Claims that government-funded centre-based daycare and pre-kindergarten programs promote positive early-childhood development unsubstantiated; research remains inconclusive

By Ben Eisen of The Fraser Institute.

The Impact of Daycare Participation on Children's Development: A Review of Recent Evidence

• In recent years, Canadian governments have made large financial commitments to expand access to and participation in formal daycare centres. One of the stated rationales for these expenditures is that they will have a positive impact on child development.
• This study examines that premise by reviewing recent empirical research on the effects of participation in centre-based daycare and pre-kindergarten programs on child development.
• The review is illustrative rather than comprehensive. We selected studies based on their prominence, methodological credibility (randomized, quasi-experimental, or meta-analytic designs), and policy relevance.
• The results from the studies examined here are mixed. One study from Boston shows significant positive effects from childcare participation on academic attainment. But other studies from New Haven and Ontario as well as a meta-analysis from across OECD countries show null or mixed effects on child development outcomes. Studies from Quebec and Tennessee show negative results.
• Taken together, the recent evidence remains inconclusive about whether participation in formal childcare has an effect on children’s well-being and by how much. On balance, the studies reviewed here support the long-standing reality that evidence about the developmental effects from participation in centre-based childcare are mixed, often modest, and contingent upon a wide variety of factors.
• Policymakers should therefore be modest about any claims they make about the developmental effects from government expenditures designed to expand participation in centre-based daycare.