Reimagining early childhood education and school readiness through the perspectives of historically marginalized families living in a rural community

Given opportunities for early childhood education (ECE) expansion in the US, we seek to explore and elevate the perspectives of historically marginalized families, from an understudied rural community, to inform future local and state action involving public pre-kindergarten (pre-K) and kindergarten (K) provision. In partnership with a state Department of Education (DOE) and local district, we conducted two culturally responsive focus groups to investigate how such caregivers conceptualize ECE and school readiness, identify barriers with the current system, and pinpoint potential solutions to improve public pre-K and K. Participants included eight female caregivers, three of whom identified as Black, two as Hispanic, and three as White. All families met the DOE's eligibility requirements to attend public preschool. Through two 90-minute focus groups, we found families conceptualized ECE as a time for humanizing and hands-on classroom practices. They questioned the concept of school readiness, instead advocating for ways that schools can be ready for their children. Furthermore, families identified accountability culture (testing, standardization of curricula, narrow focus on core academic content, etc.), as a problem, particularly upon kindergarten entry. Solutions to improve pre-K and K included representative curricula, more equitable funding, and opportunities for collaboration across education interest-holders (e.g., teachers, families, administration, etc.) at school, district, and state levels.