Association between speech production and ECEC intensity: differences by family background

Abstract

<p>Participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been shown to improve the cognitive outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Nevertheless, the role of ECEC intensity in shaping children's developmental outcomes remains insufficiently understood. This study examines how ECEC intensity, measured by the number of weekly hours children spend in ECEC, is associated with the speech production of 4-year-old children in the relatively high-quality ECEC context of Finland. Further, we explore whether this association is moderated by parental education. We analyze the well-being of young children and their families based on survey data collected in Finnish child health clinics in 2018 that includes responses from parents and nurses regarding 4-year-old children. Our logistic regression results show no overall differences in speech production by average weekly hours in of ECEC. However, among children of parents with lower levels of education, the likelihood of having atypical performance in speech production tests decreased as the average weekly hours in ECEC increased. In contrast, among children of parents with higher levels of education, differences in speech production performance across ECEC intensity levels were smaller.<br></p>