This working paper is part of the Studies in Early Transitions series emerging from Young Lives, a 15-year longitudinal study of childhood poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. It explores recent trends for children growing up in Andhra Pradesh, one of India’s most populous states, based on Young Lives survey data collected for a sample of 1950 young children born in 2001 plus in-depth qualitative research.

The paper discusses how poverty levels and location are strongly predictive of whether children attend government or private pre-school. It highlights policy challenges stemming from weak governance of the pre-school sector, notably how the relatively-unregulated and rapidly-growing private sector offers to initiate children into formal learning, in English, from a much earlier age than normally considered to be developmentally appropriate. And it identifies how government provision could be improved and strengthened.

Other working papers in the Studies in Early Transitions series are Early Childhood Transitions Research: A review of concepts, theory and practice (Working Paper 48, by Pia Vogler, Gina Crivello and Martin Woodhead); Equity and quality? Challenges for early childhood and primary education in Ethiopia, India and Peru (Working Paper 55, by Martin Woodhead, Patricia Ames, Uma Vennam, Workneh Abebe and Natalia Streuli); and Continuity and respect for diversity: Strengthening early transitions in Peru (Working Paper 56, by Patricia Ames, Vanessa Rojas and Tamia Portugal).