Predicting selection into ECEC of higher quality in a universal context: The role of parental education and income

The study investigates whether families with high socioeconomic status more often choose high-quality kindergartens, even though the system is designed to ensure that everyone has equal access to good kindergartens. Furthermore, the study investigates how the family's socioeconomic status and kindergarten quality affect the relationship between children and kindergarten staff. The aim is to find out whether families that are financially well-off and/or have a high level of education more often choose the best kindergartens, and whether the quality of kindergarten, together with the family's socioeconomic status, affects how children and kindergarten staff get along. The researchers also look at how easy or difficult it is for parents to find information about the quality of kindergarten.

The results show that children of parents with a high level of education, and to a lesser degree a high income, attend kindergartens with higher structural quality, according to the kindergarten teachers’ assessment. Furthermore, it is apparent that higher socioeconomic status of parents and better structural quality in kindergartens (such as development materials, staff expertise and stability) lead to a better relationship between child and kindergarten teacher, with more closeness and less conflict.

The study uses data from a group of children (N=7436) who are part of the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). When these children were five years old, their kindergarten teachers answered questionnaires about them. Kindergarten teachers of children born between 2006 and 2009 participated. The information from the kindergarten teachers was then combined with data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training and Statistics Norway.

Alexandersen, N., Zachrisson, H. D., Wilhelmsen, T., Wang, M. V. & Brandlistuen, R. E. (2021) "Predicting selection into ECEC of higher quality in a universal context: The role of parental education and income". Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55:336-348.