Do Private Preschools Advance Child Development in China? Dosage, Quality, and Heterogeneous Effects

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 9:45am
  In Poster Session: Division L Section 6 Social Policy, Inequality, and Student Outcomes: Poster Session

Abstract

Preschool enrollment has climbed dramatically in China over the past quarter-century, with private organizations or villages running three in five centers, serving 3 to 6-year-olds independent of the state. This paper finds that non-public centers in Yunnan Province yield few developmental gains for children attending a second year of preschool, unlike peers in state-run centers who experience benefits across cognitive domains, especially in urban areas. We estimate heterogeneous effects for 11,163 children attending preschool for two years, compared to peers age-eligible for just one year, in 305 randomly selected centers. Indicators of preschool quality do not explain sector differences, employing a quasi-experimental design. Implications for East Asian societies and other regions that encourage the growth of non-public preschools, are discussed.

Authors

• QIFAN Zhang, University of California - Berkeley

• Bruce Fuller, University of California - Berkeley