ImportanceDual language learners (DLL) (ie, children learning 2 or more languages) present lower school readiness than non-DLL children, putting DLL children at risk of later school difficulties and adverse outcomes. However, it is unclear whether participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services may reduce this gap.ObjectiveTo assess whether ECEC exposure may reduce the school readiness gap between DLL and non-DLL children in a population-based sample.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis census survey study was performed from February to May 2022 in the Canadian province of Quebec using data from the Quebec Survey of Child Development in Kindergarten, which includes all children who attended kindergarten in the 2021 to 2022 school year in public and private schools in Quebec (n = 80 587), except for Cree and Inuit territories.ExposureChildren’s ECEC arrangement before kindergarten was retrieved from register-based data and teachers and arrangements were categorized as exclusive parental care, childcare, pre-kindergarten only, or childcare and pre-kindergarten. Based on their mother tongue and language of instruction, children were classified as French speaking, English speaking, bilingual French-English speaking, or neither French nor English speaking (allophone) children, the last 2 groups of which represented the DLL category.Main Outcomes and MeasuresVulnerability in school readiness was defined as a score below the 10th percentile in any of the 5 domains of the validated Early Development Instrument (EDI): (1) physical health and well-being; (2) social competence; (3) emotional maturity; (4) language and cognitive development; and (5) communication skills and general knowledge.ResultsIn total, 80 587 children were surveyed, and 71 585 children were included in analyses. Mean (SD) child age was 6.0 (0.3) years, 34 911 children (48.8%) were female, and 18 341 children (25.6%) were DLL. English-speaking, bilingual French-English–speaking, and allophone children were more likely to be vulnerable in the EDI (769 of 2355 children [32.7%], 4814 of 13 981 children [34.4%], and 1622 of 4360 children [37.2%], respectively) than French-speaking children (13 664 of 50 890 children [26.9%]). In logistic regression analyses adjusted for social selection bias in ECEC arrangement, attending ECEC services was associated with a lower risk of being vulnerable among all language groups compared to parental care, with odds ratios ranging from 0.26 (95% CI, 0.25-0.27) to 0.96 (95% CI, 0.80-1.14), except in the emotional maturity domain. ECEC exposure was associated with reduction in vulnerabilities disparities between DLL and non-DLL children after adjusting for confounding factors, including socioeconomic status.Conclusions and RelevanceECEC services may foster school readiness for all children, especially DLL, and should be considered to reduce school inequalities.

中文翻译：

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双语学习者的入学准备和幼儿教育与看护服务


重要性双语学习者 （DLL）（即学习 2 种或更多语言的儿童）的入学准备程度低于非 DLL 儿童，使 DLL 儿童面临以后学习困难和不良后果的风险。然而，目前尚不清楚参与幼儿教育和护理 （ECEC） 服务是否可以缩小这一差距。目的在基于人群的样本中评估 ECEC 暴露是否可以减少 DLL 和非 DLL 儿童之间的入学准备差距。设计、设置和参与者这项人口普查研究于 2022 年 2 月至 5 月在加拿大魁北克省进行，使用魁北克幼儿园儿童发展调查的数据，其中包括 2021 年至 2022 学年在魁北克公立和私立学校上幼儿园的所有儿童 （n = 80 587），克里人和因纽特人地区除外。暴露儿童幼儿园前的 ECEC 安排是从基于登记册的数据中检索的，教师和安排被归类为独家父母照顾、托儿、仅学前班或托儿和学前班。根据他们的母语和教学语言，儿童被分为讲法语、讲英语、法语-英语双语或既不讲法语也不讲英语（同种异体语）的儿童，其中最后 2 组代表 DLL 类别。主要结果和措施入学准备的脆弱性被定义为在经过验证的早期发展工具 （EDI） 的 5 个领域中的任何一个领域中低于第 10 个百分位数的分数： （1） 身体健康和福祉;（2） 社交能力;（3） 情绪成熟度;（4） 语言和认知发展;（5） 沟通技巧和常识。结果共调查了 80 587 例儿童，纳入了 71 585 例儿童。平均 （SD） 儿童年龄为 6.0 （0.3） 岁，女性 34 911 例 （48.8%） 儿童，DLL 儿童 18 341 例 （25.6%）。说英语、讲法语-英语和讲法语的儿童和讲异体语的儿童在 EDI 中更容易受到伤害（分别为 2355 名儿童中的 769 名 [32.7%]、13 981 名儿童中的 4814 名 [34.4%] 和 4360 名儿童中的 1622 名 [37.2%]）比讲法语的儿童（50 890 名儿童中的 13 664 名 [26.9%]）更容易。在针对 ECEC 安排中的社会选择偏倚进行调整的 logistic 回归分析中，与父母照顾相比，参加 ECEC 服务在所有语言群体中处于弱势地位的风险较低相关，比值比范围为 0.26 （95% CI，0.25-0.27） 至 0.96 （95% CI，0.80-1.14），情绪成熟度领域除外。在调整了包括社会经济地位在内的混杂因素后，ECEC 暴露与 DLL 和非 DLL 儿童之间脆弱性差异的减少有关。结论和相关性ECEC 服务可以促进所有儿童的入学准备，尤其是 DLL，应考虑减少学校不平等。