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