Effectiveness of Puhui Early Education Services Policy in China: Evidence from the Triangulated Perspectives of Stakeholders

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Puhui early education services (PEES) policy in China from the triangulated perspectives of stakeholders using a developed and validated scale. First, applying a stratified cluster sampling method, the Puhui Early Education Services Policy Effectiveness Scale (PE) was developed and validated with 85 principals, 909 kindergarten teachers, and 4,128 parents. Second, the psychometric properties indicated that the PE was a reliable and valid scale with three constructs: accessibility, affordability, and quality. Third, descriptive statistics found that Chinese stakeholders submitted a positive evaluation of the PEES policy effectiveness, with the construct of quality ranked the highest and that of affordability the lowest. Fourth, parents have fewer positive evaluations compared to principals and teachers, while stakeholders from Puhui private kindergartens have more positive evaluations compared to those from public kindergartens. Last, hierarchical regression analysis found that kindergarten type and rating were critical positive predictors after controlling for demographic and urbanicity factors. Practice or Policy: These findings indicate that it is necessary to understand parents’ policy expectations and improve the financial distribution to ensure sustainable and high-quality development of the PEES.

Acknowledgments

This research was fully funded by Major Projects of the National Social Science Fund of China (18ZDA336). We would like to express our appreciation to all the principals, teachers, and parents who participated in as well as to those who assisted in our study to provide related data.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Review

The study was approved by University Committee on Human Research Protection of East China Normal University with approval number “HR 072-2020” in advance of data collection.

Additional information

Funding

Data collection and preliminary analysis were sponsored by Major Projects of the National Social Science Fund of China (18ZDA336). We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.