Can Early Childhood Education Cultivate More Engaged Citizens in Midlife? Findings From Urban Youth of Color
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9729048 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Suh‐Ruu Ou (0000-0003-4735-3113, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA, corresponding author), Sangok Yoo (0000-0003-4338-3614, University of Texas at Tyler, USA), Arthur J Reynolds (0000-0003-2472-214X, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 169-197 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education and Urban Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00131245251363204 |
| PMID | 41425111 |
| OpenAlex | W4413105242 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 67 |
Early childhood education (ECE) is linked to improved school achievement and certain adult outcomes; however, its connection with civic engagement has not been thoroughly examined. In the present study, we investigated the relation between the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program, an ECE program, and civic engagement in midlife. The sample was drawn from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS, N = 1,098, 93.6% black; 54.5% women), a cohort of urban youth of color. Regression analyses revealed that CPC preschool is significantly associated with higher civic participation, electoral activities, and the Civic Engagement Index (CEI). Participants who attended both CPC preschool and school-age programs (PK-3) reported significantly higher electoral activities and a higher CEI. Males benefited more from PK-3 participation in civic participation. Educational attainment and juvenile arrest mediated the significant associations between CPC participation and civic engagement. Findings suggest that early childhood education programs may promote civic engagement in midlife among urban youth of color in high-poverty neighborhoods
Developmental psychology · Early childhood education · Sociology · Early Childhood Education and Development · Psychology · School Choice and Performance · Youth Development and Social Support
Minority Report
Impacts of Adolescent and Young Adult Civic Engagement on Health and Socioeconomic Status in Adulthood
Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Early Education Interventions on Cognitive and Social Development
Inverse probability weighted M-estimators for sample selection, attrition, and stratification
Does education improve citizenship? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom
Inverse probability weighted estimation for general missing data problems
School-Based Early Childhood Education and Age-28 Well-Being
Bowling alone
Controlling the False Discovery Rate
Matching Methods for Causal Inference
The Bioecological Model of Human Development
Adult outcomes of sustained high-quality early child care and education
What Do We Mean By “Civic Engagement”
Civic Engagement and the Transition to Adulthood
The Protective Effects of Pre-collegiate Civic Engagement on College Alcohol Use and Well-being
Assessing equity in health, wealth, and civic engagement
Examining the relationship between civic engagement and mental health in young adults
Growing up in poverty and civic engagement
Mapping Civic Engagement in Later Life
What Social Scientists Have Learned About Civic Education
Examining civic engagement in ethnic minority youth populations
(Re)theorizing civic engagement
Do the effects of early childhood education programs differ by gender? A meta-analysis
Impacts of the New Mexico PreK initiative by children’s race/ethnicity
Thirty years later
From preschool to politics
The high/scope preschool curriculum comparison study through age 23
Dosage Effects in the Child-Parent Center PreK-to-3rd Grade Program
Mechanisms of effects of an early intervention program on educational attainment
Impacts of Early Childhood Education on Medium- and Long-Term Educational Outcomes
Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms
Reducing poverty and inequality through preschool-to-third-grade prevention services
Voice and Equality
Gender and the Pathways to Participation
Educational Attainment and Social Norms of Voting
Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Education on Voter Turnout
The Development of Students’ Engagement in School, Community and Democracy
Why no gender gap in electoral participation? A civic duty explanation
Childhood Skill Development and Adult Political Participation
The Civic Engagement Gap(s)
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |