Journal Publication

Preschool Quality and Child Development

Andrew, Alison, Orazio P. Attanasio, Raquel Bernal, Lina Cardona Sosa, Sonya Krutikova, and Marta Rubio-Codina. "Preschool Quality and Child Development." 2024. Journal of Political Economy. 132:7, 2304-2345.

Abstract

Globally, preschool enrollment has surged, but its quality is often poor. We evaluate strategies to improve quality of public preschools in Colombia. The first, designed by the government and rolled out nationwide, provided extra funding, mainly earmarked for hiring teaching assistants. The second also offered low-cost training for existing teachers. The first intervention had no effect on child development, while the second improved children’s cognitive development, especially for more disadvantaged children. This pattern can be explained by the interventions affecting teachers' behavior differently. The first led teachers to reduce their classroom time, including learning activities, while additional training offset the adverse effect on learning activities and improved teaching quality.

Author(s)

Alison Andrew, Orazio Attanasio, Raquel Bernal, Lina Cardona Sosa, Sonya Krutikova & Marta Rubio-Codina

Publication Link

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/728744

Publication Date

July 2024

Results at a Glance

The TA program alone had no positive impacts on child development, despite high compliance and the fact that it represented a large increase in government investment in preschools.
The authors found that teachers responded to the program by reducing their overall involvement in classroom activities, delegating much to (often untrained) TAs, thus inhibiting child development.
However, moderate extra training of the existing teachers did have significant positive impacts on child development.
This training program prompted teachers to delegate only specific activities to TAs, and to focus more on improving teaching quality and spending more time on learning activities.
Overall, additional school resources can be effective when accompanied by guidance on how to utilize them. Without guidance, such provision might generate unintended consequences.

Read the full summary here: New Research: Did Colombia’s Nationwide Preschool Expansion Benefit Students?