Boarding school experience and child development and attainment among preschoolers in rural China

Abstract

In western China, many rural preschoolers start boarding as young as three or four years old, staying at preschool for five consecutive days and nights per week. In the literature, residential childcare experience between ages zero and three years distorts children’s stress response mechanisms and undermines their physical, social, and cognitive development. For school-age children aged six years and above, findings were mixed, with evidence indicating both positive and negative implications of residential childcare for child development. The relationship of residential childcare experience in early childhood (ages three to six) to child development is uncharted water. The present research, which comprises two longitudinal studies, examines the impacts of early childhood boarding experience on rural Chinese children’s biological stress responses and physical, social, and academic development. Focusing on the first 12 weeks of transition to preschool, Study One examined the impacts of boarding on preschool beginners’ stress responses as reflected by saliva cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA), behaviour problems, and school refusal as well as how these impacts were moderated by caregiver–child relationships. The saliva samples of 61 rural preschoolers (31 boarders and 30 non-boarders; mean age = 44.0 months, SD = 9.8 months) were collected over the first 12 weeks of transition to preschool. Primary caregivers reported these children’s problem behaviours, school refusal, and caregiver–child relationships. The results showed that boarders experienced a larger mid-morning to mid-afternoon rise in cortisol on the second-to-last weekday (Thursdays) compared to non-boarders. In addition, non-boarders experienced an accelerated decrease in sAA during the 12 weeks, whereas boarders did not. Boarders also exhibited more school refusal behaviours than non-boarders, especially among children with poor caregiver–child relationships. In contrast to Study One, which covered only a small set of developmental outcomes within a short period, Study Two examined how boarding impacted rural Chinese children’s physical, social and academic development during a one-year follow-up period. A total of 240 rural preschoolers (130 boarders and 110 non-boarders; mean age = 50.7 months; SD = 6.6 months) and their primary caregivers and teachers participated. Children’s developmental outcomes were measured twice, with a one-year gap in between, using one-on-one child assessments and teacher and caregiver reports. The results showed that children’s early boarding experience was associated with delayed physical growth, obesity, and increased malnutrition risk one year later. As for social outcomes, boarders had higher levels of teacher-reported social competence and lower levels of teacher-reported behaviour problems than did non-boarders. Finally, boarders had poorer receptive vocabulary but stronger maths skills one year later compared to non-boarders. Boarders’ advantages in maths development were explained by their higher levels of academic motivation, but such advantages tended to diminish for those with more caregiver–child conflicts. Taken together, the current findings underscore both positive and negative impacts of boarding on rural Chinese preschoolers’ development and attainment. Children who have poor relationships with their primary caregivers seem especially vulnerable to the boarding environment’s negative effects. This research highlights the importance of addressing boarding preschoolers’ developmental needs in the rural Chinese context.