It is well documented that children’s language skills already vary by socioeconomic status by the time they are about 2-3 years old. In addition, study results demonstrate that the frequency of language-stimulating interaction behavior – as an important aspect of the proximal familial learning environment – significantly predicts children’s later language skills. However, it is … Read more
Social disparities in the vocabulary of 2-year-old children and the mediating effect of language-stimulating interaction behavior
What impacts early language skills? Effects of social disparities and different process characteristics of the home learning environment in the first 2 years
It is well documented that the language skills of preschool children differ substantially and that these differences are highly predictive of their later academic success and achievements. Especially in the early phases of children’s lives, the importance of different structural and process characteristics of the home learning environment (HLE) has been emphasized and research results … Read more
Parenting Behaviours and Early Child Development in Europe
Social inequality related to children’s development starts early in life. Parenting behaviour as an explanatory factor has important effects on very young children’s verbal and behavior social skills, and on later school achievements.
The association between mother’s education level and early child language skills; findings from three European cohort studies
The development of language skills during the early years of a child’s life are vital for school readiness, educational attainment, and later life outcomes. The socio-economic background of parents, as measured by occupation, income, and level of education, have been found to significantly affect child language skills and the differences we see between children.
The Pros and Cons of Combining Birth Cohort Data
This short SEED working paper is designed to highlight the value of and the pitfalls in combining and comparing data across large scale representative population cohorts. It was carried out as part of the Norface DIAL initiative by the SEED project (Social InEquality and its Effects on child Development: A study of birth cohorts in the UK, … Read more
Father’s occupation, children’s vocabulary, and whether changing occupation creates social mobility in the UK
In the UK the issue of social mobility, the link between a person’s life outcomes and that of their parents, has been of concern since the 1970s. Despite many interventions and policy initiatives this link has become “entrenched” with those who are born into low-income families taking on average 5 generations to reach the mean … Read more
The association of maternal education on children’s language skills and its link to social inequality, descriptive analysis from three European cohort studies
Social inequality is a persistent global issue which many countries, governments, and policymakers aim to address. The development of language and communication skills during the early years of a child’s life are vital for school readiness, educational success, and later life outcomes. As part of a collaborative research project we sought to bring together data … Read more