Early childhood care and education enrollment: Policy drivers and impacts

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

High-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) is critical for child development and family well-being. However, enrollment in ECCE programs is both shaped by and impacts a range of other policy domains. Some of these cross-sector relationships are familiar if not sufficiently well-studied. For instance, policymakers often see ECCE not only as a foundation for school readiness but also as a lever to support labor force participation, particularly among mothers, by alleviating care responsibilities. Additionally, programs such as pre-kindergarten and kindergarten by definition influence school enrollment numbers and budgeting. Socioeconomic policies—especially those affecting employment—can, in turn, influence ECCE access and participation. These interdependencies create a complex policy ecosystem that this panel seeks to unpack.

To explore how ECCE enrollment interacts with broader policy contexts, the session presents four papers examining the following research questions:

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  Does full-day kindergarten increase kindergarten public school enrollment and enrollment in later grades? And if so, how do these effects vary across different student populations?

  
  


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  Can decreased labor force participation (from rural hospital closures) decrease enrollment in ECCE?

  
  


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  Does ECCE decrease women’s unpaid care work and increase their employment?

  
  


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  Does universal, public pre-k increase and stabilize K-5 public school enrollment? How do enrollment changes shift the demographic composition of public school systems?

  
  

Together, these papers offer empirical evidence on the cross-sectoral impacts of ECCE policy, providing insights that bridge education, labor, and health policy. All four papers are closely aligned with the conference theme of “forging collaborations for transformative and resilient policy solutions.” The papers are particularly aligned with the theme’s focus on unintended consequences; while the primary goal of ECCE is not to shift school enrollments nor maternal time use, nor are hospital closures intended to impact ECCE, these policies do have substantial consequences that merit investigation and consideration by policymakers. The session also is a collaboration across a wide array of settings, including Washington, D.C., the state of Massachusetts, US rural counties, and the country of Egypt. 

By drawing from diverse geographic contexts and focusing on underexplored policy intersections, this session offers critical insights for designing ECCE policies that are both resilient and attuned to their broader social and economic contexts.

Policy Area

• Education

Secondary Policy Area

• Family and Child Policy

Chair

• Judy A Temple, University of Minnesota

Discussants

• Jennifer Graves, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

• Daphna Bassok, University of Virginia

Organizer

• Caroline Gould Krafft, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Individual Presentations

• Full-Day Kindergarten and Enrollment Patterns: Evidence from Massachusetts - Presenting Author: Mingyan Ma, Boston University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Abigail Francis, Boston University

• The Impact of Rural Hospital Closures on Public Prekindergarten Enrollment - Presenting Author: Easton Stone Dawson, Vanderbilt University

• The Impact of Early Childhood Care and Education on Maternal Time Use in Egypt - Presenting Author: Caroline Gould Krafft, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Public Pre-K Effects on Public School Enrollment: Evidence from Washington, D.C. - Presenting Author: Sofia Wilson, Stanford University