In the article above we said that research by Jane Waldfogel and colleagues at Columbia University on income and school readiness found that the effect of being from a low-income home was more pronounced in the UK than the US. We should have made clear that this was only on the measure of children's behaviour, that the difference was small and that children were assessed at different ages in the UK and the US.
A child's vocabulary, cognitive abilities and behaviour are tightly linked to their family income, with children from the poorest homes much less equipped to deal with starting school, new research suggests. Parenting style is the number one defining factor in a child's chance of having his or her prospects for life cast before beginning school.
The study, presented at a private conference in New York on social mobility, was hosted by UK education charity the Sutton Trust, and attended by leading UK education figures and politicians, including Ed Miliband, minister for the Cabinet Office. It also found the effect of being from a low-income home was more pronounced in the UK compared with the US.
Jane Waldfogel, professor of education at Columbia University in New York, said: "There is a stronger income difference in the UK than in the US meaning there are more behaviour problems among low-income children in the UK. They included hitting, grabbing toys, trouble concentrating, fighting and general misbehaviour.
"We tried to look at the different factors which explain the differences between different income families. The problem was where parents weren't providing sensitive care or home learning activities."
The research used data collected from 10,000 children in America and 19,000 children in the UK who were born in 2000 and 2001. "Maternal sensitivity and responsiveness" to children was particularly influential, although the researchers acknowledged that the children were usually observed with their mothers rather than fathers, whose effect was not recorded.
Waldfogel added: "The transition to school is especially hard for boys and that can trigger a dip in behaviour." She said tht the gap between the UK and US would be wider were it not for childcare provision, which she described as "very advanced" in Britain compared with America. The conference was given £100,000 funding from the American Carnegie Corporation.