Childcare Centers Attendance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Boosting Cognitive and Language Development

• In Event: Ongoing COVID Impacts in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

High-quality center-based education and care(ECEC) during the early years benefit cognitive development, especially in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the Covid-19 pandemic, access to ECEC was disrupted, and the return to in-person pre-primary instruction was slow and, in some countries, partial. Our sample consists on Chilean children (N = 809; Mage = 41.3 months). Using differences-in-differences (DiD) with measures before and during the pandemic, we found that children who attended center-based care for more than 20 hours a week present more cognitive and receptive language growth than those at home. The previous association is heterogeneous across several dimensions. Our findings highlight the importance of high-quality ECEC for developing critical skills and compensating for the learning losses during the pandemic.

Authors

• Marigen Narea, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
  Presenting Author

• Alejandra Abufhele
  Non-Presenting Author

• Pamela Soto Ramirez, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
  Presenting Author