The association between early childhood education of 3-5 year olds and maternal marital status in Mexico, 2010

Abstract

This paper examines the association between preschool enrolment of 3-5 year olds and maternal marital status in Mexico and determines how this association varies by maternal education and socioeconomic status. Based on microdata from the 2010 Mexican census, we used descriptive statistics and random-effect logistic models for this analysis. Children of single, separated or cohabiting mothers have lower preschool enrolment rates than children of married mothers. However, for children of highly-educated mothers, these disadvantages are slightly reduced, and reversed for children of divorced mothers, except for children of cohabiting mothers, whose lower preschool enrolment persist across social groups.