ERIC Number: ED660562
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0885-2006
EISSN: N/A
Multidimensional Patterns of Early Care and Education Access through a Family Centered Lens
Christina M. Stephens; Danielle A. Crosby; Kierra Sattler; Andrew J. Supple; Catherine Scott-Little
Grantee Submission, Early Childhood Research Quarterly v70 p133-143 2025
Despite evidence of the benefits of early care and education (ECE) for child development and family employment, the supply of providers is scarce and variable; leading many families with young children to experience limited and inequitable access. To examine the multidetermined nature of access, this study leverages a multidimensional, family-centered definition and a nationally representative sample of families of preschoolers from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -- Birth Cohort to examine (1) patterns of access-related features present in preschool-age children's ECE arrangements, and (2) child characteristics, household circumstances, and care setting type that may be related to patterns of access. Latent class analysis model enumeration revealed five latent classes of children's nonparental care arrangements along features of accessibility: "High Across Most Access Features" (26.4 %), "Single, Long-Term Provider" (30.1 %), "Limited Across Most Access Features" (11.6 %), "Low Affordability, Multiple Providers" (10.1 %), and "High Affordability, Recent Transition" (21.8 %). These results suggested many children were in ECE that met multiple dimensions of access, with others in care arrangements that reflected trade-offs. Children were also differentially classified into types of ECE arrangements in relation to care setting type, race/ethnicity, income, household urbanicity, and parental employment. The implications of investigating ECE access as a multidimensional construct, and recommendations for how ECE providers and policy can more closely align with family needs are discussed.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B210008