Effectiveness of Puhui Kindergartens' Development in China: A Parental Evaluation

Research Findings: This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of Puhui kindergartens (PhKs), an innovative type of kindergarten proposed by the Chinese government as part of a 2010 national policy for the development of universal early childhood education, from the perspective of parents. Altogether, 28,732 Chinese parents, randomly sampled from PhKs nationwide, completed the Puhui Kindergarten Rating Scale. There were three main findings: (1) Chinese parents highly positively evaluated PhK quality but negatively evaluated the school financial allocation and educational compensation for disadvantaged children; (2) the latent profile analysis identified low-, medium-, and high-level profiles of parent evaluations, differentiated by their educational background, geographical area, kindergarten type, and monthly fees; and (3) a hierarchical regression analysis predicting PhK evaluation found that kindergarten type had a critical effect. Practice or Policy: The results suggest that a change in the financing structure and kindergarten system as well as more targeted strategies are necessary to promote equity in early childhood education in China.