Immigrant and disadvantaged children benefit most from early childcare

Attending universal childcare from age three significantly improves the school readiness of children from immigrant and disadvantaged family backgrounds, a new UCL study has found. However, the research by the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), shows the same universal childcare, only has a modest impact on the school readiness of children from advantaged backgrounds. The study, which looked at German school entry exam data, also shows that immigrant children and children from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to attend childcare at age three. The research will be published in the forthcoming Journal of Political Economy . "Attending universal childcare from age three nearly eliminates the difference between immigrant and native children, when it comes to readiness for school. Yet, despite this clear educational benefit, children from immigrant and disadvantaged backgrounds, are substantially less likely to enter early childcare," said study co-author Professor Christian Dustmann, Director of CReAM (UCL Economics). There are several factors that help to explain why children from immigrant and disadvantaged families are less likely to attend childcare, despite high gains.