of information surrounding local funds and locally allocated federal funds
makes it difficult to determine how much is actually spent on pre-K in each state (Calman &
Tarr-Wheelan, 2005). Due to a lagging economy, increasing deficits, and reduced federal
assistance, states are in a budget squeeze, and this has limited financing for early care and
education, and the hardest hit are the struggling low-income parents (Calman & Tarr-Wheelan,
2005).
This study investigated perceptions of pre-K access by the City of Evergreen City
Council members, as well as KMO influences that may impede their suggested goal of funding
pre-K access. Council members were asked questions such as “Did you or a relative attend pre-
K?” And, “What do you think the government’s role is in funding pre-K access?” Overall,
participants were candid with their answers and felt that pre-K was important not only for
families, but the city as a whole. There were still some reservations on engaging in, or
advocating for pre-K access, because of resistance internally (from other council members or
budgetary), or externally (school district and community). Even though there is no hard
evidence that the city advocated for pre-K access and funding, based on the data collected, they
do seem open to offering ideas and collaborating to move the pre-K issue forward.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 104
CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Organizational Context and Mission
The organizational context and mission are critical to its foundation. The City of
Evergreen, in the State of California, is a general municipality that in addition to taxes, uses
federal, state, county, and private grants to fund infrastructures and other services for its
citizens. The city also issues grants for nonprofit organizations that offer services to at-risk
youth, families, seniors, and reentry citizens.
Community
In the past, the City of Evergreen’s population was predominantly Black, this was
shaped by redlining practices and racial deed restrictions (Cut…, 2015). Evergreen’s
demographics have changed over the last 15 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau
(2014), Latinos now constitute about 65% of the total population, while the proportion of
African Americans has decreased to about 16%. The White population, as of 2014, was 28.8%,
the Asian population 3.8%, and the Native American population 0.4%. Pacific Islanders, most
of Tongan, Samoan, and Indo-Fijian origin, comprise 7.5% of the population. Two or more
races constitute 4.8% and the population of those classified as “other” was 6.2%.
Suggested Organizational Performance Goals
The purpose of this project was to conduct a gap analysis in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources necessary to reach the suggested organizational goal to
fund pre-K access in the community of Evergreen. The suggested goal is that the City of
Evergreen will take steps to fund pre-K access by the year 2020. This goal is suggested by the
researcher to the city council members, based on the city’s mission and strategic goals. The
researcher will study the feasibility of taking preliminary steps, as well as funding pre-K access
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 105
in the City of Evergreen. Cost feasibility analysis (CF) refers to the method of estimating only
the costs of an alternative in order to ascertain whether or not it, pre-K access in this case, can
be considered (Levin & McEwan, 2001). In this study, the entire city council was considered
the stakeholders. The city currently has four state funded preschools within its city limits, and
of those four schools, there are only 185 slots for 1,500 children ages two to five-years-old
(Super County Office of Education, 2009). Due to the number of available slots and the actual
number of children, there is a gap in pre-K services offered in this community. The suggested
goal was determined by mirroring similar neighboring cities that have existing pre-K programs
and have added additional pre-K programs. Mirroring other cities means researching other
similar or like cities, how they fund pre-K access in their communities, and using those models,
or modifying them to fit the needs of the Evergreen community.
The process to attain the goal of funding pre-K access will be incremental. Currently,
the city does not fund pre-K access. The first incremental step is to have a conversation
between the city council members. During these discussions, the council can lay out initiatives
already in motion such as infrastructure – roads and street lights for example, and how pre-K
funding would rank on that initiatives list. The second incremental step is for city council to
hold town hall meetings where the community can offer feedback on their stance regarding pre-
K access and funding. The third incremental step is to gather and analyze data on the number of
children who are currently of pre-K age and those who will be eligible to enroll in pre-K the
following year. Once that number is determined, the stakeholders along with the community
can discuss ideas to determine the ideal class size and possible class spaces or locations. These
can be existing spaces such as churches during the week, homes, or unused school bungalows.
The fourth incremental step is to assess how much each space conversion will cost. Locations
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 106
will be established one at a time as each space will need teachers, furniture, and materials, and
must be licensed by the state. Once the projected cost of space and operating fees are
calculated, the next incremental step is to reach out to community-based organizations that have
the capacity to operate a pre-K space. The city could also partner with a neighboring city to
split pre-K access costs near common borders. The benefit to this goal is the establishment of
strategic community partnerships is beneficial to goal attainment in the future. The final
incremental step is to determine if the city can partially fund a pre-K initiative. The council will
determine how much money is currently in their general fund that can be earmarked for partial
pre-K funding. City council members will need to discuss long-term costs and how to sustain
these costs by fundraising, imposing ordinances with an attached tax, and by applying for funds
through federal, state, county, and private grants specifically geared towards funding for
children. One benefit of this incremental process is that it helps to break down the
organizational goal into manageable components. Another benefit is that this process identifies
the relationship between the components. Lastly, this process identifies components that can
exist separately, but when combined, can help reach the organizational goal of funding pre-K
access. Possible obstacles to achievement of the goal are not knowing where to begin, absence
of a plan, and limited funding.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
Pre-K access and the school readiness gap affects many people. There is a long list of
potential stakeholders: (a) children, (b) parents, (c) teachers, (d) administrators, (e) community
members, and (f) municipalities – including business and council members. For the purposes of
this study and analysis, and due to practical limitations including time preservation and
simplicity, only one stakeholder group was chosen, the city council. The city council, which
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 107
consists of five members, is responsible for passing laws, ordinances, proclamations, and
resolutions, and holds the power to effect change for the City of Evergreen. They are aware of
the city’s motto, which is “Moving forward,” and mission, which is, “The City of Evergreen
provides responsive, respectful, and efficient public services to enhance the quality of life and
safety for its community,” (“City of…”, n.d.). The city operates from a policy agenda that is
driven by a strategic plan with five priority areas: (a) enhance public safety and emergency
preparedness, (b) enhance economic viability, (c) improve organizational effectiveness and
efficacy, (d) improve public facilities and infrastructure, (e) improve the general sense of
community and enhance community engagement, and (f) create a healthy and safe community
(“City of…”, n.d.). The council is the main stakeholder and is regularly consulted for advice
and recommendations on relevant issues by the community. The council is charged with the
development and coordination of community services. Their goal is to move the city toward
best or better practices in these areas. For the council to better connect its strategic goals to an
actual policy agenda and their mission, they would need to be more organized, responsive, and
proactive.
Goal of the Stakeholder Group for the Study
The suggested stakeholder goal is that the City of Evergreen will have a conversation
about funding pre-K access, and that it would potentially lead to funding pre-K access. These
stakeholders have the ability to contribute to the achievement of the organization’s suggested
performance goal of funding pre-K access. The number of pre-K access programs operating
within the city by the year 2020 is the measure used to track progress in achievement of the
goal. The stakeholder group is of key importance in achieving this suggested goal and assisting
their community by closing the school readiness gap. If achievement of the goal is not attained
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 108
the possible risks include: a continued lack of local funding for pre-K access, and a widening of
the school readiness gap.
Table 5.1
Organizational Mission, Suggested Organizational Global Goal, Suggested Stakeholder Goal
Organizational Mission
The organizational mission of the City of Evergreen is to “Provide responsive, respectful,
and efficient public services to enhance the quality of life and safety for its community.”
Suggested Organizational Global Goal
The City of Evergreen will take incremental steps that will lead to the suggested
organizational goal of funding pre-K access. An outside consultant firm will be hired to
conduct a cost feasibility analysis determining if the city is financially able to fund pre-K
access. They will also determine other feasible alternatives.
Suggested Stakeholder Goal
The city council will have a conversation around pre-K access and funding. Town hall
meetings will be held at council chambers or another central location that is accessible to the
community to gain feedback from the community on how to initiate next steps.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project is to conduct a gap analysis in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources necessary to reach the organizational goal to fund pre-
K facilities in the community of Evergreen. The analysis will begin by generating a list of
possible needs and will then systematically examine the needs with the focus on actual or
validated needs. Questions that guide this study are:
1. How do the Evergreen City Council members perceive pre-K access and the school
readiness gap?
2. How do the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements impede the City of
Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-K access?
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 109
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Knowledge Recommendations
Introduction. Knowledge influences in Table 5.2 represent the complete list of assumed
knowledge influences and their validity. The influences used for the city council’s goals were
validated based on the most frequently mentioned knowledge influences to achieve the
council’s goal during general interview guide and standardized open-ended approach
interviews, document analysis, and supported by the literature review. In addition, four
knowledge influencers and three recommendations are discussed in this section. The first
influence, city council members should compare what other countries, states, and cities are
doing to promote pre-K access, declarative-conceptual (D-declarative). The second influence,
city council members should be aware of pre-K access and the school readiness gap,
declarative-conceptual (D-declarative). The third influence is that the city council needs to
know how they can use existing data to affect change, procedural (P-procedural). And the
fourth influence, city council members need to reflect on why there are gaps in pre-K access and
their possible role as the city government, in those gaps (M). Oosterhof (2012) posited that
declarative knowledge involves being able to state and explain characteristics, terminologies,
properties, phenomena, concepts, principles, and techniques. Krathwohl (2012) posited that
metacognitive knowledge is the awareness of, and knowledge about, one’s own cognition. Star
and Stylianides (2012) posited that procedural knowledge consists of the rules or procedures
necessary for solving conflicts or establishing how to do something. Indicated in Table 5.2 are
the validated influences that have a high priority for achieving the stakeholder goal. Table 5.2
also depicts the recommendations for these validated influences based on the Clark and Estes
(2008) theoretical framework and principles.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 110
Table 5.2
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset*
Validated
Yes, High
Probability,
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
City council members
should compare what
other countries, states,
and cities are doing to
promote pre-K access
Conceptual (D).
YES Y Policy makers have a
variety of tools from
which to choose when
designing childcare
policy (Rigby, Tarrant,
& Neuman, 2007;
Ritz, 2009).
Provide
informational
material, relating
to how other
countries, cities,
and states promote
pre-K access,
similar to
periodical journals.
City council members
should know of existing
pre-K and school
readiness gaps;
Conceptual (D).
YES Y Education is any
situation in which
people acquire
“conceptual,
theoretical, and
strategic” knowledge
and skills (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
To develop mastery,
individuals
must acquire
component skills,
practice integrating
them, and
know when to apply
what they
have learned (Schraw
& McCrudden, 2006).
Provide
educational
courses referring to
pre-K and the
school readiness
gap education, for
example early
education or child
development
courses used to
better understand
the importance of
pre-K.
City council members
need to know how they
can use existing data to
affect change;
Procedural (P).
YES Y Procedural knowledge
consists of rules or
procedures necessary
for solving conflicts or
establishing how to do
something (Star &
Stylianides, 2012).
Provide “hands
on” training or
examples of how
to implement
existing data to
affect change to
start a conversation
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 111
Training is
information and
sometimes job aids
plus guided practice
and corrective
feedback (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
regarding pre-K
access.
City Council members
need to reflect on why
there are gaps in pre-K
access and their
possible role in those
gaps;
Metacognitive (M).
YES Y Stakeholder Reflection
Metacognitive
Knowledge is the
awareness of and
knowledge about one’s
own cognition
(Krathwohl, 2014).
Elements such as
explicit focus on
learning processes or
emphasis of deep
understanding are
necessary
the learning
environment for
fostering
metacognitive strategy
use is an engaging
curriculum
(Krathwohl, 2014).
Provide a
curriculum which
integrates City
Council members’
interest, active
learning, and
collaboration
affords frequent
opportunities for
them to use
metacognitive
thinking skills,
brainstorming for
example.
*Indicate knowledge type for each influence listed using these abbreviations: (D)eclarative –
Conceptual; (P)rocedural; (M)etacognitive
Declarative: (Conceptual) knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets.
City Council members should compare what other countries, states, and cities are
doing to promote pre-K access (D). Policy makers have a variety of tools from which to choose
when designing childcare policy (Rigby et al., 2007; Ritz, 2009). When selecting or developing
tasks, the validity of assessments of declarative knowledge benefits from considering the types
of changes associated with increased declarative knowledge (Oosterhof, 2012). Development of
this knowledge can shed light on the relationship between funding pre-K access and the long-
term benefits to the entire community. Thus, it is recommended that city council members are
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 112
provided informational material relating to how other countries, cities, and states promote pre-K
access in the form of digitized periodical journals.
City council members should know of pre-K access and school readiness gaps.
Education is any situation in which people acquire “conceptual, theoretical, and strategic”
knowledge and skills (Clark & Estes, 2008). To develop mastery, individuals must acquire
component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they have learned
(Schraw & McCrudden, 2006). Thus, it is recommended that city council members should be
educated on pre-K access and school readiness gaps. A recommendation for closing the
declarative knowledge (conceptual) gap, using the Clark and Estes (2008) framework, is to
provide educational courses referring to pre-K access and school readiness gap education, for
example early education or child development courses used to better understand the importance
of pre-K. This direction has a high probability of being validated because research indicates
that education can close the declarative knowledge gap. Please refer to Table 5.2 for reference.
Declarative knowledge involves being able to state and explain characteristics,
terminologies, properties, phenomena, concepts, principles, and techniques (Oosterhof, 2012).
The Evergreen City Council members must first acknowledge that funding pre-K access has
value not only to the students, but also to the community at large. They also need to understand
legislative dynamics, budgetary policy, technology, public relations, and political strategy to
avoid any implementation problems (Raden, 1999).
Procedural knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. City council
members need to understand how they can use existing data to affect change (P). Procedural
knowledge consists of the rules or procedures necessary for solving conflicts or establishing
how to do something (Star & Stylianides, 2012). One recommendation for closing the
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 113
procedural knowledge gap, using the Clark and Estes (2008) and Star and Stylianides (2012)
framework, is to provide “hands on” training or examples of how to implement existing data to
affect change to start a conversation regarding pre-K access that may eventually lead to the
organizational global goal to fund pre-K. Please refer to Table 5.2 for reference. Hands-on
training is validated by a reduction in the procedural knowledge gap.
Training is information and sometimes job aids, plus guided practice and corrective
feedback (Clark & Estes, 2008). Using proven methods from other cities and states can
improve strategies for funding pre-K access (O’Riordan, 2013). City council members will
need procedural knowledge to start planning to execute their suggested goal. Procedural
knowledge consists of rules or procedures necessary for solving conflicts or establishing how to
do something (Star & Stylianides, 2012). Bringing all stakeholders together to reflect on data
results is one option (Marsh, 2012). Stakeholder reflection metacognitive knowledge is the
awareness of, and knowledge about one’s own cognition (Krathwohl, 2002). Such awareness
can lead to flexible and confident problem solving, as well as feelings of self-efficacy and pride
(Paris & Winograd, 1990). Metacognitive knowledge occurs when stakeholders know they
have gaps regarding their opinions of pre-K access and need to think about why that is, as well
as discover if they themselves might be hindering the organizational goal.
Stakeholders can reflect by asking themselves if they are doing everything they can to
help achieve the suggested goal. Are they focused on the goal and is previous knowledge
blocking forward progress towards the goal? To follow up on achieving the prescribed goals,
city council members need to determine tasks, select proper approaches, and organize how to
effectively conduct strategies (Iwai, 2011). The stakeholder group is essential in the
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 114
achievement of the suggested goal as it is necessary to gather feedback from a representative
group that has the potential to affect change.
Metacognitive knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. City council
members’ metacognitive knowledge is the awareness of and knowledge about one’s own
cognition (Krathwohl, 2002). Such awareness can lead to flexible and confident problem
solving, as well as feelings of self-efficacy and pride (Paris & Winograd, 1990). One
recommendation for closing the metacognitive knowledge gap, incorporating the Krathwohl
(2014) framework, is to provide a curriculum which integrates the city council members’
interests. Active learning and collaboration affords frequent opportunities for them to use
metacognitive thinking skills. This direction has a high probability of being validated because
the use of a curriculum can be used to measure what it is supposed to measure (please refer to
Table 5.2 for reference).
Metacognitive knowledge occurs when stakeholders know they have gaps regarding
their opinions of pre-K access and need to think about why that is, and whether or not they
themselves might be hindering the organizational goal. City council members can reflect by
asking themselves if they are doing everything they can to help achieve the suggested
organizational goal. Elements such as explicit focus on the learning processes, or an emphasis
on a deep understanding are necessary to the learning environment which fosters a
metacognitive strategy and utilizes an engaging curriculum (Krathwohl, 2014). Using
metacognition, city council members can consider contextual and conditional aspects of the pre-
K access problem (Rueda, 2011).
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 115
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. Motivation influences in Table 5.3 represent the complete list of assumed
motivation influences and validity. The motivation influences of self-efficacy and goal
orientation used to achieve the stakeholders’ goal were validated based on the most frequently
mentioned motivational influences necessary to achieving their goal. These influences were
found during general interview questions, standardized open-ended approach interview
questions, and document analysis; all were supported by the literature review. Motivation is the
internal psychological process that compels one to action (Pintrich & Schunk, 1996).
Motivation is critical in goal achievement and influences our lives based on the following three
aspects: make an active choice to act, persist through an action, and invest in mental effort to
achieve a goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). Choice is going beyond the intention to start something.
Persistence is continuing to pursue a goal in the face of distractions, and mental effort is seeking
and applying new knowledge to solve a novel program or perform a new task (Clark & Estes,
2008).
As indicated in Table 5.3, validated influences have a high priority for achieving the
organizational goal. Table 5.3 also shows the recommendations for these validated influences
based on the Clark and Estes (2008) theoretical framework and principles. According to Clark
& Estes (2008), change is not always welcomed by people, however change is needed to solve
complex problems.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 116
Table 5.3
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Motivation
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset*
Validated
Yes, High
Probability,
No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
City Council members
need to be able to
believe they are
capable of establishing
funding for pre-K
access (self-efficacy).
YES Y When people do not
believe they can
succeed at a specific
goal, they will not
choose to tackle it,
however, as
confidence increases,
commitment to
performance goals
also increases (Clark
& Estes, 2008).
Self-efficacy is
increased as
individuals succeed in
a task (Bandura,
1997).
High self-efficacy can
positively influence
motivation (Pajares,
2006).
Provide
information, job
aids, or training
that is directly
relevant to their
goals if they must
have additional
knowledge and
skills to achieve
performance goals.
City council members
need to participate
more in brainstorming
ideas on how to
establish funding for
pre-K access (goal
orientation theory).
YES Y Team members must
believe that the entire
team can cooperate
and collaborate
enough to accomplish
team goals (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Faulty or missing
work processes and
procedures can cause
confusion, waste,
missed production
deadlines, and a
Clearly describe
the skills required
to achieve the
team’s
performance goals
and point out that
different team
members have
different but
required skills, via
an in-
service/training.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 117
variety of other
problems (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Decreasing extraneous
cognitive load by
effective
instruction
(particularly
when intrinsic load is
high)
enables more effective
learning (Kirschner,
Sweller, & Clark,
2006).
Self-Efficacy
Individual self-efficacy concerns people’s beliefs and collective concerns. Council
members need to be able to believe they are capable of establishing funding for pre-K access.
When people do not believe they can succeed at a specific goal, they will not choose to tackle it,
however, as confidence increases, commitment to performance goals also increases (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Self-efficacy is increased as individuals succeed in a task and high self-efficacy
can positively influence motivation (Bandura, 1997; Pajares, 2006). One recommendation for
closing the self-efficacy gap, using the Clark and Estes (2008) framework, is to provide a way
for people to get information, job aids, or training that is directly relevant to their goals if they
must have additional knowledge and skills to achieve performance goals (please refer to Table
5.2 for reference).
The work of the government is uniquely visible, due to open meetings and records laws
that require agencies to meet in public, and also provide, upon request, meeting memos,
decision documents, emails and even text messages (Lavigna, 2014). This transparency can
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 118
encourage city council members to have high self-efficacy if they feel that what they do
individually helps the group and therefore helps the people they agreed to serve (collective
agency). Research has shown that public servants find meaning in their work by making a
positive difference in the lives of the citizens they serve (Lavigna, 2014). Stakeholders need to
understand and know how to work with outside organizations and institutions to gain inspiration
(Raden, 1999). City council members usually enter public service because they are already
committed to the mission of the government (Lavigna, 2014). A group’s attainments are the
product of the shared knowledge and skills of each member, and of the interactive, coordinative,
and synergistic dynamics of their transactions (Bandura, 2000).
Goal Orientation
City Council members, as a stakeholder group, need to participate more in brainstorming
ideas on how to establish funding for pre-K access. Team members must believe that the entire
team can cooperate and collaborate enough to accomplish team goals (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Decreasing extraneous cognitive load by effective instruction (particularly when intrinsic load is
high) enables more effective learning (Kirshner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006). Faulty or missing
work processes and procedures can cause confusion, waste, missed production deadlines, and a
variety of other problems (Clark & Estes, 2008). To close the goal orientation gap using the
Clark and Estes (2008) framework, it is recommended to clearly describe the skills required to
achieve the team’s performance goals and point out that team members have different but
required skills. Team members must believe that the entire team can cooperate and collaborate
enough to accomplish team goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). Please refer to Table 5.3 for reference.
Goal orientation theory is helpful in determining what motivates the stakeholder group.
Yough and Anderman (2006) described goal orientation theory as a social cognitive theory of
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 119
achievement of motivation that examines the reasons why students and employees engage in
their work. This research also states that motivation researchers who study goal orientation
acknowledge that both people’s individual characteristics and contextual influences affect the
types of goals that people adopt in various learning environments. This research stated that with
mastery, employees are interested in self-improvement and compare prior levels to current
levels. With performance, employees are interested in competition, demonstrating their
competence, outperforming others, and using others as points of comparison, rather than
themselves. Motivational beliefs and processes largely drive engagement (Rueda, 2011).
Organization Recommendations
Introduction. Organizational influences in Table 5.4 represent the complete list of
assumed motivation influences and validity. The organizational influences of self-efficacy and
goal orientation used to achieve the stakeholders’ goal were validated based on the most
frequently mentioned motivational influences to achieve their goal during general interview
guided and standardized open-ended approach interviews, document analysis, and supported by
the literature review. Clark and Estes (2008) suggested that organization and stakeholder goals
are often not achieved due to a lack of resources, most often time and money, and stakeholder
goals that are not aligned with the organization’s mission and goals. Rueda (2011) discussed
two constructs regarding culture: cultural models, the shared mental schema or normative
understandings of how the world works (intangible); and cultural settings, specific work settings
where cultural models are played out (tangible) (Rueda, 2011). Both resources and processes,
and cultural models and settings, must align throughout the organization’s structure to achieve
the mission and goals. The cultural model influence of the organization’s ability to provide a
workplace environment that offers inclusion, realistic expectations, and processes. The cultural
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 120
setting influences the organization’s ability to provide a workplace environment that offers
resources, tools, and policies. As such, as indicated in Table 5.4, validated organizational
influences have a high priority for achieving the stakeholders’ goal. Table 5.4 also shows the
recommendations for these validated influences based on the Clark and Estes (2008) theoretical
framework and principles.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 121
Table 5.4
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Organization
Influence: Cause, Need, or
Asset*
Validated
Yes, High
Probability
, No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Cultural Model Influence
One:
There is hesitance to
establish pre-K funding.
YES Y Organizational
performance
increases when
processes and
resources are
aligned with goals
established
collaboratively
(Clark & Estes,
2008).
Issues such as
unrealistic
deadlines, lack of
appropriate break
periods, and
increasingly
heightened
expectations are
all common
causes of work-
related stressors
that exist
throughout a wide
variety of
occupations
(Shimazu &
Kosugi, 2003).
Provide city
council members
with a map of the
organization’s
resources and
processes, such as
a governing
handbook, for
example, to assist
with productivity.
Create a feedback
system regarding
changes in
processes or
needed resources.
Cultural Model Influence
Two:
There is hesitance to add
additional tasks to an
overloaded priorities
worklist. For example, ten
top priorities on a task list,
YES Y Organizational
performance
increases when
top management
is continually
involved in the
improvement
Provide one-to-
one
communication
demonstrated with
visible
management
involvement. For
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 122
and Pre-K access is not in
the top ten.
process (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Research shows
that “human
beings tend to
resist change,
even when change
represents growth
and development
and will lead to
greater efficiency
and productivity,”
(Baker, 1989).
example,
management
addressing
stakeholders
individually
instead of in
groups.
Cultural Setting Influence
One:
City Council is not aware of
the process of establishing
pre-K funding.
YES Y Work process
barriers are issues
such as
inadequate,
inefficient,
missing, or
conflicting
policies, and/or
the unavailability
of needed tools
and materials
(Clark & Estes,
2008).
Groups do not
necessarily make
the best use of the
entire pool of
information its
members hold;
however, genuine
information
sharing could shift
group decision
makings as all of
the facts are made
known to its
members (Preuss
& Walker, 2011).
Provide teamwork
and process
analysis training.
For example, city
council members
participate in
collaboration with
other cities that do
fund pre-K access
in order to learn
the process.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 123
Provide adequate
knowledge, skills,
and motivational
support for all
stakeholders
(Clark & Estes,
2008).
Cultural models. Cultural model influence one: There is hesitance to establish pre-K
funding. Organizational performance increases when processes and resources are aligned with
goals established collaboratively (Clark & Estes, 2008). Issues such as unrealistic deadlines,
lack of appropriate break periods, and increasingly heightened expectations are all common
causes of work-related stressors that exist throughout a wide variety of occupations (Shimazu &
Kosugi, 2003). Therefore, the recommendation is to provide city council members with a map
of the organization’s resources and processes, such as a governing handbook, for example, to
assist with productivity. Create a feedback system regarding changes in processes or needed
resources.
In the City of Evergreen, staff retention is a problem and remaining staff members have
to pick up the slack. In other words, remaining staff are overloaded with their own work in
addition to the work of those employees who have left the organization. This could likely cause
hesitance to add more tasks. In addition, adding new priorities to an already overloaded
priorities list can cause resistance or hesitance. Stakeholders have their own individual
strategies, based on their abilities, needs, and goals (Preuss & Walker, 2011), and this can lead
to internal and external adaptation processes. In addition, individual factors, such as
motivation, perceptions, attitudes, and values have a part to play in explaining resistance or
hesitance.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 124
Not being aware of the process of establishing funding for pre-K access could account
for resistance or hesitance by stakeholders. It will take more than an individual to establish pre-
K funding and requires many people to deliberate and decide on the best plan of action.
Barriers to pre-K access could include policy decisions and the organizational priorities of the
local government elected officials, the council members. According to Preuss and Walker
(2011), a lack of skills, training, and knowledge can be a barrier in any organization. The
overcoming of group boundaries can become problematic as the different thought worlds are
shared within, but not necessarily between groups. This literature suggested that groups do not
necessarily make the best use of the entire pool of information its members hold: however,
genuine information sharing could shift group decision as all the facts are made known to its
members (Preuss & Walker, 2011).
There are usually barriers when change is involved. Dubey and Bansal (2012) observed
that the barriers to incremental and radical changes are linked to effective change transformation
(Dubey & Bansal, 2013). Effective change transformation challenges the old ways of doing
process and proposes new methodologies. The researchers also opined that organizations
undergoing radical change processes should set aggressive goals with updated technology,
empowering people, and building a consensus on change acceptance and change processes
necessary for success. The change process focuses on objectives and end results (Dubey &
Bansal, 2013).
Policies. Human beings can be stubborn. Research shows that “human beings tend to
resist or be hesitant to change, even when change represents growth and development and will
lead to greater efficiency and productivity” (Baker, 1989). Since changes within an
organization affect the individuals within that organization, individuals have the power to
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 125
facilitate or thwart the implementation of an innovation (Baker, 1989). Why do employees
resist or become hesitant to change? Primarily because they fear the unknown. Thus, resistance
or hesitance to change is inevitable, and managers must allow for some resistance when they are
planning to implement change. To manage change effectively, administrators must understand
exactly why an employee resists or is hesitant to change (Baker, 1989).
Processes. A common feeling in the workplace is feeling like one has too little time to
do many tasks. Work overload is an issue that can be caused by a multitude of factors. Issues
such as unrealistic deadlines, lack of appropriate break periods, and increasingly heightened
expectations are all common causes of work-related stressors that exist throughout a wide
variety of occupations (Shimazu & Kosugi, 2003). The authors suggested rapid change,
disordered multitasking, uncertainty, and interruptions during work also contribute to work
overload and can be harmful. An effective solution to address resistance or hesitance to change
is to involve people in making the change. Participation presents as a feeling, not just the
mechanical act of being called in to take part in discussions (Lawrence, 1969).
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
For this implementation, Kirkpatrick’s four level model of evaluation Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick (2006) is used to inform the new world Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). This model consists of four levels: level four, results; level three, behavior;
level two, learning; and level one, reactions. Levels three and four are discussed in this section.
Level three is defined as the degree to which participants apply what they learned during
training when they are back on the job (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Level three is also
the most important level because training alone will not yield enough organizational results to
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 126
be deemed successful (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Level four is defined as the degree to
which targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training and the support and accountability
package (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
This framework recommends that the evaluation phase start with the goals of the
organization and work backwards. Leading indicators therefore can provide individualized
targets that ultimately contribute to the organizational results (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick (2016), also posited that these indicators establish a nexus between
critical behaviors and organizational results. Working backwards allows for a sequence of three
other actions: (a) the development of solution outcomes that focus on assessing work behaviors,
(b) the identification of indicators that learning occurred during implementation, and (c) the
emergence of indicators that organizational members are satisfied with the implementation
strategies. Designing the implementation and evaluation plan in this manner forces connections
between the immediate solutions and the larger goal and solicits proximal “buy in” to ensure
success (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
The suggested goal is that the City of Evergreen will take steps to establish funding for
pre-K access by the year 2020. This goal is suggested by the researcher to the city council
members, based on the city’s mission and strategic goals. The suggested goal was determined
by mirroring similar neighboring cities that have existing pre-K programs and have added
additional pre-K programs. Mirroring other cities means researching other similar or like cities,
how they fund pre-K access in their communities, and using or tweaking those models to fit the
needs of the Evergreen community. City council knowledge and skills, motivation, and
organizational barriers were analyzed to determine possible reasons why steps had not been
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 127
taken to establish funding for pre-K access. The recommended solutions are: (a) provide
informational material, relating to how other countries, cities, and states promote pre-K access,
similar to digitized periodical journals, (b) provide educational courses referring to pre-K and
K-12 Education, for example early education or child development courses used to better
understand the importance of pre-K (Knowledge - internal), (c) provide information, job aids, or
training that is directly relevant to their goals if they must have additional knowledge and skills
to achieve performance goals (Motivation - internal), and (d) provide city council members with
a map of the organization’s resources and processes, such as an employee handbook, for
example, to assist with productivity. Create a feedback system regarding changes in processes
or needed resources (Organizational - external). The expectations are that the recommendations
help to increase the knowledge and skills, as well as motivation among stakeholders and assist
the organization in change efforts.
Level Four: Results and Leading Indicators
Read, do, and delete. Table 5.5 shows the proposed level four: results and leading
indicators in the form of outcomes, metrics and methods for both external and internal outcomes
for the City of Evergreen. If the internal outcomes are met as expected, as a result of
understanding and knowledge for city council members, then the external outcomes should also
be realized.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 128
Table 5.5
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. Increased access to
resources, increased
productivity, and
increased feedback
regarding processes or
needed policy changes.
The number of staff with more
recognition, along with
production levels.
Monitor staff production and
attendance weekly to track any
changes.
Internal Outcomes
1. City council members
increase their
understanding of the
importance of pre-K
The number of conversations
related to pre-K funding.
Record town hall or city council
meeting topics related to pre-K.
2. Improved relationships
with similar cities that
fund pre-K access in order
to achieve performance
goals.
An increased interest to
brainstorm bi-monthly on ways
to fund pre-K and help to make
it a non-issue (initiative).
Record staff meetings related to
funding pre-K.
Level Three: Behavior
Critical behaviors. The stakeholders of focus are city council members in the City of
Evergreen; they are responsible for the citizens in their community and tasked with funding pre-
K access in that community. The first critical behavior is that the city council members will
meet to discuss their role in funding and supporting, or not funding and supporting pre-K
access. The second critical behavior is that they must identify why they support or do not
support pre-K access. The third critical behavior is that they must review their rationale for
supporting or not supporting pre-K access. The specific metrics, methods, and timing for each
of these outcome behaviors appears in Table 5.6.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 129
Table 5.6
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing
Critical Behavior Metric(s)
Method(s)
Timing
1. City council
members will meet to
discuss their role in
funding/supporting or
not
funding/supporting
pre-K access.
The number of
meetings related to
pre-K funding.
1a. Track the number of
children in the
community with and
without pre-K.
1a. During first 30
days – weekly.
Thereafter –
monthly.
2. City Council must
identify why they
support or do not
support pre-K access.
The number of self-
reporting and sharing
positions on pre-K
access.
2a. During the first 30
days, review the number
of self-reporting and
shared positions
documented.
2a. During first 30
days - weekly.
3. City council must
review their rationale
for supporting or not
supporting pre-K.
The number of
corrections made by a
supervisor.
3a. Document the
number of corrections
made by a supervisor
during the first 30 days.
3a. During first 30
days – weekly.
Required drivers. City Council members need the support of their employee work-
force or community because they do not have a “supervisor” per se; but instead, are responsible
to the community that they serve as they are elected officials. The support is needed to
reinforce, encourage, reward, and monitor their achievement after training. Table 5.7 shows the
recommended drivers to support the city council members.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 130
Table 5.7
Required Drivers to Support New Reviewers’ Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Provide information, job aids,
or training that is directly
relevant to their goals if they
must have additional
knowledge and skills to
achieve performance goals.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Self-reflect on discussions
after each city council or town
hall meeting.
Bi-monthly 1, 2, 3
Encouraging
Collaboration and peer
brainstorming during
meetings.
Weekly 1, 2, 3
Feedback on status of
brainstorming meetings and
meeting results.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Rewarding
The community will vote for
said council member to extend
their term in office.
Annually 1, 2, 3
Announce when City Council
members hold meetings,
attend those meetings, and
members’ positions on
funding pre-K access.
Monthly 1, 2, 3
Monitoring
Community can request pre-K
issues are on the City Council
agenda and track when those
conversations occur.
Quarterly 1, 2, 3
City council members can
select items for the agendas
relating to pre-K access
issues.
Bi-Monthly 1, 2, 3
Organizational support. To implement the required drivers, the organization will
assess resources and develop a plan of action to address processes, policies, and procedures.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 131
The organization will track monthly meetings. Tracking monthly meetings will enable a
baseline and future analysis of any progress made.
Level Two: Learning
According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), the definition of level two: Learning:
is the degree to which participants acquire intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and
commitment based on their participation in the training. Following the completion of the
recommended solutions, most notably the teamwork and process training, the stakeholders will
be able to complete the learning goals listed below.
Learning goals.
1. Recognize Pre-K and K-12 gaps (D).
2. Recognize and reflect on their possible role in pre-K access gaps within their city,
(M).
3. Apply existing data from other cities to affect change within their city, (P).
4. Create a timeline to hold community meetings/forums to discuss pre-K access, (P).
5. Plan and monitor pre-K access conversations, (P, M).
6. Indicate commitment that they can hold community meetings/forums within the
prescribed time limits, (commitment).
7. Value timeliness of the process, (value).
8. Value the planning and monitoring of pre-K access conversations at
meetings/forums, (value).
Program. The learning goals listed in the previous section, will be achieved with the
implementation of the following programs. Educational courses referring to pre-K access and
the school readiness gap will be provided, for example early education or child development
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 132
courses, used to better understand the importance of pre-K. Staff production and attendance
will be monitored weekly to track any changes. The number of children in the community with
and without pre-K access will be tracked during first 30 days every week, and monthly
thereafter. Provide information, job aids, or training that is directly relevant to their goals if
they must have additional knowledge and skills to achieve performance goals. Provide hands-
on training or examples of how to implement existing data to affect change to start a
conversation regarding pre-K access. Record town hall or city council meeting topics related to
pre-K. During the first 30 days, review the number of self-reporting and shared positions
documented. During first 30 days, weekly. Collaboration and peer brainstorming during
meetings will be unstructured and have a 30-minute duration. During the synchronous in
person sessions, the focus will be on applying what learners have learned during training.
Provide a curriculum which integrates city council members’ interests, active learning,
and collaboration which affords frequent opportunities for them to use metacognitive thinking
skills, brainstorming for example. Record staff meetings related to funding pre-K. Document
the number of corrections made by a supervisor during the first 30 days. During first 30 days,
weekly. Community can request pre-K issues are on the City Council agenda and track when
those conversations occur.
Components of learning. Demonstrating declarative, procedural, and metacognitive
knowledge is important and often necessary as a foundation to build upon and apply this
knowledge to solve problems. It is also important that city council members value the training
as a prerequisite to using their newly learned knowledge and skills on the job. However, they
must also be committed to applying and using their knowledge and skills on the job. As such,
Table 5.8 lists the evaluation methods and timing for these components of learning.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 133
Table 5.8
Components of Learning for the Program.
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative knowledge: “I know it.”
Knowledge checks using multiple choice regarding pre-
K access and pre-K access gaps.
In the synchronous portions of
the course during and after video
demonstrations.
Knowledge checks through discussions about pre-K
access, gaps, and council’s possible role in those gaps.
Periodically during the in-person
workshop and documented via
observation notes.
Procedural skills: “I can do it right now.”
During the synchronous portions of the course using
scenarios with multiple-choice items.
In the synchronous portions of
the course at the end of each
module.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment survey
asking city council members about their level of
knowledge regarding pre-K access before and after the
training.
At the end of the workshop.
Attitude: “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Instructor’s observation of city councils’ statements and
actions demonstrating that they see the benefit of pre-K
access and understand what they are being asked to do
on the job.
During the workshop.
Discussions of the value of what they are being asked to
do on the job.
During the workshop.
Confidence: “I think I can do it on the job.”
Survey items using scaled items. Following each module in the
synchronous portions of the
course.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 134
I feel confident about applying what I learned today to
my job.
After the course.
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Discussions following feedback. The discussions entail
feedback from the stakeholders; if and how that
feedback can assist with helping on the job performance
(application).
During the workshop.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment item. After the course.
Level One: Reaction
According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), the definition of level one: reaction is
the degree to which participants find the training favorable, engaging, and relevant to their jobs.
A place to save resources, quickly and efficiently, and receive needed information to confirm
the quality of the program and make sure the instructor is acceptable. Table 5.9 below lists the
methods used to determine participant reaction to training and or learning activities.
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Table 5.9
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program.
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement.
Discussions after each city council meeting or town
hall Forum.
Ongoing.
Attendance. During the workshop.
Relevance.
Brief pulse-check with city council members via
discussion (ongoing) regarding expectations.
After every city council meeting
or town hall forum.
City council/town hall meeting evaluation of
discussion.
After every city council meeting
or town hall forum.
Customer Satisfaction.
Brief pulse-check with the community and city
council members via discussion (ongoing).
After every city council meeting
or town hall Forum.
City council/town hall meeting evaluation of
discussion
After every city council meeting
or Town Hall Forum.
Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. During the synchronous portion
of the modules, the trainer will collect data via notes on observations about the start, duration,
and completion of modules by the city council members. This data will indicate the
engagement with the course material. The trainer will also administer brief surveys after each
module requesting the participant to indicate the relevance of the material to their job
performance and their overall satisfaction with the content and delivery of the online course.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 136
For Level One: Reaction. During the in-person workshop, the instructor will conduct
periodic brief pulse-checks by asking the participants about the relevance of the content to their
work and the organization, delivery, and learning environment. Level two: learning, will
include checks for understanding using activities in responding to questions and scenarios
drawn from the content.
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. Items containing open and
scaled questions will be administered by the trainer approximately four weeks after the
implementation of the training, and then again at eight weeks. The blended evaluation approach
will be used to measure, from the city council’s perspective, satisfaction, and relevance of the
training (level one: reaction), confidence and value of applying their training and learning (level
two: learning), application of the training and the support from peers they are receiving (level
three: behavior), and the extent to which their suggested organizational goals are met (level
four: results). Please refer to Appendix B for references on level three and level four.
Data Analysis and Reporting
A bar graph will be created to document each time the city council holds a meeting or
forum to discuss pre-K access. Each week the number of meetings or forums will be tracked on
the tracker. The bar graph will be able to provide a cumulative and up-to-date documentation of
all meetings or forums. This bar graph will track data and will be used as a monitoring and
accountability tool. Additional bar graphs will be used to monitor levels one, two, and three.
Please refer to Figure 5.1 for reference.
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Figure 5.1. Meeting Measurements Chart. Discussions on pre-K access.
Pre-K Access Discussion Measurement
The chart will help track meetings. Participants will be able to visualize where they are
in comparison to the goal. The goal is to reach at least three discussions per quarter. Holding
discussions will help to keep the issue fresh and uncover meaningful suggestions on the topic.
Summary
The new world Kirkpatrick model was used to plan, implement, and evaluate the
proceeding recommendations in the following ways. Items containing open and scaled
questions will be administered by the trainer approximately four weeks after the implementation
of the training, and then again at eight weeks. The blended evaluation approach will be used to
measure, from the city council’s perspective, satisfaction, and relevance of the training (level
one), confidence and value of applying their training (level two), application of the training and
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 138
the support from peers they are receiving (level three), and the extent to which their
organizational goals are met (level four).
This model was also used to optimize the suggested organizational goal. The
expectations are that important and useful data will be gleaned from this framework to better
reach the suggested organizational goal. The advantages of using this framework are that there
is some flexibility in the ability to cater it to your group. Other advantages of integrating
implementation and evaluation, are efficiency and practicality. Ultimately the value of the
intervention as a return on expectations is greatly needed in an effort to streamline
organizational training and its effectiveness. The unforeseen barriers include non-participation
– by way of not completing the surveys, and lack of follow-up to gage perceptions and needs, as
well as a lack of implementation of change based on participant feedback.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to glean perceptions and KMO influences from the City
of Evergreen council members regarding the issue of pre-K access, funding, and the school
readiness gap. During interviews and document analysis, the researcher was able to gain insight
into the culture of the city and the thoughts and feelings of the council. Member checking
assisted in assessing the validity of the data. Findings did reveal that although the council had
some knowledge in some areas and no knowledge in others, a majority of them seemed open to
having a discussion about this important issue.
While both the state and the federal government invest in early learning, these efforts
have fallen short of what is needed to ensure that all children can access a high-quality early
education that will prepare them for success (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). Using
Kirkpatrick’s model will help guide the city to a more proactive, rather than reactive culture.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 139
This exercise may also lead to the organization reaching its suggested goal to potentially fund
pre-K access. In addition, by providing pre-K access and funding, the City of Evergreen can
honor their mission and vision.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 140
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FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 155
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
I am a doctoral student at the University of Southern California, but I live here in the Bay Area.
You have probably seen me before because I work for the city. My work on the dissertation is
separate from my assigned work with the city. I chose this city because I work here and have
worked within the community in different capacities; however, the information for my
dissertation is for my specific school project. My research project is about how and why pre-K
access is not funded in this city.
I am going to ask you questions about your perceptions of pre-k access. I will record the
interview to assist with my note-taking. I will assign you a pseudonym – a fake name – to
protect your identity and ensure confidentiality. If for any reason during this interview you wish
not to participate, please let me know. I will stop the recording and you can leave. Your
participation is voluntary.
After the interview, I will share my recording and handwritten notes with you. At this time, you
can check to see if I captured your meaning correctly. After the notes and recordings are
transcribed, I will share them with you one more time just for clarity and to ensure I have
captured your meaning correctly.
Do you have any questions?
1. Did you attend preschool? If so, where did you go? Describe what you can
remember about your experience? (RQ1)
2. Do you have a child or children? Was or is your child enrolled in a pre-K
program? Why did you enroll your children in pre-K? Take me through that
experience. (RQ1) If your child was enrolled in pre-K, describe any benefits or
deficits you witnessed? (RQ1)
3. Please share your thoughts on the benefits and or deficits of pre-K in general.
(RQ1). What is your opinion of the school readiness gap? (RQ1)
4. “How important is it to have pre-k access in the city?” (RQ1) How do you think
the absence pre-K access affects children in the city? (R1, R2)
5. “How would you use existing data to inform change? (RQ2)
6. What would you say are factors that lead to the school readiness gap? (RQ1)
7. What is your current knowledge of how pre-K access is funded? (RQ2)
8. What have you heard about No Child Left Behind (NCLB)?
9. What have you heard about the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA)? (RQ2)
10. What have you heard about Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)? (RQ2)
11. What have you heard about Title I and Title II funding? (RQ2)
12. What do you think the government’s role is in funding pre-k access? (RQ2)
13. What do you think could be barriers within your organization to funding pre-k
access? (RQ2)
14. Why do you think there is a preschool issue in your city? (RQ2)
15. In your current position, what have you done related to advocating for pre-K
access? (RQ2) Do you feel comfortable discussing the role of the government
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 156
funding pre-K access to your peers? If not, have you ever discussed pre-K access
with peers? Walk me through how you would approach your peers. (RQ2) What
would you recommend as possible suggestions to your organization for funding
pre-K access? If not, have you ever made recommendations? Walk me through
your potential recommendations. (RQ2)
16. What do you know about other countries, states, and cities that promote pre-k
access? (RQ2) How would you conduct research on what similar cities are doing
that offer/fund pre-K access?” (RQ2)
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 157
APPENDIX B: OBSERVATION PROTOCOL
Date:
Time:
Location:
Activity/Event/Meeting:
Start Time:
End Time:
Draw the setting being observed below:
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 158
Additional observation comments/notes:
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 159
APPENDIX C: ARTIFACT AND/OR DOCUMENT ANALYSIS PROTOCOL
Artifacts and/or Documents may be obtained online or laserfiche. Audio of council
meetings are also available online. If Artifacts and/or Documents are not in this format,
researcher will submit a public records request to the City Clerk or Deputy City Clerk. This
position catalogues and holds all city documents.
Date of search or
request:
Time:
Location:
Artifact/Document
Type:
Year of
Artifact/Document
Title:
Date of
Artifact/Document
Creation:
Research question(s)
informed by document
content(s).
Notes on Artifact or Document:
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 160
APPENDIX D: RATING SCALE – IMMEDIATELY AFTER TRAINING
INSTRUCTIONS: Using this rating scale, circle the rating that best describes your current level
of on the job application for each listed level.
1- Strongly Agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly Disagree
1. I understand
the value of pre-
K access and the
value of
discussions about
pre-K access (L2:
attitude).
1 2 3 4 5
2. I know what
pre-K access
means. (L2:
declarative)
1 2 3 4 5
3: I feel confident
about applying
what I learned
today to my job
(L2: confident).
1 2 3 4 5
4: The council/
town hall
meetings/forum
discussions about
pre-K access gaps
and funding were
interesting
(L1:
engagement).
1 2 3 4 5
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 161
5: I am clear of
expectations
when I return to
my organization
(L1: relevance).
1 2 3 4 5
1. Describe any challenges you are experiencing in applying what you learned in your
organization, and possible solutions to overcome them (L1: customer satisfaction).
2. How do you envision applying what you learned from the training (L2: procedural)?
3. Please describe your understanding of pre-K access and how you will participate in
discussions in the future (L2: commitment).
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 162
APPENDIX E: RATING SCALE – THIRTY DAYS AFTER TRAINING
INSTRUCTIONS: Using this rating scale, circle the rating that best describes your current level
of on the job application for each listed level.
1- Strongly Agree
2- Agree
3- Neutral
4- Disagree
5- Strongly Disagree
1. What I learned
during these
discussions has
been very
educational
regarding pre-K
access (L1).
1 2 3 4 5
2: I was able to
use existing data
from similar/like
cities more after
discussions than
before the
discussions (L2).
1 2 3 4 5
3: My colleagues
and I hold city
council or town
hall
meetings/forums
to discuss pre-K
access gaps and
funding (L3).
1 2 3 4 5
4. I am able to
have discussions
about and explain
pre-K access and
the school
readiness gap.
(L4)
1 2 3 4 5
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 163
APPENDIX F: INFORMED CONSENT/INFORMATION SHEET
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education - Organizational Change and Leadership
3470 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
INFORMED CONSENT FOR NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences of Closing the School Readiness Gap:
Local Governments and Funding for Pre-K Access for Minoritized Children
You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Karla M. Prince-Cheng, M.S.Ed.
and Jenifer Crawford, Ph.D.at the University of Southern California, because 1. You have been
in your position for three years or more; 2. You are in a position to make laws and effect change
with those laws; 3. You are a representative of the community you serve. Your participation is
voluntary. Please read the information below, and ask questions about anything you do not
understand, before deciding whether to participate. Please take as much time as you need to read
the consent form. You may also decide to discuss participation with your family or friends. If
you decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form. You will be given a copy of this
form.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this project is to identify the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resources necessary to close the school readiness gap by funding pre-K access in this city. The
aim of the study is to interview the stakeholders and to identify gaps to funding pre-K access
and explore areas of improvement so that the city can help close the school readiness gap by
funding pre-k access. As such, the questions that guide this study are the following:
1. How do the Evergreen City Council members perceive pre-K access and the
school readiness gap?
2. How are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements impeding the
City of Evergreen’s suggested goal of funding pre-k access?
3. How can the Evergreen City Council members recommended solutions to these
elements to be implemented?
STUDY PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in an interview with
an investigator. Interview questions will focus on your thoughts, impressions, and experiences
regarding the knowledge, motivation, and organizational areas in the study organization. Data
from the interview will be summarized into broad categories. No personal identifying
information, which includes but is not limited to participant’ s name, individuals named during
the interview, and academic department, will be included with the research results. The
interview will take approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Five people will participate in the
study. Participation in this study will require interviewees to be audio recorded for the purposes
of transcription.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 164
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
The investigator believes there is little or no risk to participating in this research project.
However, there may be a small risk that you may experience anxiety or discomfort
when closely examining your personal experiences. Such anxiety and or discomfort is usually
temporary, and you always have the option of withdrawing from the study if you become
uncomfortable. This risk has been minimized by the removal of any potentially identifying
information in the study.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
Participating in this research may be of no direct benefit to you. However, the results from this
project will help understand the dynamics at the study organization to help close the school
readiness gap by funding pre-K access in this community.
CONFIDENTIALITY
We will keep your records for this study confidential as far as permitted by law. However, if we
are required to do so by law, we will disclose confidential information about you. The members
of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human
Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors
research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects. The data will be stored on
one computer and synced with the online Dropbox service. All computer files including word
processing and audio files with sensitive data will be encrypted and password protected. Access
to files via drobox are restricted to the investigators in this study. All identities in this study will
be coded using a unique pseudonym. Audio files will be kept on file for one year, after which
they will be expunged.
CERTIFICATE OF CONFIDENTIALITY
Any identifiable information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential,
except if necessary to protect your rights or welfare (for example, if you are injured and need
emergency care). A Certificate of Confidentiality has been obtained from the Federal
Government for this study to help protect your privacy. This certificate means that the
researchers can resist the release of information about your participation to people who are not
connected with the study, including courts. The Certificate of Confidentiality will not be used to
prevent disclosure to local authorities of child abuse and neglect, or harm to self or others.
When the results of the research are published/discussed in conferences, no identifiable
information will be used.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
Your participation is voluntary. Your refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of
benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You may withdraw your consent at any time and
discontinue participation without penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or
remedies because of your participation in this research study.
ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATION
There are no alternate participation methods.
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 165
INVESTIGATOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact Karla M.
Prince-Cheng, 1 (408)466-6866, princech@usc.edu, City of East Palo Alto Municipal Office,
2415 University Avenue, 2
nd
Floor, East Palo Alto, Ca. 94539 or Dr. Jenifer Crawford +1 (213)
740-3471, jenifeac@usc.edu, University of Southern California, Off Campus, ATT 21st Floor,
T2100, Los Angeles, California 90089.
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT – IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant or the
research in general and are unable to contact the research team, or if you want to talk to
someone independent of the research team, please contact the University Park Institutional
Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213)
821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu
SIGNATURE OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT
I have read the information provided above. I have been given a chance to ask questions. My
questions have been answered to my satisfaction, and I agree to participate in this study. I have
been given a copy of this form.
Name of Person Granting Consent (Please Print) Date
Signature of Person Granting Consent Date
SIGNATURE OF INVESTIGATOR
I have explained the research to the participant and answered all his/her questions. I believe that
he/she understands the information described in this document and freely consent to participate.
Name of Person Obtaining Consent (Please Print) Date
Signature of Person Obtaining Consent Date
FUNDING PRE-K ACCESS 166
APPENDIX G: RECRUITMENT LETTER
Dear ,
I am contacting you because I would like to invite you to participate in a study that I am
conducting at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education. The purpose
of my study is to ascertain what barriers there are to local governments funding pre-K access in
their community. You were selected because you fulfill the three study participant criteria
which include: 1. You have to have been in your position for three years or more; 2. You have
to be in a position to make laws and effect change with those laws; 3. You are a representative
sample of the community in which your serve. These criteria were selected because the thoughts
and opinions from people like yourself contain valuable information that can help to ascertain
local government thoughts on funding pre-K access. The study will require that you participate
in a 45 minute to one-hour interview in person. Your identity will be kept confidential and your
participation is voluntary, meaning that you can quit at any time. I sincerely hope that you will
consider contributing to this study. If you would like more details or want to participate, please
contact me by email at princech@usc.edu or 1(408)466.6866.
Warm Regards,
Karla M. Prince-Cheng
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Perceptions and knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of the City of Evergreen and its council members were examined regarding pre-K access, pre-K funding, and closing the school readiness gap. Interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. Member checking was used to assess the validity of the data. Results were analyzed using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis. Findings show that participants were generally aware of pre-K access, pre-K funding, and the school readiness gap. Most participants were open to offering suggestions on how the organization could potentially fund pre-K access. Furthermore, even though the city and its council members do not currently fund pre-K access, they were not averse to beginning a dialogue to move the pre-K access issue forward.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Prince-Cheng, Karla Marie
(author)
Core Title
Closing the school readiness gap: local governments and funding for pre-K access for minoritized children
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)
Publication Date
08/01/2018
Defense Date
03/22/2018
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
funding,local governments,minoritized children,OAI-PMH Harvest,pre-K access,school readiness gap
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Crawford, Jenifer (
committee chair
), Chen, Li-Ling (
committee member
), Maddox, Anthony B. (
committee member
)
Creator Email
princech@usc.edu,princeysjsu@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-47436
Unique identifier
UC11670853
Identifier
etd-PrinceChen-6598.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-47436 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-PrinceChen-6598.pdf
Dmrecord
47436
Document Type
Dissertation
Format
application/pdf (imt)
Rights
Prince-Cheng, Karla Marie
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
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Repository Name
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Repository Location
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Tags
funding
local governments
minoritized children
pre-K access
school readiness gap