?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Pre-School+Education+and+Care+%E2%80%93+A+'Win-Win'+Policy%3F&rft.creator=Green%2C+A&rft.creator=Mostafa%2C+T&rft.description=Pre-school+education+and+care+(PSEC)+is+often+claimed+as+a+%E2%80%98win-win%E2%80%99+policy+which+simultaneously+enhances+both+economic+competitiveness+and+social+cohesion.+High+levels+of+PSEC+are+said+to+raise+living+standards+by+increasing+female+employment+rates+and+improving+young+people%E2%80%99s+skills+and+to+mitigate+inequalities+by+reducing+social+gaps+in+learning+outcomes.+Much+of+the+evidence+for+this+rests+on+analysis+of+data+for+a+small+number+of+countries.+In+this+paper+we+test+the+claims+using+cross-national+time+series+data+for+a+large+number+of+OECD+countries.+The+analysis+of+determinants+of+employment+rates%2C+using+a+variety+of+controls%2C+does+confirm+the+association+between+PSEC+participation+levels+and+female+employment+rates.+However%2C+the+cross-national+analysis+does+not+support+the+argument+that+raising+aggregate+levels+of+PSEC+participation+necessarily+reduces+social+gaps+in+attainment+at+15+years+of+age.+Participation+in+PSEC+increases+educational+performance+at+15+by+similar+amounts+for+children+of+all+social+groups+in+most+countries.+Social+gaps+in+performance+at+15+may+only+be+mitigated+by+high+levels+of+PSEC+provision+where+children+from+less+advantaged+families+get+more+%E2%80%93+or+better+quality+%E2%80%93+provision.+The+recently+announced+Department+for+Education+plan+to+extend+free+provision+of+PSEC+for+fifteen+hours+a+week+to+two-year-old+children+from+disadvantaged+families+(i.e.+in+care+or+qualifying+for+free+school+meals)+therefore+points+in+the+right+direction.+However%2C+it+remains+to+be+seen+whether+this+will+bias+participation+towards+this+group+sufficiently+to+reduce+inequalities+in+learning+outcomes.&rft.subject=Pre-school+education+and+care%2C+female+employment%2C+Macro+level+analysis&rft.publisher=Centre+for+Learning+and+Life+Chances+in+Knowledge+Economies+and+Societies+(LLAKES)%2C+UCL+Institute+of+Education&rft.date=2011&rft.type=Working+%2F+discussion+paper&rft.language=eng&rft.source=++++(LLAKES+Research+Paper++32).+Centre+for+Learning+and+Life+Chances+in+Knowledge+Economies+and+Societies+(LLAKES)%2C+UCL+Institute+of+Education%3A+London%2C+UK.+(2011)+++++&rft.format=text&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscovery.ucl.ac.uk%2Fid%2Feprint%2F1518081%2F1%2FGreen-Mostafa.pdf&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscovery.ucl.ac.uk%2Fid%2Feprint%2F1518081%2F&rft.rights=open