This document summarizes key findings from the TALIS Starting Strong 2018 survey on diversity and quality in early childhood education. It finds that socioeconomic gaps in child development emerge early. While early childhood education can help disadvantaged children, quality varies between more and less diverse centers. More diverse centers often face greater shortages and lower parental involvement, though staff may have more diversity training and use adaptive practices. Ensuring resources for diverse centers, reducing diversity concentrations, and supporting family engagement could help reduce inequalities.

1. Levelling the playing field in Early Childhood Education
and Care: Insights from TALIS Starting Strong 2018
ISSA-OECD Webinar “Diversity + Quality = Equity? A complex
equation for early childhood education and care”
Andreas Schleicher
4 March 2024
Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills

2. Socio-economic gaps in cognitive and socio-emotional development emerge early
in life
Source: OECD (2020), Early Learning and Child Well-being: A Study of Five-year-olds in England, Estonia, and the United States.
Development differences between socio-economically disadvantaged and advantaged
children by age 5

3. Ensuring participation in high-quality ECEC is a major steppingstone for levelling
the playing field for disadvantaged children
Score point difference between children who did and who did not attend ECEC
Source: OECD (2020), Early Learning and Child Well-being: A Study of Five-year-olds in England, Estonia, and the United States.

4. Participation in ECEC for 3 to 5 year-olds is typical or near-universal in several
OECD countries and increasingly reflects social and cultural diversity
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Argentina¹
²
Colombia¹
France¹
Indonesia¹
²
Ireland¹
Mexico
Peru¹
Australia¹
Luxembourg¹
United
Kingdom¹
Netherlands
Hungary¹
Belgium¹
³
Portugal¹
³
Switzerland¹
Denmark¹
New
Zealand¹
Norway¹
Spain¹
Japan
Austria¹
Iceland
Latvia
Israel
Poland
Germany
Sweden
OECD
average
Slovenia¹
EU25
average
Costa
Rica¹
Italy¹
Czech
Republic¹
Korea
Estonia
Canada¹
Greece¹
³
Lithuania
Finland¹
Chile
Brazil
Slovak
Republic¹
India¹
Romania¹
United
States¹
³
Bulgaria¹
Croatia¹
Türkiye
Saudi
Arabia¹
Enrolment rates of young children, by age (2021)
Under age 2 Age 2 Age 3 Age 4 Age 5
Source: OECD (2023), Education at a Glance, Indicator B2.
%

5.  What is the prevalence of different dimensions of diversity
among children attending ECEC settings?
 To what extent do dimensions of diversity accumulate
within in ECEC settings?
 How do indicators of structural and process quality compare
between more and less diverse ECEC centres/groups?
Questions around how to serve diverse populations of children in ECEC become
increasingly important

6. What is TALIS Starting Strong?
6
2 levels of education: pre-primary (in all countries); and settings
for children under the age of 3 (in 4 countries)
In 2018, 9 countries: Chile, Denmark, Germany, Israel,
Iceland, Japan, Korea, Norway, Turkey
Asks ECEC professionals about their working practices; training
and satisfaction; views about the sector
?
An international survey of staff and centre leaders in
early childhood education and care

7. Dimensions and levels of diversity in ECEC centres measured by TALIS
Starting Strong
Children
with
special
education
needs
Children from
socio-economically
disadvantaged homes
Children
who are
refugees
Children with a
different first
language
May apply to the same children OR
different groups of children within the ECEC centres
Accumulation of diversity within ECEC centres/groups: two
or more dimensions of diversity apply to more than 10% of
the children
e.g.
Diverse ECEC centres/groups: at least one dimension
of diversity applies to more than 10% of the children
e.g.

8. Both structural and process quality matter for children, and both factors can vary
with the diversity of children in ECEC centres
Structural factors
related to the quality
of ECEC
Adequacy of centre-
level resources
Staff composition,
experience and training
Processes
related to the quality
of ECEC
Staff attitudes and
practices with children
Engagement with
families and other
services
Shortages of material
resources
Training on diversity topics
Adaptive pedagogical
practices
Parental involvement in
centres
Indicators used in this presentation:

9. Shortages of material resources are more often reported by ECEC centres serving
higher shares of children from diverse backgrounds in several countries
All ECEC
centres
Difference in % of ECEC centres reporting a shortage of material
resources between centres with/where
Socio-economic
disadvantage
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Special
education needs
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Different first
language
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Accumulation
of dimensions
of diversity
[Two or more
vs. One]
Türkiye 85.4 10.2 12.8 13.9 9.9
Israel 77.7 21.2
Germany* 73.5 12.9 15.3
Chile 73.4
Korea 72.2 21.7
Iceland 58.8
Japan 58.5
Norway 53.2
Less shortages
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (+)
More shortages
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (-)
Difference is not
statistically
Significant
Missing values
Pre-primary (ISCED 02) ECEC centres

10. Staff working in more diverse ECEC centres tend to have more training on
addressing diversity topics in most participating countries
More trained staff
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (+)
Less trained staff
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (-)
Difference is not
statistically
Significant
Missing values
Difference in percentage of staff reporting training on diversity
topics between centres with/where
Socio-economic
disadvantage
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Special
education needs
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Different first
language
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Accumulation
of dimensions
of diversity
[Two or more
vs. One]
Chile 8.1 8.6
Germany 8.4 7.8
Iceland 5.4
Israel 11.1 11.2 8.1
Japan
Korea
Norway 15.0
Türkiye -16.6
Pre-primary (ISCED 02) ECEC centres

11. Similarly, staff working with more diverse groups of children tend to report a
greater use of adaptive pedagogical practices in several countries
Difference in the scale of staff adaptive practices between target
groups with/where:
Socio-economic
disadvantage
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Special
education needs
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Different first
language
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Accumulation
of dimensions
of diversity
[Two or more
vs. One]
Chile +
Germany* + +
Iceland + + +
Israel +
Japan
Korea
Norway + +
Türkiye
More adaptation
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (+)
Less adaptation
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (-)
Difference is not
statistically
Significant
Missing values
Pre-primary (ISCED 02) ECEC centres

12. But parental involvement tends to be substantially lower in more diverse ECEC
centres in many countries
More involvement
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (+)
Less involvement
in more diverse
ECEC centres
% points (-)
Difference is not
statistically
Significant
Missing values
All ECEC
centres
Difference in % of ECEC centre leaders reporting a high level of
parental involvement between centres with/where
Socio-economic
disadvantage
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Special
education needs
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Different first
language
[>10% vs.
<=10% of
children]
Accumulation
of dimensions
of diversity
[Two or more
vs. One]
Türkiye 77.5 -53.8 -24.3 ns
Chile 70.3 -17.2 -14.8 -36.2 ns
Korea 67.5 ns ns c ns
Israel 64.0 ns ns ns ns
Japan 58.7 ns ns ns ns
Germany* 56.6 -17.5 ns -19.2 ns
Norway 37.4 -29.1 ns ns ns
Iceland 31.7 ns ns ns ns
Pre-primary (ISCED 02) ECEC centres

13.  Many ECEC systems appear to be (positively) responsive to diversity in some aspects of
quality (training, pedagogical practices)
 But also, in many countries quality appears to be lower in more diverse ECEC centres
regarding other aspects (material resources, parental investment)
 Variation in quality according to the diversity profiles of ECEC centres is higher in
countries with more diverse populations of children attending ECEC and lower in
countries where these populations of children are less diverse
Results paint a complex picture about the association between the diversity
of children in ECEC centres and indicators of quality

14.  Continuing to raise ECEC participation for disadvantaged children, especially the
youngest ones, should remain a priority
 Identifying the factors driving the concentration of diverse children in ECEC centres and
exploring policies to reduce it
 Ensuring that more diverse ECEC centres are adequately resourced according to their
specific needs
 Encouraging practices that adapt to children’s needs and recognise the value of
diversity in all centres
 Support the engagement with families and communities and cooperation with other
services, especially in centres with high concentration of diverse children
What policies can help in reducing inequalities in participation in high-quality
ECEC among young children?

15. https://www.oecd.org/education/school/earlychildhoo
deducationandcare.htm
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