Tackling inequalities starts with early childhood education
Can early childhood education and care (ECEC) promote the development of socio-economically disadvantaged children? That’s the question posed by the EU-funded EQOP(opens in new window) project. “Social inequalities can have lifelong consequences for a child, and ECEC is one of the most promising interventions for mitigating this growing problem,” says Henrik Daae Zachrisson(opens in new window), a professor at the University of Oslo(opens in new window) and the project’s principal investigator. “Knowing whether this promise is justified has direct implications for policy priorities.”
Socio-economic gaps as opportunity gaps
The project, which received support from the European Research Council(opens in new window) (ERC), set out to identify the causes of social inequalities in language, social-emotional development and school achievement. To do so, researchers took an investigative approach, combining data from various studies and registries to get a nuanced assessment of an individual child’s growth. While they found an increasing income-achievement gap over time in Norway, they also found that ECEC for toddlers has a positive long-term effect (up to age 14) on achievement outcomes. “We empirically demonstrated that socio-economic gaps in achievement are opportunity gaps, and that a holistic approach to education across age and institutions is the most promising route for reducing inequality in lifetime opportunities,” explains Zachrisson.
Research has a direct impact on national and international policy
These findings have already influenced policy – both in Norway and beyond. For example, as a direct result of the project’s work, the Norwegian government appointed Zachrisson to an expert group on child poverty. He has also briefed the Norwegian Minister of Education on the project’s research. In 2025, Zachrisson addressed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD(opens in new window) about ECEC policy), and was interviewed for the OECD ‘Top Class’ education podcast(opens in new window).
An interdisciplinary approach to social inequalities in learning and development
According to Zachrisson, the project’s success is a direct result of its interdisciplinary research group, which brought together experts from such fields as psychology, education, sociology, economics and quantitative genetics. “The EQOP project is proof that a truly interdisciplinary team is needed to move research forward in the immensely complex area of social inequalities in learning and development,” he concludes. Even though the project is now finished, the research group continues its collaboration, with some researchers receiving ERC Starting Grants(opens in new window), along with various national grants. Zachrisson himself plans to apply for an ERC Advanced Grant(opens in new window) to expand his work on educational opportunities across ages and domains.