Profile of Preschool Children's Child Care and Early Education Program Participation

摘要

This report presents findings from the first National Household Education Survey (NHES:91) conducted in 1991. One of the goals of this new National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey is to provide a comprehensive view of the nonparental care and early education program participation of young children in the United States. Since the NHES will be repeated periodically, it will provide descriptive data that may be used to monitor the care and early education program experiences of these children. Before NHES:91, NCES had no mechanism for adequately monitoring the care and early education experiences of children. Data from a variety of federal surveys had to be pieced together in order to describe the full range of children's participation in care and education settings. This report focuses on the types of care and early education preschool children receive on a regular basis from individuals other than their parents.' Preschoolers are defined in this report as children 3 years of age and older who have not yet enrolled in kindergarten as of January 1, 1991. Using this definition, nearly all 3- and 4-year-olds, and about one-third of 5-year-olds, are preschoolers.' The report describes children's overall participation rate in child care and early education programs and their participation in distinct care and early education settings.