Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique

This study analyzed the impact of a community-based preschool program on child development and schooling outcomes in high-poverty areas of rural Mozambique. Preschools were randomly assigned to 30 of 76 eligible communities. Using a panel survey of...

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Main Authors:	Martinez, Sebastian, Naudeau, Sophie, Pereira, Vitor
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2017
Subjects:	EXTREME POVERTY PRESCHOOL EDUCATION EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/756171513961080112/Preschool-and-child-development-under-extreme-poverty-evidence-from-a-randomized-experiment-in-rural-Mozambique http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29112

id	okr-10986-29112
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-291122021-06-08T14:42:48Z Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique Martinez, Sebastian Naudeau, Sophie Pereira, Vitor EXTREME POVERTY PRESCHOOL EDUCATION EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CHILD DEVELOPMENT This study analyzed the impact of a community-based preschool program on child development and schooling outcomes in high-poverty areas of rural Mozambique. Preschools were randomly assigned to 30 of 76 eligible communities. Using a panel survey of 2,000 households with preschool aged children, the study found that children who attended preschool experienced gains in cognitive development, communication, fine motor skills, and socio-emotional skills, scoring 0.33 standard deviations higher on a child development screening test. Preschoolers were 21 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in primary school, 14.9 percentage points more likely to enroll at the appropriate age, and had higher cognitive and communication scores in first grade. Treatment effects were generally larger for children from vulnerable households, those with higher initial development levels, and those with longer exposure to treatment. The preschool intervention also generated positive spillovers by increasing the school enrollment of older siblings and labor supply of adult caregivers. At a cost of approximately $3 per child per month, community-led preschools have the potential to be a cost-effective policy option for helping children meet their development potential even in the most resource deprived parts of the world. 2017-12-29T15:42:39Z 2017-12-29T15:42:39Z 2017-12 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/756171513961080112/Preschool-and-child-development-under-extreme-poverty-evidence-from-a-randomized-experiment-in-rural-Mozambique http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29112 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8290 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa Mozambique
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	EXTREME POVERTY PRESCHOOL EDUCATION EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CHILD DEVELOPMENT
spellingShingle	EXTREME POVERTY PRESCHOOL EDUCATION EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CHILD DEVELOPMENT Martinez, Sebastian Naudeau, Sophie Pereira, Vitor Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique
geographic_facet	Africa Mozambique
relation	Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8290
description	This study analyzed the impact of a community-based preschool program on child development and schooling outcomes in high-poverty areas of rural Mozambique. Preschools were randomly assigned to 30 of 76 eligible communities. Using a panel survey of 2,000 households with preschool aged children, the study found that children who attended preschool experienced gains in cognitive development, communication, fine motor skills, and socio-emotional skills, scoring 0.33 standard deviations higher on a child development screening test. Preschoolers were 21 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in primary school, 14.9 percentage points more likely to enroll at the appropriate age, and had higher cognitive and communication scores in first grade. Treatment effects were generally larger for children from vulnerable households, those with higher initial development levels, and those with longer exposure to treatment. The preschool intervention also generated positive spillovers by increasing the school enrollment of older siblings and labor supply of adult caregivers. At a cost of approximately $3 per child per month, community-led preschools have the potential to be a cost-effective policy option for helping children meet their development potential even in the most resource deprived parts of the world.
format	Working Paper
author	Martinez, Sebastian Naudeau, Sophie Pereira, Vitor
author_facet	Martinez, Sebastian Naudeau, Sophie Pereira, Vitor
author_sort	Martinez, Sebastian
title	Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique
title_short	Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique
title_full	Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique
title_fullStr	Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique
title_full_unstemmed	Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique
title_sort	preschool and child development under extreme poverty : evidence from a randomized experiment in rural mozambique
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2017
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/756171513961080112/Preschool-and-child-development-under-extreme-poverty-evidence-from-a-randomized-experiment-in-rural-Mozambique http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29112
_version_	1764468525731151872

Preschool and Child Development under Extreme Poverty : Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Rural Mozambique

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