High-quality, centre-based education and care during the early years benefit cognitive development, especially in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns, access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) was disrupted. We investigate how this period affected the developmental advantages typically offered by ECEC. Using parent-report data from 189 families living in the UK, we explore associations between time spent in ECEC by 8-to-36-month-olds, their socioeconomic background, and their growth in language and executive functions between Spring and Winter 2020. Receptive vocabulary growth was greater in children who continued to attend ECEC during the period, with a stronger positive effect for children from less advantaged backgrounds. The growth of cognitive executive functions (CEFs) was boosted by ECEC attendance during the period, regardless of socioeconomic background. Our findings highlight the importance of high-quality ECEC for the development of key skills and for levelling socioeconomic inequalities.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 期间的幼儿教育和护理 (ECEC) 促进了语言和执行功能的增长

早期的高质量、以中心为基础的教育和护理有利于认知发展，特别是对于来自弱势背景的儿童。在 COVID-19 大流行及其相关的封锁期间，儿童早期教育和护理 (ECEC) 的机会被中断。我们调查这一时期如何影响 ECEC 通常提供的发展优势。我们使用来自居住在英国的 189 个家庭的家长报告数据，探讨 8 至 36 个月大的儿童在 ECEC 所花费的时间、他们的社会经济背景以及他们在 2020 年春季和冬季之间语言和执行功能的增长之间的关联。在此期间继续参加 ECEC 的儿童的接受词汇增长更大，对来自弱势背景的儿童具有更强的积极影响。在此期间，无论社会经济背景如何，ECEC 的出席都促进了认知执行功能 (CEF) 的增长。我们的研究结果强调了高质量 ECEC 对关键技能发展和消除社会经济不平等的重要性。