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Froebel’s Gifts: How the Kindergarten Movement Changed the American Family

Author

Listed:
  • Philipp Ager
  • Francesco Cinnirella

Abstract

Nineteenth-century social reformers promoted the establishment of kindergartens as a remedy for the problems associated with industrialization and immigration. Using newly collected data on historical kindergarten statistics, we evaluate the impact that the roll-out of the first kindergartens in American cities had on poor families. We find that immigrant women exposed to kindergartens significantly reduced fertility. Their offspring were more likely to attend school, they worked less at age 10-15, and they had fewer children as adults. Kindergarten exposure also helped children and mothers of non-English-speaking households to acquire English proficiency thereby illustrating the importance of kindergartens in the social integration of immigrant families.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp Ager & Francesco Cinnirella, 2024. "Froebel’s Gifts: How the Kindergarten Movement Changed the American Family," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_604, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2024_604
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    File URL: https://www.crctr224.de/research/discussion-papers/archive/dp604
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Kindergarten Education; Immigration; Fertility Transition; Child labor; School Attendance; Social Integration.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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