Peer effects on the development of language skills in Norwegian childcare centers

The purpose of this study is to examine whether peer expressive language skills have an effect on language ability of children attending Norwegian ECEC centres. The authors specifically assess whether peer expressive language at age 2 can be used to predict receptive language at age 4, including whether peer language ability can have a compensatory effect on differences in language ability due to parental educational background.

The results of the study show that peer expressive language skills at age 2 cannot, on average, be used to predict children's language ability at age 4. However, the study indicates that belonging to a child group with better language skills seems to attenuate language differences arising from maternal education. It is thus possible that belonging to a child group with strong language skills can compensate for differences in parental educational background, and this can help ensure greater language equality between children attending ECEC centres.

The empirical material of the study originates from BONDS, The Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, a longitudinal study of 1157 children and their parents in five municipalities in southeast Norway. This study used a selection of 539 children from 57 ECEC centres with data on at least three other peers from the same ECEC centre. The data collection methods included language tests supplemented by information on sociodemographic characteristics (primarily maternal education) and variables related to the ECEC centre (for example number of hours spent at the ECEC centre and child-adult ratio).

Ribeiro, L. A., Zachrisson, H. D., & Dearing, E. (2017). Peer effects on the development of language skills in Norwegian childcare centers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 41, 1-12.