Using 6 longitudinal data sets, the authors estimate links between three key elements of school readiness--school-entry academic, attention, and socioemotional skills--and later school reading and math achievement. In an effort to isolate the effects of these school-entry skills, the authors ensured that most of their regression models control for cognitive, attention, and socioemotional skills measured prior to school entry, as well as a host of family background measures. Across all 6 studies, the strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. A meta-analysis of the results shows that early math skills have the greatest predictive power, followed by reading and then attention skills. By contrast, measures of socioemotional behaviors, including internalizing and externalizing problems and social skills, were generally insignificant predictors of later academic performance, even among children with relatively high levels of problem behavior. Patterns of association were similar for boys and girls and for children from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds.

This paper develops an index of development for British children in the 1970 cohort, assessed at 22 months, 42 months, 5 years and 10 years. The score at 22 months predicts educational qualifications at age 26 and is related to family background. The children of educated or wealthy parents who scored poorly in the early tests had a tendency to catch up, whereas children of worse-off parents who scored poorly were extremely unlikely to catch up and are shown to be an at-risk group. There is no evidence that entry into schooling reverses this pattern.

Aims To identify childhood and adolescent predictors of alcohol use and harmful drinking in adolescence and adulthood. Design Longitudinal data from childhood to mid-life from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) were used, including predictors collected at ages 7, 11, 16 years and alcohol outcomes collected at ages 16, 23, 33 and 42 years. Setting The NCDS is an ongoing longitudinal study of a cohort of 1 week's births in Britain in 1958. Participants Childhood and adolescent predictors and alcohol use data from at least one adolescent or adult wave were available from 7883 females and 8126 males. Measurements Social background, family, academic and behavioural predictors measured at ages 7, 11 and 16 years were entered into hierarchical multiple and logistic regressions to predict quantity of alcohol use at ages 16, 23, and 33 years and harmful drinking [i.e. Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener (CAGE) questionnaire score] by age 42 years. Findings Previous drinking was controlled in final models to predict change. Drinking was heavier among those with greater childhood and adolescent social advantage (especially females), less harmonious family relationships, more social maladjustment, greater academic performance, less internalizing problems, more truancy and earlier school-leaving plans. Conclusions Alcohol use and problems in adulthood can be predicted by indicators of social background, adjustment and behaviour in childhood and adolescence. Results demonstrate that the early roots of adolescent and adult alcohol use behaviours begin in childhood.

This paper studies attainment in secondary schools. We estimate an education production function in which attainment depends upon parental inputs, peer group inputs and schooling inputs. We find that the most powerful parental input is parental interest in children, as assessed by teachers. We find a strong peer group effect. The school pupil-teacher ratio does not enter significantly. The only strongly endogenous variable is initial attainment. We argue that this is due to measurement error. There is some evidence that parental interest is endogenous but we do not find peer group variables to be so.

Objectives and methods• The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of adult learning upon a range of measures of health and social capital and cohesion.• The study has a broad scope. We estimate effects of adult learning on a wide range of outcomes. We break down participation in learning in a number of ways, and we assess the different impacts of participation on different groups. The primary objective is to assess the nature and extent of wider effects of adult learning. More detailed findings relating to specific outcomes, types of courses taken and groups of learners are extremely interesting and indicate directions for further research.• The National Child Development Study is the database used for analyses. We use data relating to almost 10,000 adults born in Britain in 1958, focusing upon changes in their lives between the ages of 33 (in 1991) and 42 (in 2000).• The effects of participation in learning between the ages of 33 and 42 are estimated.Participation in learning is broken down according to the type of course takencourses resulting in academic and vocational qualifications, work-related training and leisure courses.• Previous, closely related research on the effects of adult learning focused on wage effects only and neglected non-accredited learning of the kind considered here. The current project is, therefore, a timely reminder that many learners take courses in adult learning that are not accredited and for reasons other than wage returns. A proper assessment of the value of adult learning must take these wider benefits into account.• The outcomes considered are changes between age 33 and 42 in social and political attitudes, civic participation, health behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption and exercise), self-reported life satisfaction and onset and recovery from depression.• Effects of participation upon these outcomes are estimated for the whole sample. In addition, the different effects of participation are separately estimated for men and women, and for those without Level 2 qualifications at age 33.• We restrict selection bias by exploiting the fact that our data are longitudinal. We attempt to consider effects on individuals as they change over time, making before and after comparisons. We also control for a wide range of life-course background, achievement and developmental factors. Headline findings• Adult learning plays an important role in contributing to the small shifts in attitudes and behaviours that take place during mid-adulthood.• Participation in adult learning has positive effects on a wide spectrum of health and social outcomes. iv• The evidence for effects is robust to changes in specification. The same picture of wide-ranging effects of adult learning on changes in health and social outcomes is found when alternative specifications are used to measure participation in learning (linear, categorical, dummies, and quadratic functions).• Effect sizes are small in absolute terms. However, there is little change in attitudes and behaviours during mid-adulthood an...