Research On The Influence Of Early Childhood Development Level On Family Preschool Education Investment Decision In Western Rural Areas

Human capital is an important driving force and source of technological innovation and sustainable economic growth.After 40 years of rapid growth through reform and opening up,people's living standards have improved significantly,per capita GDP from $153 in 1978 to$9769 in 2018.The economic development of our country has entered the "new normal",constraints on consumption,investment,comparative advantages of factors and resources and environment determine that economic growth will shift from relying mainly on factors-driven to relying on innovation-driven and technological advancement.The key to realizing this transformation is to improve the quality of human capital of China's future labor force.Heckman,a Nobel laureate in economics,found that if a country and a family invest 1 yuan for a child of 3-4 years old,the return to society in the future is 7 yuan;1 yuan for investment in primary school will have a return of 3 yuan;Yuan can only return 1 yuan,and investment in early childhood development can save more costs than investing in the later stages of the life cycle.A number of international studies have also shown that preschool education has an important and long-term impact on the development of children's language,intelligence,and emotions,as well as on breaking mtergenerational transmission of poverty,reducing crime rates,and promoting social equity.It can be seen that the pre-school education,which is the foundation of basic education and the beginning of lifelong education,is self-evident in terms of the importance of human capital accumulation in a country or an individual.China 1s a typical dual economic structure country.The rural economy is developing slowly.Many rural families are facing serious monetary constraints on their educational investment behavior,and their investment in education 1s insufficient.Since preschool education in China has not been included ? the compulsory education system,its essential characteristics of basic,public and public welfare have not been well reflected.The overall level of investment in preschool education in rural areas 1s quite different.The investment method of preschool education.And the structure is not the same.So,what factors lead to differences in rural households' investment decisions in preschool education?Is it a family factor?The child's own situation?Still other?Therefore,this paper adopts the methods of descriptive statistical analysis and multiple linear regression analysis to make an empirical analysis of the factors affecting the investment decision of preschool education in rural areas and focuses on exploring the influence of children's early development level on the investment decision of preschool education.This paper uses the data of nutrition intervention projects earried out by Center of Experimental Economics in Education of Shaanxi Normal University in 2013 in 11 national-level poverty-stricken counties in three cities in rural areas of S province.The baseline surveys were conducted in two cohorts in April 2013 and October 2013,and a random stratified sampling of 1800 children aged 6-12 months was selected.Subsequently,the follow-up survey was conducted every 6 months.During each survey period of the sample children from 6 to 30 months,all sample children were tested on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development(BSID),and their recent growth status and basic family information were also asked.In June 2017,the project team once again conducted a follow-up survey to understand their recent growth status and kindergarten attendance,thus forming panel data.Therefore,the author has the opportunity to study and analyze the investment in preschool education of the sample children's families and its influencing factors.The main conclusions of this study are as follows:(1)there are challenges in the early development of children in western rural areas,and there are problems of different degrees of intellectual development,lagging sports development and anemia in the age of 6-30 months.(2)the overall investment in preschool education of rural families in western China is low but the burden is heavy;The proportion of families that can have parent-child companionship is lower.(3)There is a significant correlation between the level of early childhood development and the investment decision of preschool education in rural families.Families whose children with higher scores in mental development tend to spend more money on books for their children,while families with higher scores in psychomotor development spend more money on toys and clothes.(4)family economic status,main type of dependents,mother's education level and educational expectation also have a significant impact on the preschool education investment behavior of rural families.Therefore,according to the research results of this paper,the author hopes that governments at all levels should increase guidance services for early childhood rearing and publicize the importance of early childhood development to raise the importance of early childhood development for rural families,strive to reduce the lag rate of early childhood development in rural areas.We will increase farmers' income through multiple channels and provide rural families with the ability to invest in preschool education.In addition,preschool education should be placed in an important position supported by educational funds and incorporated into the compulsory education system as soon as possible,so as to effectively reduce the burden of preschool education in rural families and enable families to invest more money and time in children's living expenses and parent-child companionship.