Children who attended responsive, stimulating and well-structured preschool programs between the ages of 2 and 4 showed less aggression and rule breaking during the middle childhood years of ages 7 to 11. “High-quality child care experiences can have a sustained influence on children’s behavioral functioning,” the authors state in their article in the latest issue of Child Development. “We have increasing confidence that child care quality is an important factor in the developmental trajectories of young children in poverty.”
The researchers point out that 12.2 million children under age 6 attend some type of child care or preschool. Their analysis was based on data on about 350 children from low-income families in Boston, Chicago and San Antonio.
Early education and care experiences were especially important for boys and for African American children, the researchers found. “Child care quality was particularly protective against the development of behavior problems for African American children,” they state.
Their study breaks new ground in looking at how aspects of preschool affect key skills for children, including regulating emotions and behaviors, getting along with peers and avoiding inappropriate behaviors. Most importantly, the study traced the connection between behavior in middle school and three aspects of preschool: quality, extent and type. The extent of care and type of care were not as important for developing good behavior as the quality of care. High-quality care was defined as well structured, responsive and stimulating.In the long run, the study has implications for the nation’s policy related to early childhood experiences. “The results of the present study add to a growing body of empirical evidence suggesting the need for policy and programmatic efforts to increase low-income families’ access to high-quality child care,” Chase-Lansdale maintains.
In addition to Votruba-Drzal, Chase-Lansdale and Li-Grining, the research team also includes Carolina Maldonado-Carreno from Universidad de los Andes and Rebekah Levine Coley from Boston College.