1,721,152 research outputs found
The Impact of the ‘Coding Girls’ Program on High School Students’ Skills, Awareness and Aspirations
No full textThis article evaluates the impact of the 'Coding Girls' educational enrichment program designed to address the underrepresentation of women and girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Implemented in Italy, the program seeks to stimulate the interest of young female students in programming and science, encouraging them to consider STEM-related fields of study. Through a randomized controlled trial involving twenty-eight classes across ten secondary schools in Turin, Italy, we assess the program's effectiveness. Our results show that Coding Girls significantly enhances the programming skills of both male and female students. Moreover, it raises awareness among students about gender disparities in STEM-related professions. While the program positively influences boys' aspirations to pursue higher education in STEM disciplines, it does not have a similar effect on girls. (JEL codes: J16 I23
The impact evaluation of short repeated programs: The case of parenting skills programs
Full text linkIn this article, we estimate a series of models to evaluate the effects of a short program in a context where randomization is not feasible but the program follows a cyclical pattern. We will focus empirically on a case study involving parenting skills courses, which have become increasingly popular. In order to evaluate the impact of the program on parents’ and children outcomes, we employ two different methods. The first method compares the outcomes of families who have just finished the program with those who are about to start it; the second compares the outcomes of the same families over time. Furthermore, we propose a model to test whether families who enrolled early were systematically different from those who enrolled later. We find beneficial effects of the program on the importance of living in an area that offers opportunities and of having good quality relationships with friends and family; on the level of self-confidence in sharing one's experiences with other parents; and, in general, on the opinion that tablets and cell phones can be useful for learning, can give parents the opportunity to do something and can calm children. Moreover, we show that the families who access the course early are not random in every respect: they consistently assign higher importance to being well-integrated into a community and having access to culture for their well-being, and eventually, they utilize their time with children differently
Early Child Care and Child Outcomes: The Role of Grandparents
Full text linkIn this paper, we focus on the impact of early grandparents' care on child cognitive outcomes, in the short and medium term, using data from the Millennium Cohort Study (UK). Compared with children looked after in a formal care centre, children cared by grandparents (as well as parents) are better in naming objects, but worse in tests concerning basic concepts development, problem-solving, mathematical concepts and constructing ability. In order to assess a causal link between early care and child outcomes, we employ panel methods and instrumental variables techniques that confirm that grandparental care matters more for naming ability while formal care is more important for problem-solving ability and basic concepts development. These results hide strong heterogeneities: on the one hand, the positive association between grandparents' care and child outcomes is stronger for children in more advantaged households; on the other hand, the negative association is significant only for children in more disadvantaged households
The role of grandparenting in early childcare and child outcomes
Full text linkThis paper examines the short and medium term impact of early childcare provision by grandparents and formal care settings on child cognitive outcomes, using data from the Millennium Cohort Study (UK). Compared with children placed in formal childcare, children cared for by their grandparents are better at naming objects, but perform worse on tests of basic concept development and non-verbal reasoning. These results mask strong heterogeneities. On the one hand, the positive association between grandparental care and child outcomes is stronger for children from more advantaged households; on the other, the negative association is only significant for those from more disadvantaged households. The results of OLS estimations used for our analysis are confirmed using panel methods and an instrumental variable approach
Motherhood and Market Work Decisionsin Institutional Context: A European Perspective
No full textIn this paper, we explore the impact of social policies and labour market characteristics on women’s decisions regarding work and childbearing, using data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). We estimate the two decisions jointly and, in addition to personal characteristics, we include variables related to the childcare system, parental leave arrangements, family allowances, and part time opportunities. Our empirical results indicate that a non-negligible portion of the differences in labour market participation decisions of women from different European countries can be attributed to characteristics of their social policies, while the impact of “environmental variables” on fertility decisions is only marginally significant. Environmental effects vary by educational level in a significant way. Part-time opportunities (when well-paid and protected), childcare, optional parental leave, and child allowances have more of an impact on the participation decisions of women at lower educational levels
Does child care availability play a role in maternal employment and children’s development? : evidence from Italy
Full text linkPublished online: 12 November 2013This paper investigates the effects of public child care availability in Italy in mothers’ working status and children’s scholastic achievements. We use a newly available dataset containing individual standardized test scores of pupils attending the second grade of primary school in 2009–2010 in conjunction with data on public child care availability. Our estimates indicate a positive and significant effects of child care availability on both mothers’ working status and children’s Language test scores. We find that a percentage change in public child care coverage increases mothers’ probability to work by 1.3 percentage points and children’s Language test scores by 0.85 percent of one standard deviation; we do not find any effect on Math test scores. Moreover, the impact of a percentage change in public child care on mothers’ employment and children’s Language test scores is greater in provinces where child care availability is more limited
Investments in Early Education and Child Outcomes: The Short and the Long Run
No full textIn the last few years a growing number of economists and psychologists have focused on the ways parents care for their younger children. In households where both parents work in particular, the care of children has to be at least partially delegated to the care of other members of the family or to formal childcare. Given the importance of early investments in children’s development, an intense debate has focused on the availability and quality of alternative childcare modalities as substitutes for maternal time. n this article we report recent findings from the literature focusing on the impact of parental and non-parental investments on child outcomes, with attention to cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes as well as short-run and long-run effects
The impact of COVID on the gender division of domestic activities: evidence from two waves of the pandemic in Italy
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on families’ lives because of the increased demands of housework and childcare. Much of the additional burden has been shouldered by women. Yet, the rise in remote working also has the potential to increase paternal involvement in family life and thus to reduce gender role inequalities. This effect depends on the working arrangements of each partner, whether working remotely, at their usual workplace, or ceasing work altogether. Using two waves of an ad-hoc survey conducted in April and November 2020, we show that the time spent by women in domestic activities did not depend on their partners’ working arrangements. Conversely, men spent fewer hours helping with housework and home schooling when their partners were at home. Although men who worked remotely or did not work at all devoted more time to household activities during the second wave of COVID-19, the increased time they spent at home did not seem to lead to a reallocation of couples' time
Early childcare, child cognitive outcomes, and inequalities in the United Kingdom
Full text linkBecause of the growing participation of mothers in the labour market, a large number of children have been enrolled in childcare. In the last few years, an important literature has analysed the role of childcare in child development. The aim of this chapter is to explore the impact of childcare on child outcomes and its disparities, using the Millennium Cohort Survey (MCS) for the United Kingdom, which provides very detailed information on childcare and child outcomes. We first explore the association between formal childcare and child cognitive outcomes, allowing the effect of formal childcare to be different for children from different family backgrounds. Second, we simulate how an increase in formal childcare use can affect inequalities across children. Our results report that there is a significant association between childcare attendance and several child cognitive outcomes and that an increase in childcare attendance contributes to reduce inequalities across childre
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