The link between hours of center-based childcare and child development in 3- to 6-year-olds: Evidence from Singapore

Abstract

This study examined how the number of hours of early childhood education (ECE) is associated with young children's behavior problems and early academic achievement in Singapore, a non-WEIRD (“Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic”) country with families using long ECE hours. We drew data from the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study. Participants were 3- to 6-year-old children (N = 2,452). General linear models and spline regressions were utilized to analyze how ECE hours were associated with children's behavior problems and early academic achievement while controlling for child and family characteristics. On average, Singaporean children stayed 41.07 hours per week in ECE centers, with 38 % of the sampled children spending more than 50 hours per week in ECE centers. Notably, we found an inverted-U-shaped relation between ECE hours and child outcomes with a turning point of approximately 35–40 hours per week. Before the turning point, a greater number of hours in ECE was associated with more externalizing problems and higher academic achievement. However, after this point, a greater number of hours was associated with fewer behavior problems, both externalizing and internalizing, as well as poorer academic achievement. These findings demonstrate a complex nonlinear association between ECE hours and child outcomes in a context of children spending prolonged hours in centers.