Chapter 2: Addressing Gender and Advanced Degrees: The Educational Gradient in Time Spent in Childcare for Mothers and Fathers from 2012–2021

We examine the education gradient in childcare using the 2012–2021 American Time Use Survey (ATUS), with a special focus on individuals with advanced degrees and time spent in cognitive care – for example, time spent reading to children or helping with homework – compared to basic care or play care. In addition, we evaluate how time spent in cognitive, basic, or play care changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results suggest that a spouse’s education matters more in predicting the time men spend in play or basic care, but men’s own education matters for how much time they spend in cognitive care, as men with advanced education spend the most time, a trend which emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, women’s own education matters for predicting the time spent in childcare, and mothers with advanced education are only distinct in that they spend the most time in cognitive care, relative to basic care or play care. However, mothers’ trends by education shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the educational gradient converging. Our findings highlight the need to consider advanced education in examining the gendered effects of education on childcare time, particularly in care surrounding cognitive development.