Version 1
: Received: 6 January 2021 / Approved: 8 January 2021 / Online: 8 January 2021 (13:26:49 CET)
How to cite:
Li, R.; Rose, N.; Zheng, Y.M.; Wilson-Smith, H.; Medina, A.; Dill, S.; Rozelle, S. Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis. Preprints.org2021, 2021010161
Li, R.; Rose, N.; Zheng, Y.M.; Wilson-Smith, H.; Medina, A.; Dill, S.; Rozelle, S. Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis. Preprints.org 2021, 2021010161
Cite as:
Li, R.; Rose, N.; Zheng, Y.M.; Wilson-Smith, H.; Medina, A.; Dill, S.; Rozelle, S. Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis. Preprints.org2021, 2021010161
Li, R.; Rose, N.; Zheng, Y.M.; Wilson-Smith, H.; Medina, A.; Dill, S.; Rozelle, S. Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis. Preprints.org 2021, 2021010161
Abstract
Studies have shown that nearly half of rural toddlers in China have cognitive delays due to an absence of stimulating parenting practices, such as early childhood reading, during the critical first three years of life. However, few studies have examined the reasons behind these low levels of stimulating parenting, and no studies have sought to identify the factors that limit caregivers from providing effective early childhood reading practices (EECRP). This mixed-methods study investigates the perceptions, prevalence and correlates of EECRP in rural China, as well as associations with child cognitive development. We use quantitative survey results from 1,720 caregiver-child dyads across 100 rural villages/townships in northwestern China and field observation and interview data with 60 caregivers from these same sites. The quantitative results show significantly low rates of EECRP despite positive perceptions of early reading and positive associations between EECRP and cognitive development. Qualitative results suggest that low rates of EECRP in rural China are not due to the inability to access books, financial or time constraints, or the absence of aspirations. Rather, the low rate of book ownership and absence of reading to young children is driven by the insufficient and inaccurate knowledge of EECRP among caregivers, which leads to their delayed, misinformed reading decisions with their young children, ultimately contributing to developmental delays.
Keywords
early childhood development; stimulating parenting practices; effective early childhood reading practices; rural China; mixed methodology
Subject
Business, Economics and Management, Accounting and Taxation
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
