View
219
Download
3
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Communicating the Early Childhood Message
National Governors Association
Washington, D.C.
September 10, 2001
Market Strategies, Inc.
Start Early: Learning Begins at Birth Campaign
• Parent and professional education
• Policy advocacy
• Public awareness
Voices’ Process
• Select consultants
• Conduct research
• Develop message
• Implement campaign
The Illinois Research Strategy
• Focus groups with policy-attentive voters.
• Integrated research plan in early 2000. Bipartisan team.
• Statewide benchmark poll in Feb. 2000.
• Advertising developed.
• Follow-up poll in May 2001, measuring opinion change and advertising exposure.
Impact of the Early Years• The first three years of life are seen as having an enormous impact
on success in school, career and living a crime-free life. There is very little, if any, dispute about this in focus groups or surveys.
• People think as many as half of all children fall seriously short of their potential because they missed out on quality learning experiences in their first three years.
A narrow majority believes birth to 3 is the most important age for developing a child’s
capacity to learn
<1 yr7%
Age 1-344%
Age 4-527%
Equal/No Op.6%
Age 6-1013%
Age 11-143%
Perceptions of Child Care
• Widespread perception that “kindergarten teachers can tell the difference” between kids with a mother at home and those who have been “warehoused” in day care.
• Typical child care seen as babysitting rather than true education.
• Using language such as “early education” helps.
The Values War• Resentment at perceived materialism of modern dual-
income families can be strong, especially among the older generation. “Dumping kids in day care” is an affront to their values and what they considered the role of parenthood.
• Important to avoid cues which trigger this kind of resentment. Keep focus on “those who truly need it.”
Although two-thirds think kids are better off at home with a parent full time, a narrow majority (51%) also believe two incomes are now a necessity.
Role of Government
Little consensus on how government should or could improve early care and education.
Sense that government can and should be doing more to improve the experiences of children in the first three years of life.
But …
Government Action
• Support is strongest for providing new parents with education and helping high school kids not become parents.
• Substantial support for improving child care facilities: raising standards of workers, making child care more educational and increasing salaries.
Government Inaction
• Some suspicion about putting birth-to-3-year-olds in the public education system.
• Full-day kindergarten is not seen as a high priority - or even necessarily desirable.
• Universal programs must be voluntary, and it is important to emphasize this.
Illinois Voters’ Issue Agenda
Increasing K-12 funding
27%
Early Childhood
11%
Cutting state taxes12%
No opinion1%
Fighting juvenile crime
18%
Cleaning up corruption
19%Helping at-
risk children12%
A plurality thinks public funds are best used to improve learning experiences in
elementary school
Age 4-517%
Age 0-315%
Equal/No Opinion
8%
Elementary School
46%
Middle School
8%
High School6%
Framing the Issue
• Frame the issue as “helping at-risk children” or “preventing juvenile crime.”
• Stress that early childhood programs complement, rather than supplant, traditional K-12 education.
• Present early childhood programs as a means of improving K-12 educational experiences.
Resonance of Pro and Con Arguments
7
22
20
22
11
10
7
15
22
27
29
30
32
31
29
17
18
29
50
50
51
52
53
9
37
44
7
7
7
19
7
9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Will make mandatory
Give-away to irresponsible parents
Just keep kids safe
Teachers say kids missing out
Public schools already hurting
New brain research
Extention of primary school
Truly an investment
Percent
Str Disagree Smwt Disagree Neut Smwt Agree Str Agree
Arguments as Drivers of Change
Support for State Doing
More
Help kids prepare for school, make society better off.
Should just make sure kids are safe.
New brain research
Give-away to irresponsible parents
-.13
.11
-.10
Early Support (control)
.10
Beta coefficients are a measure of the relative strength of each driver. All are significant at p<.05 level.
Impact of Endorsements
20
19
17
17
10
9
30
35
34
36
39
36
31
14
16
17
24
27
37
514
11
18
6
9
9
10
6
19
19
22
15
15
13
8
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Governor
Business leaders
Attorney General
Law enforcement
Superintendent of Public Instr.
Pediatricians
Elementary school teachers
Percent
Much Less Smwt Less Neut Smwt More Much More
Message Development and Delivery
• Challenge: Convince the public of the connection between the importance of a child’s early years and the need for quality education during those years.
• Voices hires Zimmerman and Markman
Statewide Ad Campaign
TV ads: Aired in 2000 and 2001 on network TV in Chicago and cable in five other markets Viewed by more than 6 million households
Radio ads: Two ads aired February-May 2001
Billboards: Eight around state capital
Statewide Ad Campaign
Print ads: Featured local spokespeople: police chiefs, pediatricians, teachers, business leaders
The Impact on Public Opinion
Reported Exposure to Advertising
16
36
16
32
8
7
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Radio ads - baby
Radio ads - teacher
Newspaper ads
Billboards
Teacher TV ad
Babies TV ad
What age is most important for developing a child’s capacity to learn?
13
27
44
7
5
14
56
15
3
5
1
6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
All equal
Eleven to fourteen
Six to ten
Four and five
One to three
Birth to one
Percent
2001
2000
Increased Support for State Action
44
17
79
23
35
17
8
15
25
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
2001 2000
Should do more, strongly Should do more, somewhat
Neutral Stay out, somewhat
Stay out, strongly
If we want to improve the learning experiences of children, what age is most important for investing public funds?
8
46
17
15
7
35
20
25
6
5
3
9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
All equal
High school
Middle school
Elementary school
Four and five
Birth to three
Percent
20012000
Making Progress in Illinois
Governor creates Task Force on Universal Access to Preschool
• Focus: Providing voluntary access for 3- to 5-year-olds
• Blueprint for implementation due January 2002
Market Strategies, Inc.Political Research and Consulting
Recommended