A spatial perspective on children’s numeracy competencies—Neighborhoods of early childhood education institutions in rural and urban areas in Germany

In the present study we examined whether spatial indicators of neighborhood structure proxied by the social composition of the local population predict numeracy competencies of children in early childhood educational institutions. Additionally, we investigated whether the impact of neighborhood structure differs between early childhood education institutions in urban and rural areas. We used data from 189 children attending early childhood educational institutions in two federal states in Germany along with spatial data on social welfare and foreigner proportions as found in the neighborhoods surrounding early childhood educational institutions. Although we had limited information on children’s individual characteristics, we addressed the associated problem of selection bias partially by using growth modeling. It allowed us to consider the first measurement occasion when modeling the second one to examine the impact of neighborhood structure on children’s competencies. The results indicated that, in contrast to children who live in rural areas, a substantial amount of variance in children’s competencies in urban areas is explained by foreigner proportion. We concluded that it is useful to consider spatial aspects when predicting children’s competencies. Besides, it appears reasonable to include the neighborhood perspective into theoretical models of children’s academic development.