HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An overwhelming majority of voters across all regions ofPennsylvania support continued government investment in quality early childhood education (ECE), according to a new poll released on February 17, 2010 by the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC), the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) and the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC).
More than four in five voters across the Commonwealth (81%) support providing early childhood education to all children inPennsylvania, with a near three-to-one margin of voters who believe ECE should be state-funded (71% in favor).
Support for the programs also crosses ideological lines. Approximately seven in ten conservatives (70%) favor quality early childhood programs, while nine in ten self-described liberals (92%) and moderates (88%) also express support.
Support of quality early childhood education programs is consistent across the state:
- In the T, the rural swath of the state outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, voters indicate strong support for quality early childhood education, with 88 percent in the Scranton- Wilkes Barre media market, 81 percent inJohnstown-Altoona, and 69 percent in Harrisburg-Lancaster-York favoring the programs;
- In Western Pennsylvania, three in four voters (75%) in the Pittsburgh media market favor early childhood education; and
- In Southeastern Pennsylvania, over four in five voters (81%) favor early childhood education, including an