Abstract
Global investment in early childhood education is a key policy to address social and economic disadvantage for children and families. Since 1975, India has one of the world’s largest provisions for free, public early childhood education, under a program called the Integrated Child Development Scheme. However, almost half of the children in India still do not have access to early childhood education and the reasons behind this inequality are largely unidentified. This study investigates the nature of factors affecting demand and access to preschool and how parental decisions may be influenced by parents’ education and other socio-economic factors, societal status, and awareness of the value of preschool attendance. The analyses draw on survey data collected from 1373 households in two districts in West Bengal with data gathered through extensive fieldwork in 2015. A key factor affecting preschool non-attendance was found to be lower levels of parent education. This explained the largest variation in the data. It is important to increase parental awareness on the value of preschool, as well as to increase the availability of early childhood education in rural, as well as in urban districts, in India.
Résumé
L’investissement mondial en éducation de la petite enfance constitue une politique clé pour répondre au désavantage social et économique des enfants et des familles. Les dispositions prises par l’Inde depuis 1975 sont parmi les plus importantes au monde en matière d’éducation publique, gratuite de la petite enfance, dans le cadre d’un programme intitulé Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS, Régime intégré du développement de l’enfant). Néanmoins, près de la moitié des enfants en Inde n’a toujours pas accès à l’éducation de la petite enfance et les raisons à l’origine de cette inégalité sont loin d’être identifiées. Cette étude explore la nature des facteurs affectant la demande et l’accès à l’éducation préscolaire, ainsi que la façon dont les décisions parentales peuvent être influencées par l’éducation des parents et d’autres facteurs socioéconomiques, le statut sociétal et la conscience de la valeur de la fréquentation préscolaire. Les analyses s’appuient sur des données d’enquêtes collectées auprès de 1373 foyers de deux districts du Bengale occidental, avec des données rassemblées à l’occasion d’un vaste travail de terrain en 2015. Les niveaux plus faibles d’éducation des parents se sont révélés être un facteur clé affectant la non fréquentation préscolaire. Ceci explique la variation la plus grande dans les données. Il est important de renforcer la conscience parentale de la valeur de l’éducation préscolaire, ainsi que d’augmenter la disponibilité de l’éducation de la petite enfance dans les districts tant ruraux qu’urbains, en Inde.
Resumen
La inversión global en educación infantil temprana es una política importante para contrarrestar la desigualdad social y económica que sufren las familias y la población infantil. Desde 1975 India cuenta con una de las mayores ofertas de educación infantil temprana pública gratis bajo un programa denominado Esquema de Desarrollo Integrado de la Infancia (ICDS por su abreviatura en inglés). Sin embargo, casi la mitad de los niños en India aun no tienen acceso a educación infantil temprana y las razones de esta disparidad son en su mayor parte desconocidas. El presente estudio investiga la naturaleza de los factores que afectan la demanda y el acceso a la educación preescolar y la forma en que las decisiones de los padres pueden estar influenciadas por factores socio económicos y de educación de los padres, su clase social y falta de reconocimiento de la importancia de asistencia a clases. Los análisis se basaron en datos obtenidos por medio de una encuesta a 1.373 familias en dos distritos de Bengala Occidental mediante un intenso trabajo de campo en el año 2015. Se concluyó que los niveles bajos de educación de los padres constituyen un factor importante que afecta la asistencia a clases de niños de preescolar. Esto explicó la gran variedad en los datos. Es de vital importancia crear conciencia en los padres sobre la importancia de la educación preescolar, así como aumentar la oferta de educación infantil temprana en distritos rurales y urbanos de India.
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Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to the State Government of West Bengal, India, for their support for this project, during the field work, and also grateful for the support from the German Excellence Initiatives (DFG) for the funding of field work.
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Appendix
Appendix
Household Characteristics and Preschool Attendance
Household income of families and preschool attendance
Variable name | Value | Attended preschool Mean (SD) | Did not attend preschool Mean (SD) | P value (t-statistic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross monthly household income | Indian rupee (INR) | 6802.6 (4726.0) | 4809.2 (2592.5) | 0.001*** |
Household characteristics and differences by preschool attendance.
Variable | Values | Attended preschool (%) | Did not attend preschool (%) | Pearson χ2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
House type (type of housing) | 1 = concrete | 421 (78.84%) | 113 (21.16%) | χ2 (2) = 86.63*** |
2 = semi-concrete | 270 (65.69%) | 141 (34.31%) | ||
3 = non-concrete | 215 (50.23%) | 213 (49.77%) | ||
House ownership | 1 = owned | 852 (66.77%) | 424 (33.23%) | χ2 (1) = 4.94* |
2 = rented | 54 (55.67%) | 43 (44.33%) | ||
Parent education (highest education by either parent) | 1 = up to primary | 242 (50.21%) | 240 (49.79%) | χ2 (2) = 126.25*** |
2 = up to secondary | 446 (68.20%) | 208 (31.80%) | ||
3 = higher secondary or above | 218 (91.98%) | 19 (8.02%) | ||
Father’s job status | 1 = regular | 654 (77.40%) | 191 (22.60%) | χ2 (1) = 126.83*** |
2 = casual or no job | 244 (47.56%) | 269 (52.44%) | ||
Mother’s job status | 1 = regular | 49 (71.01%) | 20 (28.99%) | χ2 (1) = 0.79 |
2 = casual or no job | 856 (65.80%) | 445 (34.20%) | ||
Household religion | 1 = Hindu | 683 (64.07%) | 383 (35.93%) | χ2 (1) = 7.79** |
2 = Islam and others | 223 (72.64%) | 84 (27.36%) | ||
Household caste | 1 = Lower caste | 220 (55.00%) | 180 (45.00%) | χi2 (1) = 30.35*** |
2 = General caste | 686 (70.50%) | 287 (29.50%) |
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Ghosh, S. Inequalities in Demand and Access to Early Childhood Education in India. IJEC 51, 145–161 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-019-00241-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-019-00241-8