Abstract
The number of preschool places outside the family for young children has considerably increased in recent years in Germany. The study investigates how attendance of a preschool affects children's development taking sociodemographic factors into account. We used data from the school-entry examinations in Schleswig-Holstein collected in 2014-2015 including 21,272 children aged 5-6 years. We investigated endpoints relevant for school entry, sociodemographic data as well as the number of years of preschool attendance. Low parental educational level, migration biography of both parents, large number of siblings and growing up with a single parent were associated with poorer outcomes (p<0.01). Logistic regressions showed (Odds-ratios [95%-confidence interval]): Attendance improved motor (0.84 [0.79-0.9]), cognitive (0.7 [0.66-0.73]) and speech and language development (0.91 [0.86-0.96]), competence in German (0.42 [0.35-0.5]) and reduced the need for special education (0.58 [0.54-0.64]) when sociodemographic factors had been taken into account. We did not find an association with the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Psychomotor development in 5-6-year-old children is positively influenced by preschool care attendance. Children growing up in vulnerable families benefit the most. Therefore, intervention programs in kindergarten should be expanded.
Published Version
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