This research study examines early behavior, interventions, and the influence they have over future outcomes for children born into poverty. It may be of particular interest to policy makers and educators working with younger pupils.
Disadvantage, behaviour and cognitive outcomes: longitudinal analysis from age 5 to 16
Synopsis
Commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this research looks at social and emotional skills, and their interaction with poverty. Based on data from the British Cohort Study, a representative sample of children born in 1970, it focuses specifically on behavioural and emotional problems from ages 5 to 16.
The researchers explored how these factors interacted with poverty and impacted on children’s literacy and numeracy abilities, with the aim of offering new insights into whether future social mobility interventions should target these effects.
Their findings reinforce the value of investing in evidence-based early-years programmes, with results suggesting evidence-based programmes targeted at low-income families aimed at improving maternal wellbeing, early child behaviour or early learning could undo many of the socioeconomic disparities in children’s outcomes.