Ethnic educational inequality upon starting school

The present paper aims to explain ethnic educational inequality upon starting school, it considers as an example the children's school readiness, and focuses on preschool attendance as a main determinant. The start of the children's school career is mainly presumed to be influenced by the skills acquired in their preschool years. On the basis of the data of the school entrance examination of the City of Osnabrack for the years 2000 to 2005, ethnic differences at the end of their preschool time can be detected. These differences still persist when controlling for family background. However, when the duration of preschool attendance is taken into account, the ethnic effect on school readiness decreases, disappearing completely when additionally controlling for the children's cognitive and linguistic skills. Further analyses show that preschool attendance affects school readiness both directly and indirectly (via cognitive and linguistic skills). The results emphasize the relevance of preschool attendance within the framework of preschool education.