Children In Center-based Care Research Articles

Preschool Behavioural and Emotional Outcomes Associated with Participation in Early Childhood Education and Care

ABSTRACT Early childhood education and care (ECE) type (e.g., center-based care, home-based care, informal care) and quantity (i.e., time spent in ECE) have been linked to observed behavioral challenges in children. However, there is a dearth of research on this association in New Zealand. Using data from 6,536 children from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal birth cohort, the current study investigated whether the type of ECE and weekly hours of attendance at 24 months of age was associated with behavioral outcomes at 54 months. Behavioral outcomes were measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Research Findings: Compared to children who did not attend ECE, adjusted analyses showed that children in center-based care and children who spent 20 to <30 hours a week in ECE had a lower odds of mother-rated peer challenges at 54 months. Spending 20 to <30 hours a week in ECE was also protective against the development of later mother-rated emotional challenges. Practice or Policy: Future research should investigate whether structural and process quality contributes to the beneficial impact of ECE in New Zealand, particularly center-based care.

Maternal and non-maternal care in infancy and later child cognitive, language and motor development in Chile: Does type of care matter?

Growing numbers of children across the world start non-maternal care in the first year of life. However, few studies have described how different infant care experiences may relate to later child cognitive, language and motor functioning, and most analyses have focused on samples from historically industrialized regions. Cognitive, language and motor subscores (TEPSI) and receptive vocabulary scores (TVIP) obtained through direct testing of 24-to-48-month-old children (n = 7564) from the Chilean Longitudinal Survey of Early Childhood were compared based on retrospective reports of care received as infants. Children who, as infants, had received one of four types of non-maternal care — center-based, grandparent, other relative, and non-relative care — were compared to those who had exclusively experienced maternal care (71.8%). Series of regressions with propensity score models (PSM) were performed. Compared to maternal care, children in center-based care and grandparent care had higher total TEPSI scores (d = .19, p < 0.05) (d = .19, p < 0.01) and TEPSI language subscores (d = .20, p < 0.05) (d = .20, p < 0.01), while those in grandparent care also had higher TEPSI motor subscores (d = .08, p < 0.05). In contrast, children in non-relative care had lower TVIP receptive vocabulary scores (d = −.38, p < 0.01). These findings contribute to the debate on national policies supporting specific types of non-maternal care and their impact on child development.

Center-Based Care in Toddlerhood and Child Cognitive Outcomes in Chile: The Moderating Role of Family Socio-Economic Status

ABSTRACTThere is little evidence regarding the benefits of early center-based care attendance (before three years old) for child development and most studies have focused on developed countries. Addressing this gap, this study examines the relationship between center-based care attendance during toddler years and children’s cognitive outcomes. Research Findings: Data used for this study came from the first and second wave of the Longitudinal Survey of Early Childhood (ELPI, 2010 and 2012). The nationally representative sample was 1,544 children aged 12 to 24 months in 2010, who received full-time home care during this period. Propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences techniques were used in the study. Compared to those in full-time home care, children who attended center-based care from the age of 24 months had higher cognitive scores in the endline (they were measured at some point between 36 and 48 months old). Children in center-based care scored higher on cognitive skills compared to children who were in full-time home care, according to the Child Development and Cognitive Evaluation Test (Test de Aprendizaje y Desarrollo Infantil, TADI) and the Battelle test (d = .21 p < .01 and d = .22 p < .01, respectively). However, we observed that children in low-income households benefited less from early center-based care attendance. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that Chilean national policies supporting increased center-based care coverage in early years are a step in the right direction, but more work focused on helping disadvantaged children is needed.

Early Childhood Leadership: A Photovoice Exploration

The first five years of a child’s life represent critical windows in physiological, social-emotional, and cognitive development. Administrators of early childhood (EC) programs play a pivotal role in determining the quality of experiences that unfold for young children in center-based care. Using photovoice, semi-structured administrator interviews, and participant-observation, we aimed to identify the factors contributing to one center’s atypically excellent outcomes with diverse children and families. Our textual and photographic analyses revealed three findings. First, administrators saw themselves as embedded within a larger system of barriers characterized by low positionality within an educational caste system that is marked by pervasive resource scarcity. Second, with external supports marginal at best, they leveraged multiple internal supports and resources, including agency, interdependence, and advocacy. Third, administrators operationalized literacy leadership by building and sustaining a climate of professional support for teachers within a “25 Books a Day” guiding philosophy.

Effects of Early Education and Care prior to Kindergarten on Child Academic performance and Social Emotional Skills in Primary Grades

This study used a nationally-representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of a Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K: 2011) to examine the relationship between participation in early education and care in the year before children enter kindergarten and the children’s cognitive and social emotional skills from the end of kindergarten to the end of first grade. Early education and care includes home-based care, center-based care and parental care. For the cognitive domain on science scores, results revealed that children in center-based care or in home-based care by a relative or nonrelative, scored higher than children in parental care at the end of kindergarten. They displayed lower levels of behavioral problems. Yet, the pattern did not sustain by the end of first grade. When using the propensity score matching, differences between children in center-based care and their counterparts in home based care or parental care emerged at the end of kindergarten to first grade. In addition, children who attended center-based care displayed behavioral problems at the end of kindergarten, but the patterns were not evident by the end of first grade. Gender differences and disparities in family income were found in the effects of early education and care on children’s cognitive and social emotional measures. Future research and limitations were discussed.

Do increased availability and reduced cost of early childhood care and education narrow social inequality gaps in utilization? Evidence from Norway

Prior theoretical models and empirical research suggest that specific parent, child, and family factors are related to the utilization of early childhood education and care (ECEC). The political context of Norway provides a unique opportunity to test whether increased availability and affordability of care over time due to policy change reduces the gap between high- and low-socioeconomic status (SES) families in utilizing center-based care compared to other care arrangements. Progressive Norwegian child care policies were also expected to reduce the effect of child and family characteristics that might make a family less likely to enroll their child in center-based care. Using a large sample from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa, n?=?60,270), this research examined selection factors predicting enrollment in center-based ECEC at age 18 months across cohorts from 2002 to 2006. While families with higher parental education and income-to-needs ratios were more likely to enroll their children in center-based care, the progressive universal child care policy did succeed in reducing the utilization gap between the most and least educated families across time. The policy appeared to be protective against the effect of most other factors predictive of ECEC use, but the high number of children was still associated with underutilization.

The association between early care arrangements, quality, and emergent bilingual Latino American children's math and literacy skills in English

Drawing on a sample of Latino American children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth cohort (ECLS-B), this paper uses propensity score matching to examine the relation between care arrangements the year before kindergarten and math and literacy outcomes, in English, at kindergarten entry. Care arrangements included: Head Start (federally-funded center-based care for young children from low-income families), pre-kindergarten (state-funded center-based care), other-center care, parental care, and other-home care (care provided in a home, by relatives other than a parent or non-relatives). For literacy, results revealed that (1) Latino children in center-based care (Head Start, pre-kindergarten, and other-center) scored higher than Latino children in other-home care and (2) Latino children in Head Start (but not pre-kindergarten or other-center) scored higher than Latino children in parental care. For math, Latino children in other-center care outperformed Latino children in other-home care and Head Start. No significant differences emerged among Head Start, pre-kindergarten, or other-center for math or literacy outcomes. Follow-up analyses indicate that quality of care helps to explain the significant differences. Policy implications are discussed.

Race/ethnicity and the start of child care: A multi-level analysis of factors influencing first child care experiences

Abstract Early childhood education and care experiences play an important role in children's development and school readiness with, in general, sustained exposure to high quality, center-based care leading to positive outcomes. Hispanic parents have been shown to be less likely than others to place their children in center-based care, particularly when children are very young—a pattern that contrasts African American parents’ tendency for earlier use of center-based care. This paper examines child care choice from a contextual perspective. Using a multi-level modeling approach, we consider ethnicity and race, at the individual and neighborhood levels, in relation to the age at which children first participate in non-parental care and the type of care they first experience. Using data from the ECLS-K, the 1990 Census and other contextual sources, we demonstrate that Hispanic parents’ later use of care is explainable by economic and work participation factors at the family level, while neighborhood proportion of Hispanic individuals is associated with delayed entry into child care. In contrast, the observed early use of care among African American families persists after accounting for economic and work factors, and appears independent of differences in neighborhood context. Limitations and implications for policy and practice are discussed.

The effects of maternal employment on child injuries and infectious disease

This article presents estimates of effects of maternal paid work and nonmaternal child care on injuries and infectious disease for children aged 12 to 36 months. Mother-child fixed-effects estimates are obtained by using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Estimates indicate that maternal employment itself has no statistically significant adverse effects on the incidence of infectious disease and injury. However greater time spent by children in center-based care is associated with increased rates of respiratory problems for children aged 12 to 36 months and increased rates of ear infections for children aged 12 to 24 months.

Child Care Use and Parental Desire to Switch Care Type Among a Low-Income Population

This study investigates the use of and satisfaction with child care among low-income families, who are those likely to be affected by recent changes in public policy that emphasize increased work effort. Data from the Survey of Wisconsin Works Families portray differences in the use of center-based care depending on whether or not the family received a child care subsidy. A multivariate analysis of a measure of parental satisfaction, whether a parent would switch child care sources if all care were available at no charge, suggests that parents tend to be more satisfied with center-based care than with alternative forms of care. The analysis also suggests that mothers who received a child care subsidy were significantly more likely to have their children in center-based care.