An Index of Child Well-being in the European Union

Abstract

While the living conditions of children and young people in the European Union have gained increasing recognition across the EU, the well-being of children is not monitored on the European level. Based on a rights-based, multi-dimensional understanding of child well-being we analyse data already available for the EU 25, using series data as well as comparative surveys of children and young people. We compare the performance of EU Member States on eight clusters with 23 domains and 51 indicators and give a picture of children’s overall well-being in the European Union. The clusters are children’s material situation, housing, health, subjective well-being, education, children’s relationships, civic participation and risk and safety

Listening to the Voices of Education Professionals Involved in Implementing an Oral Language and Early Literacy Program in the Classroom

“…According to Bradshaw, Hoelscher, & Richardson (2007) "…two main approaches to measuring child well-being can be taken: a rights-based approach or an empirical approach, including research on subjective measures of well-being". Using a rights-based approach, Bradshaw et al (2009, p.6) stated:…”

Assessing Child Development: A Critical Review and the Sustainable Child Development Index (SCDI)

“…The literature review includes ten academic publications [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44], eight works completed by the NGOs specializing in child development and well-being research [21,[26][27][28][45][46][47][48], as well as five reports provided by government-supported institutions [49][50][51][52][53]. In total, 23 studies are selected as references to identify relevant themes, subthemes and criteria.…”

“…They are typically based on subjective evaluations. However, these criteria are mainly included in studies from industrialized countries [26][27][28]35,36,38,40,[48][49][50]52,53,56].…”

Screening Indicators for the Sustainable Child Development Index (SCDI)

“…It was designed to mirror the Human Development Index (HDI) [9] with particular focus on children. Other government-supported institutions and NGOs proposed alternative indexes focusing more on well-being by considering additional topics, such as relationships with family, school and community, safety, or social engagement [10][11][12][13][14]. However, though these indexes are advanced compared to former ones focusing on single topics only, some limitations still remain.…”