Early Childhood Education and Care Quality in Germany

Abstract

In Germany, more and more parents are taking advantage of early childhood education and care services for their very young children. Since the quality of such services varies, however, children experience very diverse developmental environments. This raises important questions: Which groups of parents are more likely to choose high-quality facilities for their children than others? How do these selection processes affect child development? And how does daycare quality affect maternal well-being, thereby indirectly affecting child development? These questions are addressed by a new research project that is being funded by the Jacobs Foundation.