Multicultural children are more likely to be developmentally vulnerable when starting school, affecting their education, with repercussions that could carry into adulthood, a joint University of South Australia and Settlement Services International (SSI) study, titled Stronger Starts, Brighter Futures ll, has found.
SSI’s General Manager of Newcomers, Settlement and Integration, Yamamah Agha, said children from migrant and refugee backgrounds need to be able to access culturally responsive early childhood education and early intervention support tailored to their needs.
“The higher rates of developmental vulnerability among multicultural children in the early years risks perpetuating a cycle where those who start school behind, often stay behind with significant impacts for the rest of their lives,” Agha said.
Australian Early Development Census data shows 82 per cent of children from culturally diverse backgrounds attended some form of early-childhood education in 2021 compared with 90 per cent of other children, according to the report.
The gap was mirrored in census data from 2009 to 2021.
UniSA social epidemiologist Sally Brinkman said mapping out multicultural children’s engagement in early childhood learning is increasingly important as Australia becomes more culturally diverse. Early childhood education, she said, is a powerful investment.
“It doesn’t just benefit the children and their families, but it also creates a chain reaction bringing real and important advantages to Australia’s economy and society,” she said.
The research also found children from culturally diverse backgrounds were half as likely to access early-intervention support, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy or disability support, compared with other children.
Agha said children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds needed to be able to access appropriate early-childhood education and early-intervention support tailored to their needs.
- are more likely to be developmentally vulnerable at school entry than other children, though this gap has been narrowing over time.
- are half as likely to access early intervention support (ie., speech therapy, occupational therapy, or disability support) compared to other children.
- are an increasing proportion of children enrolled in their first year of school, reaching nearly 26 per cent in 2021, up from 17 per cent in 2009.
The research points to ways to improve attendance by children and families from CALD backgrounds in early childhood education through a mix of universal, targeted, and place-based to address non-financial barriers to participation in early learning.
These approaches involve governments, policy makers, early education providers and providers of settlement services.
with AAP
