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Early childhood education and care ( ECEC ) during COVID ‐19 boosts growth in language and executive function
Author(s) -
Davies Catherine,
Hendry Alexandra,
Gibson Shan P.,
Gliga Teodora,
McGillion Michelle,
GonzalezGomez Nayeli
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
infant and child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.87
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1522-7219
pISSN - 1522-7227
DOI - 10.1002/icd.2241
Subject(s) - psychology , covid-19 , developmental psychology , early childhood education , function (biology) , early childhood , pedagogy , virology , medicine , genetics , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biology , outbreak
High‐quality, centre‐based education and care during the early years benefit cognitive development, especially in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the COVID‐19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns, access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) was disrupted. We investigate how this period affected the developmental advantages typically offered by ECEC. Using parent‐report data from 189 families living in the UK, we explore associations between time spent in ECEC by 8‐to‐36‐month‐olds, their socioeconomic background, and their growth in language and executive functions between Spring and Winter 2020. Receptive vocabulary growth was greater in children who continued to attend ECEC during the period, with a stronger positive effect for children from less advantaged backgrounds. The growth of cognitive executive functions (CEFs) was boosted by ECEC attendance during the period, regardless of socioeconomic background. Our findings highlight the importance of high‐quality ECEC for the development of key skills and for levelling socioeconomic inequalities.