Sociodemographic Differences in Kindergarten Children’s Summer Enrichment: Trends Over Time Using National Data

During summer, children’s activities are dependent on their families’ and communities’ resources, raising concerns about inequalities in access to summer enrichment experiences. In this research brief , we use nationally representative data from the 1999 and 2011 ECLS-K cohorts to examine trends in kindergarten children’s summer enrichment activities over time by socioeconomic status and race. Although we find that persistent inequalities characterize many of these experiences, there were some promising trends, including small shifts upward in summer home academic activities. We discuss implications and future research directions.