Many low-income and minority children in the United States and globally are at risk of poor educational trajectories and, consequently, diminished life courses, because their households and neighborhoods lack resources to adequately support learning and development prior to formal schooling. This review summarizes evidence on center-based early childhood education (ECE) for three- and four-year-olds as a means of assuring school readiness in cognitive and socioemotional skills. While the details of ECE programs merit further research, it is clear that ECE can benefit children, especially those most disadvantaged, with additional societal benefits and positive long-run economic returns. Universal ECE is not a cure-all, and its success requires ongoing alignment with subsequent education and attention to child household and community conditions. Because resource deprivation is concentrated in low-income and minority communities, publicly funded universal ECE can also be a powerful instrument for the promotion of social equity.

中文翻译：

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幼儿教育：健康、公平和经济学

美国和全球许多低收入和少数族裔儿童面临着不良教育轨迹的风险，从而导致生命课程减少，因为他们的家庭和社区缺乏资源来充分支持正规学校教育之前的学习和发展。这篇综述总结了针对三岁和四岁儿童的以中心为基础的幼儿教育（ECE）的证据，作为确保认知和社会情感技能上学做好准备的一种手段。虽然儿童早教项目的细节值得进一步研究，但很明显，儿童早教可以使儿童，特别是处境最不利的儿童受益，并带来额外的社会效益和积极的长期经济回报。普及儿童早教并不是包治百病的灵丹妙药，它的成功需要与后续教育保持一致，并关注儿童家庭和社区条件。由于资源匮乏集中在低收入和少数民族社区，公共资助的全民儿童早教也可以成为促进社会公平的有力工具。