Understanding parental decisions in early childhood education enrollment: motivations and educational outcomes

The importance of early childhood educational programs as an integral part of the basic educational system and as an essential context for the children’s cultural socialization is now well established by both scientific literature and Italian political regulations (Integrated “Zero-to-Six” System). Despite this, the availability and attendance of Early childhood education centers (ECEC) dedicated to the 0-3 age group are far from homogeneous and widespread in our country. The research explored, through a questionnaire administered to 115 parents, the motivations behind the parental choice to enroll or not enroll their child in an ECEC, also in relation to socio-demographic variables. The results show that this choice produces significant differences in the participating parents’ parental skills, knowledge about child development and educational practices in which to involve and engage them at home. ECEC is an important context of educational and cultural socialization for children and also their parents. The implications of these results for educational services and future research directions on the topic will be discussed.