Inequalities in Early Social-Emotional Development in Rural China: Evidence From Wenshan

• In Event: Understanding the Dynamics of Low-Resource Early Childhood Education Settings in Rural China

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework
Socio-emotional development (SED) during early childhood is critical for individuals’ development across life cycle stages. Previous work using developed countries’ data found that family income, parents’ educational background and employment status, number of siblings, as well as parents’ divorce were all related to early SED.
However, little research has been conducted thus far regarding the relationship between inequalities in children’s early SED and families in the context of developing countries, especially in rural China. This gap contributes to the invisibility of the issue developmental delay among a large number of children in rural China. A test in Shaanxi province in China found that 53% of children from 6 to 30 months suffered from the social-emotional delay (Wang et al., 2019). Moreover, in rural China, potentially powerful and specific influence indicators on SED, such as parents’ migration, ethnic minority, son preference and large family size, deserve attention because of their prevalence in other developing countries.
Therefore, this study aims to answer the question: what kinds of children are the most disadvantaged in terms of early SED in rural China. It will investigate the relationship between children’s early SED and family characteristics in the specific context of poor rural China.
Methods and Data Sources
This study analyzed data from 770 children ranging from 3 to 6 years old in Wenshan county in Yunnan province, a poor, remote, ethnic minority autonomous region. A performance-based measurement tool called East Asia Pacific Early Childhood Development Scales was utilized to test early SED, which evaluated children’s social comprehension ability, emotional recognition ability, etiquette, and perspective-taking ability. A household survey was distributed to parents by teachers in preschools. The relationship of family’s socio-economic status, parents’ and caregivers’ characteristics, home environment, and left behind status with children SED scores were all examined. Descriptive analysis, correlational analysis, and heterogeneous analysis were conducted accordingly.
Results
The results suggested that ethnicity, parents’ educational background, number of siblings, and fathers’ age were statistically significantly correlated with children’s overall SED, especially for girls. Parents’ migration and the number of family members were only statistically significantly correlated with children’s perspective-taking ability. Descriptive analysis showed that family structure and grandparents’ educational background were also related to early SED. In contrast to most previous findings, household income and mothers’ company were not found to have any associations with early SED.
Scientific Significance and Policy Implications
This paper utilized more complete family information and a more elaborated SED assessment dataset to fill the gap in our knowledge on family factors related to children’s early SED in developing countries as well as in the specific context of poverty-stricken rural China. It has policy implications that the low investment in early SED in rural China regardless of families’ income and parents’ migration needs to be addressed. These findings highlight the need for directing more SED resources to the most vulnerable groups, such as ethnic minorities, girls with more than two siblings, and children with less-educated parents.

Author

• Yitong Hu, New York University