IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v109y2024ics0738059324001093.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Compulsory kindergarten education and early teenage literacy in the Philippines

Author

Listed:
  • Abrigo, Michael R.M.
  • Francisco, Kris A.

Abstract

We assessed the impact of compulsory kindergarten education on early teenage basic and functional literacy skills achievement using a large-scale natural experiment in the Philippines. In 2012, the Philippine government mandated compulsory kindergarten attendance for children aged five years or older prior to enrolling in the country’s basic education cycle. This created a non-trivial discontinuity in the propensity of kindergarten school attendance among different cohorts of children, which we exploited in this study. We find that children who were exposed to the policy were no more likely to be able to read, write and calculate by age 11–13 years when contrasted with comparable peers who were not compelled to attend kindergarten. However, those who were exposed to the policy were more likely to reach full functional literacy by early teen-age, which is likely due to dynamic complementarities in skills formation. While other children were able to eventually catch up with basic literacy skills in later childhood, children who attended kindergarten were more likely able to read and write before entering primary school, which likely allowed them to develop further skills later.

Suggested Citation

  • Abrigo, Michael R.M. & Francisco, Kris A., 2024. "Compulsory kindergarten education and early teenage literacy in the Philippines," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:109:y:2024:i:c:s0738059324001093
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103087
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059324001093
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103087?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 31-47, May.
    2. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    3. Greg J. Duncan & Katherine Magnuson, 2013. "Investing in Preschool Programs," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(2), pages 109-132, Spring.
    4. van Huizen, Thomas & Plantenga, Janneke, 2018. "Do children benefit from universal early childhood education and care? A meta-analysis of evidence from natural experiments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 206-222.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Holla,Alaka & Bendini,Maria Magdalena & Dinarte Diaz,Lelys Ileana & Trako,Iva, 2021. "Is Investment in Preprimary Education Too Low ? Lessons from (Quasi) ExperimentalEvidence across Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9723, The World Bank.
    2. DeMalach, Elad & Schlosser, Analia, 2024. "Short- and Long-Term Effects of Universal Preschool: Evidence from the Arab Population in Israel," CEPR Discussion Papers 18781, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Fabian Kosse & Thomas Deckers & Pia Pinger & Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch & Armin Falk, 2020. "The Formation of Prosociality: Causal Evidence on the Role of Social Environment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(2), pages 434-467.
    4. Daniela Boca & Daniela Piazzalunga & Chiara Pronzato, 2018. "The role of grandparenting in early childcare and child outcomes," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 477-512, June.
    5. World Bank, 2017. "Pre-Primary Education in Mongolia," World Bank Publications - Reports 26402, The World Bank Group.
    6. Zenou, Yves & Boucher, Vincent & Tumen, Semih & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Wahba, Jackline, 2020. "Ethnic Mixing in Early Childhood: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment and a Structural Model," CEPR Discussion Papers 15528, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Norbert Schady & Jere Behrman & Maria Caridad Araujo & Rodrigo Azuero & Raquel Bernal & David Bravo & Florencia Lopez-Boo & Karen Macours & Daniela Marshall & Christina Paxson & Renos Vakis, 2015. "Wealth Gradients in Early Childhood Cognitive Development in Five Latin American Countries," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 446-463.
    8. Carta, Francesca & Rizzica, Lucia, 2018. "Early kindergarten, maternal labor supply and children's outcomes: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 79-102.
    9. Jens Dietrichson & Ida Lykke Kristiansen & Bjørn A. Viinholt, 2020. "Universal Preschool Programs And Long‐Term Child Outcomes: A Systematic Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 1007-1043, December.
    10. Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman, 2023. "Parenting Promotes Social Mobility Within and Across Generations," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 15(1), pages 349-388, September.
    11. Halla, Martin & Pruckner, Gerald J. & Schober, Thomas, 2016. "Cost savings of developmental screenings: Evidence from a nationwide program," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 120-135.
    12. van Huizen, Thomas & Plantenga, Janneke, 2018. "Do children benefit from universal early childhood education and care? A meta-analysis of evidence from natural experiments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 206-222.
    13. Akgündüz, Yusuf Emre & Akyol, Pelin & Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. & Demirci, Murat & Kirdar, Murat Güray, 2023. "Maternal Education and Early Child Development: The Roles of Parental Support for Learning, Learning Materials, and Father Characteristics," IZA Discussion Papers 16328, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Daniela Del Boca & Enrica Maria Martino & Chiara Pronzato, 2022. "Non cognitive skills and childcare attendance," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1059-1085, December.
    15. Akabayashi, Hideo & Ruberg, Tim & Shikishima, Chizuru & Yamashita, Jun, 2023. "Education-oriented and care-oriented preschools: Implications on child development," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    16. Jade Marcus Jenkins & Sudhanshu Handa, 2019. "Parenting skills and early childhood development: production function estimates from longitudinal data," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 121-147, March.
    17. Alison W. Baulos & Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman, 2024. "Perry Preschool at 50: What Lessons Should Be Drawn and Which Criticisms Ignored?," NBER Working Papers 32972, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Michael Rosholm & Alexander Paul & Dorthe Bleses & Anders Højen & Philip S. Dale & Peter Jensen & Laura M. Justice & Michael Svarer & Simon Calmar Andersen, 2021. "Are Impacts Of Early Interventions In The Scandinavian Welfare State Consistent With A Heckman Curve? A Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 106-140, February.
    19. Sivropoulos-Valero, Anna Alexandra, 2021. "Education and economic growth," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114434, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Anna Valero, 2021. "Education and economic growth," POID Working Papers 006, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:109:y:2024:i:c:s0738059324001093. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.