The consequences of institutional early childcare on child development-a systematic review

Institutional early childcare for children under 3 years is currently the subject of controversial public and political debate. A systematic review of the empirical research on this topic is still pending and is to be carried out with this article. Using the method of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines (PRISMA) a systematic literature search and analysis of empirical peer-reviewed studies was carried out, which fulfilled the following criteria: 1) the sample under investigation belonged to the infant and toddler age group (between 0-3 years), 2) the focus of the study was on the effects of institutional early care on child development, 3) results were compared with a control group and 4) measurements were performed with validated instruments. A total of 28 studies were included that investigated the effects of institutional early childcare on the cognitive/linguistic, emotional development/attachment and social behavior of children. The synthesis of the results showed that the attachment style of children is more influenced by the family but that language/cognition and also social behavior can be positively supported in early childcare institutions if the care constellation is stable, the care key is good and the pedagogical work is of high quality. Conclusion: on the basis of current empirical studies, early childcare can be recommended if it meets the abovementioned quality characteristics.