The Future of Education

Socioeconomic inequalities in early childhood are strongly associated with children’s cognitive and social-emotional development, often shaping educational trajectories from the earliest years of schooling (Sirin, 2005). However, some children from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds demonstrate high levels of early learning outcomes despite adverse conditions, reflecting early forms of positive adaptation and resilience (Anastasou & Kyriakides, 2024; Masten, 2014). This study explores early academic success among socioeconomically disadvantaged children using data from the International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study (IELS). The study focuses on participating countries with different levels of socioeconomic inequality in early learning outcomes in order to investigate factors associated with high achievement among children at risk due to low socioeconomic status (SES). Early academic success is operationalised as high performance in early literacy and numeracy among children from low-SES backgrounds. Countries will be selected based on differences in SES achievement gaps to allow meaningful cross-country comparisons of equity in early childhood education systems. Using country-specific multilevel regression analyses, the study will examine the contribution of child, family and early learning environment factors, including home learning activities, parental support and preschool experiences, to the likelihood of disadvantaged children demonstrating high early achievement. The findings are expected to contribute to the literature on educational equity, early childhood resilience and protective factors that support positive adaptation in the early years.

[1] Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417–453.

[2] Anastasou, M., & Kyriakides, L. (2024). Academically resilient students: searching for differential teacher effects in mathematics. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 35(1), 48–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2024.2314571

[3] Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development. Guilford Press.