Closing the gap in academic readiness and achievement: the role of early childcare
Closing the gap in academic readiness and achievement: the role of early childcare
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02316.x
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发表时间：
2010-12-01
影响因子：
7.6
通讯作者：
Seguin, Jean R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Geoffroy, Marie-Claude;Cote, Sylvana M.;Seguin, Jean R.
背景：在入学时有学习困难的社会弱势儿童的健康状况和心理社会结果不佳的风险增加。我们的目标是测试的可能性，参与儿童保育-在人口水平-可以减少差距的学术准备和成就之间的儿童和没有社会弱势（指数由低水平的孕产妇教育）。方法：一个队列的婴儿出生在加拿大的魁北克省在1997/1998年通过出生登记处，并每年随访，直到7岁（n = 1,863）。接受正规托儿服务的儿童（即，基于中心或非亲属的家庭外）与接受非正式儿童保育的儿童（即，亲戚或保姆）。来自4个标准化测试的测量，评估认知学校准备（学校准备棒棒糖测试），接受性词汇（皮博迪图片词汇测试修订版），数学（数字知识测试）和阅读表现（儿童考夫曼评估组合）在6岁和7岁时进行。母亲受教育程度低的儿童在6岁和7岁时的学业准备和成绩测试中的得分低于母亲受教育程度高的儿童，除非他们接受正规的托儿服务。具体而言，在低教育水平的母亲的孩子，那些谁收到正规的保育获得更高的入学准备（d = 0.87），接受词汇（d = 0.36），阅读（d = 0.48）和数学成绩（d = 0.38;虽然不显着，在5%）相比，那些谁照顾他们的父母。儿童保育的参与是没有相关的认知成果的母亲与更高水平的Education.Conclusions：在早期儿童保育的公共投资正在增加，在许多国家的意图，以减少认知不平等之间的弱势和弱势儿童。我们的研究结果提供了进一步的证据表明，正式的儿童保育可能是一种预防手段，削弱不利影响的儿童的早期学业轨迹。
Background:Socially disadvantaged children with academic difficulties at school entry are at increased risk for poor health and psychosocial outcomes. Our objective is to test the possibility that participation in childcare - at the population level - could attenuate the gap in academic readiness and achievement between children with and without a social disadvantage (indexed by low levels of maternal education).Methods:A cohort of infants born in the Canadian province of Quebec in 1997/1998 was selected through birth registries and followed annually until 7 years of age (n = 1,863). Children receiving formal childcare (i.e., center-based or non-relative out-of-home) were distinguished from those receiving informal childcare (i.e., relative or nanny). Measures from 4 standardized tests that assessed cognitive school readiness (Lollipop Test for School Readiness), receptive vocabulary (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Revised), mathematics (Number Knowledge Test), and reading performance (Kaufman Assessment Battery for children) were administered at 6 and 7 years.Results:Children of mothers with low levels of education showed a consistent pattern of lower scores on academic readiness and achievement tests at 6 and 7 years than those of highly educated mothers, unless they received formal childcare. Specifically, among children of mothers with low levels of education, those who received formal childcare obtained higher school readiness (d = 0.87), receptive vocabulary (d = 0.36), reading(d = 0.48) and math achievement scores (d = 0.38; although not significant at 5%) in comparison with those who were cared for by their parents. Childcare participation was not associated with cognitive outcomes among children of mothers with higher levels of education.Conclusions:Public investments in early childcare are increasing in many countries with the intention of reducing cognitive inequalities between disadvantaged and advantaged children. Our findings provide further evidence suggesting that formal childcare could represent a preventative means of attenuating effects of disadvantage on children's early academic trajectory.