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Maternal Employment, Community Contexts, and the Child‐Care Arrangements of Diverse Groups

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Integrating family and child data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort with contextual data from the Census, this study examined associations among maternal employment, aspects of communities related to child care supply and demand, and the early care and education arrangements of 4-year-olds in Mexican-origin, black, and white families. Children with employed mothers were more likely to be in informal care arrangements than in early childhood education, regardless of racial/ethnic background. For children in Mexican-origin families, selection into informal care over early childhood education was more likely in zip codes with greater demand for care as measured by higher female employment. Utilization of parent care versus early childhood education was also more likely for children in Mexican-origin and black families in zip codes with higher female employment. Constraints associated with maternal employment thus hindered children from enrolling in early childhood education, and community contexts posed challenges for some groups.

Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family

DOI: 10.1111/jomf.12501

Authors: Elizabeth Ackert, Robert Ressler, Arya Ansari, Robert Crosnoe

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia

Language: English

Topic: Early Childhood Education and Development

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth, Gender equality, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Institute of Education Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development