Starting unequal
How’s life for disadvantaged children?
Childhood is a crucial period in life. The things that we learn, do, and experience
in childhood play a critical role in shaping who we are and who we become, and can
leave lasting impressions on our lives for years to come. However, not all children
have the same opportunities to enjoy good childhoods and to learn and grow in ways
that set them up well for adult life. Children from socially and economically disadvantaged
backgrounds are at particular risk, as this paper shows.
Built using a series of key comparative indicators from the OECD Child Well being
Dashboard, this paper examines how the well being of children from disadvantaged backgrounds
compares both across OECD countries and relative to their more advantaged peers. Results
highlight how growing up at the bottom end of the socio economic ladder leads to poorer
outcomes in almost all well being areas, and how these well being inequalities are
rooted in the poorer environments that disadvantaged children face at home, in school,
and in the community.
Published on July 04, 2022
In series:OECD Papers on Well-being and Inequalitiesview more titles