Preschool attendance, schooling, and cognitive skills in East Africa

Bietenbeck, Jan; Ericsson, Sanna; Wamalwa, Fredrick

doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.101909

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…In terms of heterogeneous effects, we find that the benefits of ECE are more pronounced among the Han pupils from higher SES families. Our findings that the little difference between ECE benefits of girls and boys are not consistent with those of Blanden et al [ 50 ] and Bietenbeck et al [ 10 ]. Also, our findings that pupils from higher SES families benefit more differ from some previous studies [ 5 , 10 , 28 , 50 , 51 ].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 94%

Preschool or/and kindergarten? The long-term benefits of different types of early childhood education on pupils’ skills

Tang,

Luo,

Shi

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Background Developing countries have witnessed great progress in early childhood education (ECE) enrollment rate over the past three decades. Preschool and kindergarten are the two most common types of ECE in developing countries. Questions remain as to which of the two types of ECE is more effective in promoting child development in developing countries, including both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The objective of this paper is to examine the long-term benefits of attending preschool or/and kindergarten on pupils’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills in rural China. Methodology We pooled data from two large-scale surveys conducted by the authors themselves at 136 rural primary schools in 20 counties from three provinces in northwestern China in 2009. The final study sample consisted of 9,839 pupils who both reported their ECE experience and completed cognitive and non-cognitive tests. We measured pupils’ cognitive skills by standardized math test scores and grade retention, and their non-cognitive skills by both self-reported self-efficacy, mental health, and teacher-reported behaviors. Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) was used to balance the pre-treatment variables between the treatment (Any ECE, Preschool Only, Kindergarten Only, or Preschool+Kindergarten) and comparison (No ECE) groups. Results Results from IPW show that compared with their peers without any ECE experience, pupils with any ECE experience perform better in cognitive skills (0.118 standard deviations (s.d.) increase in the TIMSS, 7.1 percentage point (pp) decrease in the probability of grade retention) but not in non-cognitive skills. By ECE types, attending kindergarten only is associated with a 0.150 s.d. increase in the TIMSS, a 7.0 pp decrease in the probability of grade retention, and a 0.059 s.d. decrease in the index of behavioral problems of pupils. Moreover, attending both preschool and kindergarten predicts a lower probability of grade retention, but attending preschool only has few benefits. Heterogenous analyses suggest that the long-term benefits of ECE are more prominent among the Han pupils from households with higher socio-economic status. Conclusions Our findings imply that increasing access to ECE can be an effective instrument to improve pupils’ skills in less-developed rural areas of China, especially their cognitive skills. Among different types of ECE, attending kindergarten contributes more to pupils’ skill development in rural China than other types. We call for strengthened efforts to ensure equal access to quality ECE for preschool-aged children in rural China.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 94%

Preschool or/and kindergarten? The long-term benefits of different types of early childhood education on pupils’ skills

Tang,

Luo,

Shi

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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“…Bietenbeck et al . (2017): TOT effect of attending preschool on a composite standardized literacy and numeracy test at age 13–16.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Universal Preschool Programs and Long‐term Child Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Dietrichson

Kristiansen

Viinholt

2020

Journal of Economic Surveys

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What are the long-term effects of universal preschool programs on child outcomes? We review 26 studies using natural experiments to estimate the effects of universal preschool programs for children aged 0-6 years on child outcomes measured from third grade to adulthood. Studies comparing universal preschool with a mix of parental, family, and private modes of care show mixed effects on test scores and on measures related to health, well-being, and behavior. All estimates for outcomes related to adequate primary and secondary school progression, years of schooling, highest degree completed, employment, and earnings indicate beneficial average effects of universal preschool programs. Three of the included studies calculate benefits-to-costs ratios and find ratios clearly above one. Universal preschool tends to be more beneficial for children with low socioeconomic status and there are not consistently different effects for boys or girls. Only three studies compare two alternative types of universal preschool programs in terms of long-term outcomes.

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“…This is partly because the regression model did not control for child school‐type or pre‐school attendance, due to high levels of missingness among these variables in the Uwezo data. This omission could be important, as both school‐type and pre‐school attendance have been found to be related to learning outcomes in prior Uwezo analysis (Alcott & Rose, 2016; Bietenbeck, Ericsson, & Wamalwa, 2017). Additionally, the inability to follow children between different time points due to their anonymisation in Uwezo data meant that longitudinal analysis was not possible.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between educational television and mathematics capability in Tanzania

Watson¹,

Hennessy²,

Vignoles³

2020

Brit J Educational Tech

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Previous studies have often demonstrated that educational television can have a positive effect on learning outcomes in low‐income countries when delivered in controlled settings. However, existing research in low‐resource contexts has scarcely considered the association between child outcomes and viewing in usual environments (ie, at their home, a friend’s home or a relative’s home). This lack of research is striking, as evidence from controlled settings might provide limited information on the effects of normal television exposure. This paper, therefore, investigates the relationship between normal exposure to a popular Tanzania‐produced cartoon, Ubongo Kids and mathematics capability, as represented by plausible values derived from an item response theory model applied to children’s test responses. Cross‐sectional investigation of a sample of 38 682 Tanzanian children suggested normal educational television exposure to be significantly associated with mathematics capability, when controlling for age, sex, school enrolment, Kiswahili attainment and household fixed effects. While cross‐sectional results are not necessarily causal, the findings in this paper broadly correspond with those from previous designs using repeated observations. What is more, considering association results alongside cost and viewership estimates suggests television‐based interventions to be highly cost effective. What is already known about this topic National data for Tanzania suggests the country to have both low levels of mathematics proficiency and considerable access to television technology. Educational television‐based interventions might, therefore, be worthy of consideration by educational policymakers, especially given that studies conducted in controlled settings indicate that television can deliver learning benefits. There is, however, little evidence concerning educational television exposure outside of controlled settings. Only one such study in a low‐income context that concerned the association between learning outcomes and viewing among primary‐age children has been identified. What this paper adds This paper addresses this dearth of research by investigating the association between normal exposure to a Tanzanian cartoon, Ubongo Kids and mathematics capability, as derived from an item response theory model applied to the test responses of 38 682 children. Cross‐sectional findings suggest the association between normal television exposure and mathematics capability to be significant. Further, a cost‐effectiveness comparison with alternate interventions in comparable contexts indicates that educational television is highly cost‐effective. Implications for practice and/or policy The findings presented in this paper concerning educational television viewership in usual environments act to triangulate those from prior research conducted in controlled settings. As such, policymakers in low‐income contexts now possess more convincing evidence on the potential influence of educational television interventions. Addi...

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Preschool attendance, schooling, and cognitive skills in East Africa

Cited by 22 publications

References 26 publications

Preschool or/and kindergarten? The long-term benefits of different types of early childhood education on pupils’ skills

Preschool or/and kindergarten? The long-term benefits of different types of early childhood education on pupils’ skills

Universal Preschool Programs and Long‐term Child Outcomes: A Systematic Review

The relationship between educational television and mathematics capability in Tanzania

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