Inequality in the Early Cognitive Development of British Children in the 1970 Cohort

Feinstein, Leon

doi:10.1111/1468-0335.t01-1-00272

Cited by 492 publications

(406 citation statements)

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“…Working closely and spending time together during residential field courses put students in atypical situations, from which they benefited. Many of the students in our study are likely to remain members of the lowest socio-economic group of learners, failing to achieve their academic potential in the UK by age 18; the UK has a higher than average socio-economic education gap (Feinstein, 2003). We suggest the London Challenge programme added much-needed variety, stimulus and reality to educational experience and well-being for students from socially deprived areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…In 2003, the Field Studies Council (FSC), a prominent charitable fieldwork provider in the UK, with a long-standing reputation for high quality fieldwork provision, began to undertake research into fieldwork provision in inner city schools, with a view to supporting such provision for students from deprived backgrounds. Improving success rates in toto for socio-economically deprived students continues to present education policy makers in the UK with the greatest of challenges (Feinstein, 2003;Chowdry, Crawford and Goodman, 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Benefits of Residential Fieldwork for School Science: Insights from a five-year initiative for inner-city students in the UK

Amos¹,

Reiß²

2012

International Journal of Science Education

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Amos, R. and Reiss, M. (2012). The benefits of residential fieldwork for school science:Insights from a five-year initiative for inner-city students in the UK. International Journal of Science Education, 34(4), 485-511. AbstractThere is considerable international interest in the value of residential fieldwork for school students. In the UK, pressures on curriculum time, rising costs and heightened concern over students' safety are curtailing residential experiences. Collaboration between several key providers across the UK created an extensive programme of residential courses for 11-14 year olds in London schools from [2004][2005][2006][2007][2008]. Some 33,000 students from 849 schools took part. This paper draws on the evaluation of the programme that gathered questionnaire, interview and observational data from 2706 participating students, 70 teachers and 869 parents / carers from 46 schools mainly in deprived areas of the city. Our findings revealed that students' collaborative skills improved and interpersonal relationships were strengthened and taken back to school. Gains were strongest in social and affective domains; behavioural improvements occurred for some students. Individual cognitive gains were revealed more convincingly during face-to-face interviews than through survey items. Students from socially deprived backgrounds benefitted from exposure to learning environments which promoted authentic practical inquiry. Over the five year programme, combined physical adventure and real-world experiences proved to be popular with students and their teachers.Opportunities for learning and doing science in ways not often accessible in urban school environments were opened up. Further programmes, which build upon the provision of mixed curriculum-adventure course design, have been implemented across the UK as a result of the London experience. The popularity and apparent success of these combination courses suggest that providers need to consider the value of developing similar programmes in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Benefits of Residential Fieldwork for School Science: Insights from a five-year initiative for inner-city students in the UK

Amos¹,

Reiß²

2012

International Journal of Science Education

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“…Recent research shows a significant impact of behavioural and psycho-social outcomes on earnings and education (Duncan and Dunifon 1998;Heckman et al 2006;Mueller and Plug 2006). Differences in children's cognitive development emerge at early ages (Illsey 2002;Feinstein 2003;Cunha et al 2010), and the importance of timely parental investments (prenatal as well as post-natal) is increasingly recognized as a major factor in fostering child development (Carneiro and Heckman 2003;Del Bono et al 2008). A fuller understanding of the relationship between breastfeeding and various aspects of child development is therefore crucial for an understanding of the intergenerational transmission of inequality, and for policy-making aimed at reducing inequality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of breastfeeding on children's cognitive and noncognitive development

2012

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The Effect of Breastfeeding on Children's Cognitive and Noncognitive DevelopmentThis paper uses propensity score matching methods to investigate the relationship between breastfeeding and children's cognitive and noncognitive development. We find that breastfeeding for four weeks is positively and statistically significantly associated with higher cognitive test scores, by around one tenth of a standard deviation. The association between breastfeeding and noncognitive development is weaker, and is restricted to children of less educated mothers. We conclude that interventions which increase breastfeeding rates would improve not only children's health, but also their cognitive skills, and possibly also their noncognitive development. IntroductionThis paper examines the relationship between breastfeeding and children's later cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. This is a topic of considerable importance for policy in the UK: the World HealthOrganization recommends breastfeeding exclusively for six months and alongside solid foods for two years, but in the UK, barely one in three infants is exclusively breastfed during the first four months of life. Given the increasing recognition of the importance of very early interventions in children's development and later outcomes; and given the huge social gradient in breastfeeding rates, with the most privileged mothers currently being many times more likely to breastfeed than the least privileged mothers, breastfeeding may well be a significant route for the intergenerational transmission of human capital. Recent research shows a significant impact of behavioural and psycho-social outcomes on earnings and education (Duncan and Dunifon 1998;Heckman et al. 2006;Mueller and Plug 2006). Differences in children's cognitive development emerge at early ages (Illsey 2002;Feinstein 2003;Cunha et al. 2010), and the importance of timely parental investments (prenatal as well as post-natal) is increasingly recognized as a major factor in fostering child development (Carneiro and Heckman 2003;Del Bono et al. 2008). A fuller understanding of the relationship between breastfeeding and various aspects of child development is therefore crucial for an understanding of the intergenerational transmission of inequality, and for policy-making aimed at reducing inequality.There is a well-established association between breastfeeding and a range of positive health outcomes in children, such as a lower incidence of asthma and middle ear and urinary tract infections (Dyson et al., 2006). A smaller body of research also shows breastfeeding to be related to better gross motor development (Sacker et al., 2006), and improved cognitive ability (Anderson et al., 1999). Other potential effects of breastfeeding, such as cognitive and noncognitive outcomes of the type investigated here, are much less well * This paper has benefited from comments provided by participants at the British Society of Population Studies and at the 5 th conference of Epidemiological Longitudinal Studies in Europe; from ...

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“…More resources are needed earlier in the system, not least because of the growing evidence (Feinstein 2003) that the roots of exclusion lie in early Increasing information and raising aspirations: this is a woefully neglected area. A series of policies address both.…”

Section: Action To Promote Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financing Higher Education: Lessons from Economic Theory and Reform in England

Barr¹

2009

Higher Education in Europe

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The finance of higher education faces a clash between technological advance, driving up the demand for skills, and fiscal constraints, given competing imperatives for public spending.Paying for universities is also immensely politically sensitive. This paper sets out core lessons for financing higher education deriving from economic theory, including the desirability of loans with income-contingent repayments. Subsequent discussion includes a general strategy for OECD countries derived from the theoretical analysis, and reforms in England in 2006 which illustrate the strategy. The paper concludes with discussion of the appropriate role of government in higher education. This paper discusses how to pay for teaching at universities. It does not talk about research.After initial discussion setting the broader context, subsequent sections discuss lessons from economic theory, a general strategy for OECD countries that derives from that theory, a major reform in England in 2006 which exemplifies the strategy, and remaining tasks in England (and the UK more broadly). The paper concludes with discussion of the appropriate role of government in higher education. The backdropThe world has changed. It is still the case -and I hope always will be -that higher education matters because knowledge for its own sake is important. But, in sharp contrast with 50 years ago, higher education now matters also for national economic performance and for individual life chances. Technological advance has driven up the demand for skills. To compete internationally, countries need mass high-quality higher education.That immediately raises the question of how to pay for it and how to assist quality.Countries typically pursue three goals in higher education: larger quantity, higher quality, and constant or falling public spending. It is possible to achieve two but only at expense of the third. Systems can be• Large and tax-financed, but with worries about quality (France, Germany, Italy);• High-quality and tax-financed, but small (the UK till 1989);• Large and good-quality, but fiscally expensive (Scandinavia).There is nothing illogical about the last option, but it is already unsustainable in most countries, where the only realistic way of achieving all three objectives is to supplement public finance with private finance.In reflecting on these issues, two further points are noteworthy:• Competitive systems of higher education appear to produce higher quality, at least as measured by world rankings;• In South Korea the participation rate in tertiary education is 82 per cent; total spending on tertiary education is 2.6 per cent of GDP, double the average for the EU19 of 1.3 per cent; and private spending on tertiary education in South Korea is Nicholas Barr: Higher Education in Europe

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Inequality in the Early Cognitive Development of British Children in the 1970 Cohort

Cited by 492 publications

References 18 publications

The Benefits of Residential Fieldwork for School Science: Insights from a five-year initiative for inner-city students in the UK

The Benefits of Residential Fieldwork for School Science: Insights from a five-year initiative for inner-city students in the UK

The effect of breastfeeding on children's cognitive and noncognitive development

Financing Higher Education: Lessons from Economic Theory and Reform in England

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