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Preschool and maternal labour market outcomes: evidence from a regression discontinuity design

Expanding preschool education has the dual goals of improving child outcomes and work incentives for mothers. This paper provides evidence on the second, identifying the impact of preschool attendance on maternal labor market outcomes in Argentina. A major challenge in identifying the causal effect of preschool attendance on parental outcomes is non-random selection into early education. We address this by relying on plausibly exogenous variation in preschool attendance that is induced when children are born on either side of Argentina's enrollment cutoff date of July 1. Because of enrollment cutoff dates, 4 year-olds born just before July 1 are 0.3 more likely to attend preschool. Our regression-discontinuity estimates compare maternal employment outcomes of 4 year-old children on either side of this cutoff, identifying effects among the subset of complying households (who are perhaps more likely to face constraints on their level 2 preschool attendance). Our findings suggest that, on average, 13 mothers start to work for every 100 youngest children in the household that start preschool (though, in our preferred specification, this estimate is not statistically significant at conventional levels). Furthermore, mothers are 19.1 percentage points more likely to work for more than 20 hours a week (i.e., more time than their children spend in school) and they work, on average, 7.8 more hours per week as consequence of their youngest offspring attending preschool. We find no effect on maternal labor outcomes when a child that is not the youngest in the household attends preschool. Finally, we find that at the point of transition from kindergarten to primary school some employment effects persist. Our preferred estimates condition on mother's schooling and other exogenous covariates, given evidence that mothers' schooling is unbalanced in the vicinity of the July 1 cutoff in the sample of 4 year-olds. Using a large set of natality records, we found no evidence that this is due to precise birth date manipulation by parents. Other explanations, like sample selection, are also not fully consistent with the data, and we must remain agnostic on this point. Despite this shortcoming, the credibility of the estimates is partly enhanced by the consistency of point estimates with Argentine research using a different EPH sample and sources of variation in preschool attendance (Berlinski and Galiani 2007). A growing body of research suggests that pre-primary school can improve educational outcomes for children in the short and long run (Blau and Currie 2006; Schady 2006). This paper provides further evidence that, ceteris paribus, an expansion in preschool education may enhance the employment prospects of mothers of children in preschool age

Strategies for exchanging information in preschool

We have interviewed four parents and a teacher at a Swedish preschool to investigate the practices for spreading information in preschool. Our findings suggest that frequent presence in the premises of the preschool is important to get information, and that parents rely heavily on routines to make it work. When either of these points fail, breakdowns occur. Discrepancies in parents’ and teachers’ IT use also complicates the information exchange

When the Court Divides: Reconsidering the Precedential Value of Supreme Court Plurality Decisions

Abstract Many opinions are divided on what religious freedom should protect and the area is unexploredin preschool. Is it the parents, the child or preschool teacher right? The aim of the studywas to investigate Maria klasson Sundin´s concept and theoretical models of religious freedomfor children through three Swedish preschool settings and also how three teachers interpretsand expresses children's freedom of religion. Through a qualitative interview study theaim was to investigate how the concepts of religion, autonomy and freedom is interpreted andexpressed by the teachers so a picture through this three concepts can categorise the teachersin a model; freedom of thought, tradition and life interpretation model so a broader picturecan be made to understand how the children's freedom of religion is expressed in the preschoolsetting and how the teachers work. The Result showed through the analysis that themodels fail to categorise the teachers in any theoretical model but on the other hand the understandingof preschool teacher’s expression and interpretation of the concept of religion,autonomy and freedom showed both diversity and lack of knowledge on the subject mattersreligious freedom which fall within the child rights issues. Furthermore the analysis showsthat children in preschool lack religious freedom, it can be interpreted rather in terms of afreedom of parents and preschool teachers. Further research is needed in the area of children'srights and religious freedom for preschool children and their teachers in (e.g.) investigate differenceof public municipal and private preschools, religious, and non-religious

Sleep clinical record. what differences in school and preschool children?

The sleep clinical record (SCR) may be a valid method for detecting children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). This study aimed to evaluate whether there were differences in SCR depending on age and to identify the possible risk factors for OSA development. We enrolled children with sleep disordered breathing between 2013 and 2015, and divided them according to age into preschool- and school-age groups. All patients underwent SCR and polysomnography. OSA was detected in 81.1% and 83.6% of preschool- and school-age groups, respectively. Obesity, malocclusions, nasal septal deviation and inferior turbinate hypertrophy were significantly more prevalent in school-age children (p6.5 had a sensitivity of 74% in predicting OSA in preschool children with positive predictive value of 86% (p=0.0001). Our study confirms the validity of the SCR as a screening tool for patient candidates for a PSG study for suspected OSA, in both school and preschool children

Preschool attendance: a multilevel analysis of individual and community factors in 21 low and middle-income countries

This paper investigates how preschool attendance is shaped by individual and community factors for 71,806 children from 14,303 communities in 21 low-to middle-income countries using a multilevel analysis. We assess how these mechanisms vary by community and country wealth and the extent to which the variation of preschool uptake can be explained by the characteristics of children living in these communities. We find that of the total variation, 36% was attributable to communities and 12% to countries, with childrens demographic and socioeconomics characteristics explaining 23% of the between community variation. Community wealth and health are crucial determinants; in poor communities with high stunting rates, the chances of preschool attendance are at least halved. Our results suggest that the effect of community on preschool attendance is stronger in poorer countries with greater inequality between communities

Fulfilling the Promise of Preschool for All: Insights Into Issues Affecting Access for Selected Immigrant Groups in Chicago

Presents findings on access to quality early education among small immigrant groups. Outlines policy implications of programs used, knowledge of "Preschool for All," value of preschool education, transportation and enrollment barriers, and other factors

Early schooling and later outcomes : Evidence from pre-school extension in France

Over the 1960s and 1970s, France undertook a large-scale expansion of preschool enrollment. As a result, during this period, the enrollment rate of 3 years old children rose from 35% to 90% and that of 4 years old rose from 60% to virtually 100%. This paper evaluates the eect of such an expansion on subsequent schooling outcomes (repetitions, test scores, high school graduation) and wages. We find some sizeable and persistent effect of preschool and this points to the fact that preschool can be a tool for reducing inequalities. Indeed, the analysis shows that children from worse-off or intermediate social groups benefit more from preschool than children from better-off socioeconomic backgrounds.education; preschool; France

A prospective study on the persistence of infant crying, sleeping and feeding problems and preschool behaviour

Aim: To determine the persistence of regulatory problems (RP), i.e. excessive crying (>3 months of age), feeding and sleeping difficulties from infancy to preschool age, and to evaluate whether RP at 5 months are predictive of preschool adaptive behaviour and social skills. Method: A prospective population study of newborns admitted to neonatal care. RP at 5, 20 and 56 months of age were obtained via parent interviews and neurological examination and preschool adaptive behaviour and social skills by parent ratings. Logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted and controlled for psychosocial and neurological factors. Results: More than half of the sample had RP at least at one measurement point. In about 8% of infants, RP persisted across the preschool years. Multiple RP and feeding problems increased the odds of eating problems at 20 and 56 months. Persistent RP and feeding problems were predictive of deficits in preschool adaptive behaviour and social skills. In addition, sex differences were found. Conclusions: Multiple RP and feeding problems had the highest stability. Persistent RP were predictive of adverse social and adaptive behaviour. Understanding of the aetiology may help to prevent persistent RP

Infant self-regulation and body mass index in early childhood

BACKGROUND: Poor self-regulation during preschool and early school age years is associated with rapid weight gain. However, the association between self-regulatory capacities in infancy and weight status in early childhood has not been well studied. Objective: Examine prospective associations between infant self-regulation and body mass index (BMI) in early childhood. We hypothesized that infants exhibiting less optimal self-regulation would be at greater risk of obesity at 3–5 years of life. METHODS: We used data from 5750 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), excluding premature infants and infants small or large for gestational age. Our primary predictor was infant self-regulation measured at age 9 months by parent completion of the Infant Toddler Symptom Checklist (ITSC). We defined child obesity at preschool and kindergarten age (approximately 4 years and 5–6 years respectively) as a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 95th percentile for age and sex by US Centers for Disease Control growth charts. We created logistic regression models comparing risk of obesity at preschool and kindergarten age in infants with ITSC scores ≥ 6 to infants with scores < 6, controlling for covariates. RESULTS: Twenty-one percent of children with ITSC scores ≥ 6 at 9 months were obese at preschool age compared to 16% of children with lower ITSC scores. At kindergarten age this difference decreased to 18% vs. 16% respectively. After adjusting for covariates, infants with ITSC scores ≥ 6 had 32% increased odds of being obese at preschool age (aOR 1.32; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.70) though this association decreased at kindergarten age (aOR 1.07; 95% CI: 0.79, 1.45). CONCLUSIONS: Poor infant self-regulation at 9 months is associated with an increased risk of obesity at preschool entry but not at kindergarten entry. Helping parents manage and respond to children’s self-regulation difficulties prior to preschool age may serve as a focal point for future interventions.2016-12-01T00:00:00