Kindergarten matters more for children from disadvantaged families, researchers argue

In a post pandemic world the gap between the advantaged and the disadvantaged has continued to widen dramatically worldwide. In the US one in five children are now growing up in families that struggle to meet their basic needs, while in Norway, around 11 per cent of children find themselves in the same situation. 

Recently Professor Eric Dearing, the Executive Director of the Mary E. Walsh Centre for Thriving Children and Professor Henrik Daae Zachrisson from the University of Oslo explored the impact of this growing division of wealth on children and their lifelong educational outcomes in a University of Oslo podcast.

The pair began the episode by noting that when looking at different families living in poverty, the ways they experience disadvantage can vary greatly. 

One family may struggle with housing, while another might face food insecurity.

“It also varies for individual families over time. They may find ways to make ends meet one month and then be in crisis the next,” Professor Dearing, who visited the University of Oslo in September 2024 to accept his honorary doctoral degree explained.

In general, however, children in low-income families face higher rates of homelessness, food insecurity, and have fewer resources at home that are enriching for children.

“We might find fewer books, a lower likelihood of having a tablet or some other access to the internet, and they’re at greater risk of being exposed to environmental toxins. There are also tremendous differences depending on luck and bad luck,” the Professor continued.

The two psychologists have been working together for many years on early childhood education, social inequality in early education, and the consequences of childhood poverty. Their research suggests that high-quality preschooling is a resource with the potential to truly transform lives.

Can Education Solve Everything?

Education is widely seen as having the power to even out socioeconomic differences. The pair pondered the validity of this perspective. 

“I think it’s true and not true,” Professor Dearing said. “Education and loving care for children are key to equity and thriving. Any small efforts we make will lead to small improvements. Larger efforts lead to bigger improvements,” he said during the podcast conversation.

“But the ways in which poor children are disadvantaged compared to children in middle-income families—even those not the most affluent—are dramatically different. The number of opportunities those children have is vastly greater than those in low-income and poor families,” he continued.

School Readiness Skills

“If we compare children growing up in families where parents have few years of education or limited income to those growing up in more affluent and educated families, we find substantial gaps in all areas of what we call school readiness skills,” Professor Zachrisson explained.

These skills include self-regulation, the ability to focus and pay attention, organizing thoughts and feelings in behaviour, as well as early reading and language comprehension abilities.

So, what experiences promote those skills?

“In Norway, kids from low-income families or those with less-educated parents who enter daycare before two years of age see great benefits from kindergarten,” Zachrisson explained.

“Our early education programs, which promote language development throughout early childhood and academic skills once the kids are a few years into school—even as early as first grade—make a real difference for these kids. We have very strong evidence for this in Norway,” he said.

Among the active ingredients are a high proportion of educated early childhood teachers, quality interactions in the early childhood settings, and ample availability of quality learning materials, to name a few.

Diversity of Experience is Critical

While researchers are still trying to figure out what the ideal early childhood education and care environment looks like, plenty of qualified suggestions can be found in the available literature.

“We also know,” Professor Dearing added, “that conversation with adults is critically important. Having chances to playfully learn—having child-led opportunities where adults follow the children more than the reverse—and providing many diverse opportunities to enrich their experiences are crucial.”

“Diversity of experience is really critical,” he said, “and so is a warm and loving environment.”

Professors Dearing and Zachrisson are both involved in CREATE Center for Research on Equality in Education, a brand-new Centre of Excellence and the first of its kind within educational sciences in Norway. Follow CREATE for updates on their research.

Universal Early Childhood Education and Care for Toddlers and Achievement Outcomes in Middle Childhood and The Widening Achievement Gap Between Rich and Poor in a Nordic Country can support further learning in this space. 

Read the original coverage of this story here.