Parenting Training’s Effect on Parenting Behaviors and Subjective Well-being: A Randomized Control Trail in Rural China

Abstract

This paper presents the preliminary findings from the randomized experiment on early childhood education in Yunnan province, China. In the treatment group, caregivers were gathered together regularly to be trained by kindergarten teachers on parenting skills, and extracurricular books are made available for borrowing in the kindergartens. The empirical analysis reveals no significant improvement in caregivers’ parenting behaviors. In addition, parent’s subjective well-being is also not affected. The results alarm the difficulties in changing caregivers’ parenting behaviors in less developed regions, which might suggest that we shall count more on formal institutions such as kindergartens to improve early childhood development.