| Nina Philipsen Hetzner
Teachers College Columbia University
First-year parental employment and child school readiness in preschool
Parents play a critical role in shaping early experiences and preparing children for school. In recent years mothers' participation in the work force has risen dramatically from 25% in the 1960s to 75% today. Because a majority of children now have working mothers it is critical to understand the impact that this shift might have on children's school readiness. Findings from prior studies examining parental employment have been mixed and with limitations: First, few studies sufficiently account for selection bias, second, many existing analyses were conducted with data from the NLSY and more current analyses are needed, third, the effects of paternal employment on children have been ignored, and lastly, no study has focused on a comprehensive set of child school readiness indicators. The proposed project aims to address these gaps in the literature by examining the effect of first-year parental employment on school readiness in preschool using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort. Both OLS regression and a propensity score matching technique will be used to explore the causal effect of parental employment on child school readiness indicators. Additionally, a mediation analysis technique will be used to determine which variables, if any, play mediating or offsetting roles. Given the influence that early experiences have on school-readiness, the current study will make an important contribution by addressing gaps in the existing literature. If an association between parental employment and child-school readiness emerges, it will provide a unique opportunity for policy intervention in the first year of life.
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