| Popis: |
Children of migrant origin often face inequalities in academic opportunities, with research suggesting that achievement gaps are present even early in the life course. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is often put forward as a possible equaliser. However, there is a need for more population-level studies as well as more research in the European context, especially in more recent countries of immigration. In this research article, we draw on data from a nationally representative Irish cohort study (N =7,781) and use propensity score methods to account for differential selection into ECEC. We estimate the causal effect of ECEC attendance on later English language achievement and gauge the equalisation power and potential of the system. The findings indicate that the Irish ECEC system helped to reduce achievement gaps by migration background for children from non-English speaking homes, despite it not promoting English language achievement amongst other groups. |
