Accumulation of Opportunities Predicts the Educational Attainment and Adulthood Earnings of Children Born into Low- Versus Higher-Income Households
Accumulation of Opportunities Predicts the Educational Attainment and Adulthood Earnings of Children Born into Low- Versus Higher-Income Households
 
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Educational Researcher
September 26, 2024

Eric Dearing, Boston College
Andres S. Bustamante, University of California–Irvine
Henrik D. Zachrisson, University of Oslo
Deborah Lowe Vandell, University of California–Irvine

Education scholars theorize that “opportunity gaps” – inequitable access to experiences and settings that support learning – drive achievement disparities between children born into poverty versus affluence. In a 26-year longitudinal study of children (n = 814) from low- and higher-income families, we examine (1) disparity in the accumulation of opportunities at home, childcare, school, afterschool, and in the neighborhood from birth through high school, (2) the extent to which opportunity is linked with educational attainment and earnings in early adulthood, and (3) whether opportunity is most strongly associated with these adult outcomes for children from low-income households. We document large opportunity gaps between children from low- versus higher-income households. These opportunity gaps are strongly linked with educational attainment and earnings, particularly for low-income children, helping explain why household income in early childhood predicts these outcomes in adulthood.

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Read the press release: "New Research Identifies Strong Link Between Childhood Opportunities and Educational Attainment and Earnings as a Young Adult"

Video: Co-author Eric Dearing discusses findings and implications of the study

Study citation: Dearing, E., Bustamante, A. S., Zachrisson, H. D., & Vandell, D. L. (2024). Accumulation of opportunities predicts the educational attainment and adulthood earnings of children born into low- versus higher-income households. Educational Researcher. Prepublished September 26, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X241283456
 
 
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