Dataset Information

Maternal Education and Early Childhood Education across Affluent English-Speaking Countries.

ABSTRACT: Women who attain more education tend to have children with more educational opportunities, a transmission of educational advantages across generations that is embedded in the larger structures of families' societies. Investigating such country-level variation with a life course model, this study estimated associations of mothers' educational attainment with their young children's enrollment in early childhood education and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities in a pooled sample of 36,400 children (n = 17,900 girls, 18,500 boys) drawn from nationally representative datasets from Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom, and United States. Results showed that having a mother with a college degree generally differentiated young children on these two outcomes more in the United States, potentially reflecting processes related to strong relative advantage (i.e., maternal education matters more in populations with lower rates of women's educational attainment) and weak contingent protection (i.e., it matters more in societies with less policy investment in families).

SUBMITTER: Crosnoe R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8240752 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Maternal Education and Early Childhood Education across Affluent English-Speaking Countries.

Crosnoe Robert R Johnston Carol C Cavanagh Shannon S

International journal of behavioral development 20210225 3

Women who attain more education tend to have children with more educational opportunities, a transmission of educational advantages across generations that is embedded in the larger structures of families' societies. Investigating such country-level variation with a life course model, this study estimated associations of mothers' educational attainment with their young children's enrollment in early childhood education and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities in a pooled sample of 36 ...[more]

PMID: 34194121

Similar Datasets

Project description:Data from the 2016-17 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey from Nigeria are used to study the relationship between child stature, mother's years of education, and indicators of early childhood development (ECD). The relationships are contrasted between two empirical approaches: the conventional approach whereby control variables are selected in an ad-hoc manner, and the double machine-learning (DML) approach that employs data-driven methods to select controls from a much wider set of variables and thus reducing potential omitted variable bias. Overall, the analysis confirms that maternal education and the incidence of chronic malnutrition have a significant direct effect on measures of early childhood development. The point estimates based on the ad-hoc specification tend to be larger in absolute value than those based on the DML specification. Frequently, the point estimates based on the ad-hoc specification fall inside the confidence interval of the DML point estimates, suggesting that in these cases the omitted variable bias is not serious enough to prevent making causal inferences based on the ad-hoc specification. However, there are instances where the omitted variable bias is sufficiently large for the ad hoc specification to yield a statistically significant relationship when in fact the more robust DML specification suggests there is none. The DML approach also reveals a more complex picture that highlights the role of context. In rural areas, mother's education affects early childhood development both directly and indirectly through its impact on the nutritional status of both older and younger children. In contrast, in urban areas, where the average level of maternal education is much higher, increases in a mother's education have only a direct effect on child ECD measures but no indirect effect through child nutrition. Thus, DML provides a practical and feasible approach to reducing threats to internal validity for robust inferences and policy design based on observational data.

Project description:BackgroundLimited English proficiency (LEP) is common among hospitalized patients and may impact care. We synthesized the literature comparing clinical outcomes after in-hospital care for English-proficient(EP) versus LEP patients.MethodsThis systematic review searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from database inception through June 7, 2020, to identify research investigating clinical outcomes in patients receiving hospital-based care (in the emergency department, inpatient ward, surgical/procedural suite, or intensive care unit) that compared patients with LEP to an EP group. We assessed mortality, length of stay (LOS), readmissions/revisits, and complications. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.ResultsTwenty-six studies met eligibility criteria. Study settings and populations were heterogeneous. Determination of primary language varied; a majority of studies (16/26) used patient self-report directly or via hospital records. Of 16 studies examining LEP and all-cause mortality, 13 found no significant association. Of 17 studies measuring LOS, 9 found no difference, 4 found longer LOS, 3 found shorter LOS, and 1 had mixed LOS results among patients with LEP. Several investigations suggested that LOS differences may be mediated at the hospital level. Nine studies evaluated inpatient readmissions. Among patients with LEP, there was evidence for increased readmissions in the setting of chronic medical conditions such as heart failure, but no evidence for increased readmissions among cohorts undergoing surgeries/procedures or with acute medical conditions. Five studies evaluated complications or harm related to a hospitalization, and no differences were found between language groups.DiscussionThe research community lacks a standardized definition of LEP. Most studies did not find an association between English proficiency and mortality or complications. LOS findings were mixed and may be influenced at the hospital level. Differences in readmissions by language were concentrated in chronic medical conditions. Given the paucity of studies examining LEP populations, additional research is imperative.Prospero registration numberCRD42020143477.

Project description:ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine social gradients in ADHD during late childhood (age 9-11 years) using absolute and relative relationships with socioeconomic status exposure (household income, maternal education) during early childhood (<5 years) in seven cohorts from six industrialised countries (UK, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, USA, Sweden).MethodsSecondary analyses were conducted for each birth cohort. Risk ratios, pooled risk estimates, and absolute inequality, measured by the Slope Index of Inequality (SII), were estimated to quantify social gradients in ADHD during late childhood by household income and maternal education measured during early childhood. Estimates were adjusted for child sex, mother age at birth, mother ethnicity, and multiple births.FindingsAll cohorts demonstrated social gradients by household income and maternal education in early childhood, except for maternal education in Quebec. Pooled risk estimates, relating to 44,925 children, yielded expected gradients (income: low 1.83(CI 1.38,2.41), middle 1.42(1.13,1.79), high (reference); maternal education: low 2.13(1.39,3.25), middle 1.42(1.13,1.79)). Estimates of absolute inequality using SII showed that the largest differences in ADHD prevalence between the highest and lowest levels of maternal education were observed in Australia (4% lower) and Sweden (3% lower); for household income, the largest differences were observed in Quebec (6% lower) and Canada (all provinces: 5% lower).ConclusionFindings indicate that children in families with high household income or maternal education are less likely to have ADHD at age 9-11. Absolute inequality, in combination with relative inequality, provides a more complete account of the socioeconomic status and ADHD relationship in different high-income countries. While the study design precludes causal inference, the linear relation between early childhood social circumstances and later ADHD suggests a potential role for policies that promote high levels of education, especially among women, and adequate levels of household income over children's early years in reducing risk of later ADHD.

Dataset Information

Maternal Education and Early Childhood Education across Affluent English-Speaking Countries.

Publications

Maternal Education and Early Childhood Education across Affluent English-Speaking Countries.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets