| Jennifer Dobbs-Oates
Purdue University
Child care quality and kindergarten math outcomes
Considering that the majority of U.S. children experience some form of non-parental child care prior to formal schooling, and that the quality of such care is often found to be subpar, research on the quality of child care and its impact on child development is greatly needed. The proposed study is designed to investigate the relationship between the quality of child care children experience at two and four years of age and their mathematics skills in kindergarten with a focus on the potential moderating role of low-income status. The project will use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). These data provide extensive information about a nationally representative sample of approximately 14,000 children, their families, and their child care and kindergarten experiences. The child care quality indicators in this study will include both structural characteristics (caregiver qualifications) and process characteristics (observational scales). To control for selection bias, the study will utilize both multiple regression with comprehensive covariates and propensity score analysis. The results of the study will indicate which aspects of child care quality, experienced at what time, matter in predicting childrens' mathematical skills in kindergarten. Furthermore, the study will examine whether, as hypothesized, child care quality is a more powerful predictor of math outcomes for low-income children, compared to more advantaged children.
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