Early childhood education and child development outcomes in developing countries: empirical evidence from Thailand

Due to the lack of attention to including early childhood education in the compulsory education system, some families are even unaware of the option to enroll their children at this level. This study aims to estimate the chances of access to early childhood education and to analyse the advantages that pre-primary education offers in terms of child development in developing countries by using Thailand as a case study. Using Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, we find that early childhood education, especially in child development centres, plays quite an important role in reducing educational inequality. Mother's educational level also plays an important role in fostering educational opportunities for children in their early childhood. Moreover, according to the estimated effect of early childhood education on children's development, children who participate in early childhood education do significantly better in all aspects of child development than those who do not. We thus encourage the government to provide sufficient educational opportunities for early childhood learning and to raise the standards of child development centres for children who are living in remote areas.