Effect of Early Child Care and Education Attendance Hours on Parent–Child Interaction in Central Asia: Evaluation of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys

Parent–child interaction is important for early childhood development and best practice in early child care and education (ECCE) promotes effective parent–child interaction. However, research about ECCE impact on parent–child interaction is inconclusive. This study analyzed data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) to examine the effect of ECCE attendance on parent–child interactions in Central Asia, using a 2SLS regression analysis to explicitly model selection bias and isolate the causal effect of ECCE on the quality of parent–child interactions.The study found that increased hours of ECCE led to increased parent–child interaction in every country under investigation. This demonstrates that even underfunded ECCE programs in Central Asia can have significant positive effect, and has broader implications for all ECCE programs.