Inequality, preschool education and cognitive development in Ethiopia: Implication for public investment in pre-primary education

This study used longitudinal data from the Young Lives Project in Ethiopia to examine the main factors relating to preschool access and their potential effects on cognitive performance of children aged 5 and 8 years. The results show that only one-fourth of the preschool age children have the opportunity to attend this vital stage of education, with significant disparities by family wealth, education and regional location. Regardless of its limited coverage, preschool attendance is shown to have statistically significant positive effects on cognitive performance, measured by receptive vocabulary and maths tests. The effects do not also seem to fade away at a later age, implying that inequality among children in cognitive abilities at early ages continues to exist at later ages (7 and above). Furthermore, using mediation analyses, causal chains between family backgrounds and cognitive performance were thoroughly analyzed. Bootstrap results show that preschool attendance significantly mediates the influence of family wealth, education and regional location on child cognitive performance. Nevertheless, despite the importance of preschool education, public investment in this area is currently very limited, with the private sector taking the key role and exacerbating the inequality that exists between children of the rich and poor. These findings thus emphasize the need for government involvement in the form of public investment to this subsector to increase access for all children and reduce future educational inequalities