Abstract
This research examines village-level early childhood education's impact on rural Chinese children's development through longitudinal analysis of 30,000 participants since 2017. Using quasi-experimental methods, the study demonstrates that extending ECE duration significantly improves academic and socio-emotional outcomes, particularly for left-behind children. Current work tracks cohorts through secondary school in Hunan Province and pilots family-engagement interventions in Sichuan Province. Partnering with leading Chinese think tanks and NGOs, the project provides evidence-based policy recommendations that have increased government investment in rural ECE. The research develops scalable models for addressing educational inequality in resource-constrained settings globally.
