Program administrators and policy makers have placed a priority on expanding access to inclusive, center-based early care and education (ECE) for low-income children with special needs, a “doubly vulnerable” population characterized by academic and social-emotional achievement gaps at kindergarten entry. Yet, no research has documented the effects of center-based settings on doubly vulnerable children’s early development, either relative to other ECE settings (e.g., home-based care) or relative to each other (e.g., Head Start, public preK). The current study utilizes national data and estimates difference-in-differences models to assess the effects of these ECE setting comparisons on changes in doubly vulnerable children’s academic and social-emotional outcomes evident at kindergarten entry. Results suggest that center-based ECE is more beneficial than parental care for language and literacy, and more beneficial than home-based care for prosocial behaviors. There were few differences among center-based ECE types: At trend level, Head Start was linked with better approaches to learning and prosocial skills relative to public preK.

中文翻译：

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早期保育和教育环境对双重弱势儿童幼儿园结局的影响

计划管理者和政策制定者优先考虑为有特殊需要的低收入儿童扩大获得包容性、以中心为基础的早期护理和教育 (ECE) 的机会，这是一个“双重脆弱”人群，其特点是在幼儿园入学。然而，没有研究记录中心环境对双重脆弱儿童早期发展的影响，无论是相对于其他 ECE 环境（例如，家庭护理）还是相对于彼此（例如，Head Start、公共学前教育）。目前的研究利用国家数据并估计差异中的差异模型来评估这些 ECE 设置比较对双重脆弱儿童在幼儿园入学时明显的学业和社会情感结果变化的影响。结果表明，以中心为基础的 ECE 在语言和识字方面比父母照顾更有益，在亲社会行为方面比家庭护理更有益。基于中心的 ECE 类型之间几乎没有差异：在趋势水平上，相对于公共学前班，Head Start 与更好的学习方法和亲社会技能相关联。