Family utilization of early childhood education and care services in Beijing: family characteristics, employment effects,and parent satisfaction

Abstract

Recent years have seen a marked increase in interest in early childhood education and care (ECEC) because of an enhanced recognition of the role of early intervention in the life cycle skill formation and the growth of knowledge based economies. However, formulation of Chinese ECEC policy has been hampered by a paucity of high quality empirical studies of ECEC provision and utilization. Aware of the significant role of empirical studiesin identifying the problemsand developing solutions for addressing ECEC policy and practice, this thesis examines family utilization of ECEC services in Beijing. More specifically, the study clarifieswho utilizes ECEC services in Beijing, how utilization relates to parents’ employment and whether parents are satisfied with the services received. Atotal of 416 questionnaires were gathered and 44 parents were interviewed in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the consumption of ECEC services by relating service utilization to family characteristics, parent employment and satisfaction. Findings indicate that four factors (child age, migrant status, Guanxi, and family income) emerged to influence family utilization of ECEC services at a significant level.Families with children under three, migrant families, low-income families, and families without Guanxi were identified as being disadvantaged in relation to ECEC. Parent employment is found to have divergent impacts on ECEC utilization depending on work conditions (e.g. wage and working hours) and/or service arrangement (e.g. location and fees). The empirical investigation revealed that ECEC utilization can make it possible for parents to work both by providing them with labour time that they can sell in the market place and by enabling them to gain the income they need to pay for ECEC services.It is also shown parents are overwhelmingly satisfied with the services utilized by parents and that quality factors (e.g. class size, teacher qualification, facilities, etc.) rather than practical factors (e.g. price, timetable, location, etc.) are the primary determinant of parents’ satisfaction. It is hoped that the findings derived from this investigation will inform China’s effort to expand ECEC utilization nationwide in five aspects in relation to funding models, service distribution, quality regulations, information system, and data analysis.