The Wellbeing of Children -Ideas for discussion by Professor Heather Joshi, Education Policy Meeting, OECD, 14 April, 2016

1. The Wellbeing of Children
Ideas for discussion Education Policy Meeting
OECD April 14 2016 Professor Heather Joshi

2. 1. Concepts of well being among adults and children
2. Arenas affecting child well being
3. Dimensions of child well being, measured and unmeasured
4. Differences across and within OECD countries
5. Social gaps in life chances: USA, UK, Australia, Canada
6. Findings for children in 4 developing countries
7. Two child-unfriendly practices
8. Points about measurement and policy
Outline

3.  The economy produces output intended to serve human welfare though the
provision of goods and services, which are consumed or accumulated.
 GDP does not reflect all aspects of the quality of life. ‘Money is not everything’
 Other aspects include interpersonal relationships, security, trust, tolerance,
enjoyment of health and the expectation of life chances
 ‘Well-being is about the harmony that exists between individuals, communities
and the universe’ (WHO constitution)
 Measurement matters as “Information and statistics are a powerful tool
for creating a culture of accountability and for realizing human rights"
(UNDP Human Development Report, 2000)
Well being and Economic Performance

4.  Childhood is a time of growth and learning, a complex journey to
adulthood
 Children are humans in their own right
 ..but have less direct access to resources, and cannot vote
 Need adult support and protection – but also to learn to become
responsible for themselves
 There are more years of life ahead than for those who are
already ‘grown up’
 Society needs good citizens and values good nurturing
What’s special about the Well Being of Chilldren?

5.  Human rights
 Human resources
 Human capital
 Social capital
 Cultural capital
 Living Standards
 Life Chances
Child rights and child development are interdependent.
Child and parent well being also interdependent
.)
Well being, Welfare, Well-becoming and allied concepts

6.  In modern societies people normally become parents by choice to
enjoy family life and expect to provide children with:
 A safe home, physical and emotional nurture, culture, social links,
knowledge, skills, aspirations…..
 Some parents may be less well placed to provide these, especially if
parenthood unanticipated, if the resources needed turn out to be
inadequate
 Children’s development may be impeded by lack of family investment,
or the transmission of family stress
Arena 1: The family

7.  No family is sufficiently specialised to raise workers with all the skills needed
in the modern economy,
 Not even in the early years (see OECD ECEC report) when development
laid down and social gradients emerge
 School (+ health services) can redress family shortfalls in learning, physical
and mental health
 School can help children acquire non-academic and social skills, and
engage in the community
 School with others can ensure that children not only pass their exams but
develop ‘in the round’.
 On the other hand, schools may reinforce inequalities between homes
Arena 2: The role of schooling

8.  The company of other children
 The local community
 The cultural climate
 The nation state
 The economy
 The built environment and transport systems
 The natural environment
 Cyber space
Arena 3: Wider society

9. What makes a Good Childhood ?
Promoting positive well being for
children. A report for decision
makers in parliament, central
government and local areas.
The Children’s Society, London
2012
http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/tcs/promoting_positive_well-being_for_children_final.pdf

10. Dimensions of Well being used by OECD
in 2015 report ‘How’s Life’?
Not specifically
included in Child
Well being count
Good Governance
Social cohesion
Ecological Efficiency
Natural capital
Human Capital
Spiritual and cultural
fulfilment
Adult Work/life Balance
Time use /leisure
Indicators on
children’s families
1 Income and Wealth
2 Jobs and earnings
3 Housing conditions
4 Environmental quality
Specific to children
5 Health status
6 Education and skills
7 Civic engagement
8 Social and family environment
9 Personal security
10 Subjective well-being
General 10 Headings covered for Child well being

11. 28 Detailed indicators of Child Well Being OECD 2015
1. Income and
Wealth
Disposable income of households
with children
Child income poverty
2. Jobs and
earnings
Children in workless households
Children with a long-term
unemployed parent
3. Housing
conditions
Average rooms per child
Family homes lacking basic facilities
4. Environment
Children in homes with poor
environmental conditions
5. Health status
Infant mortality
Low birth weight
Self-reported health status
Overweight and obesity
Adolescent suicide rates
Teenage birth rates
6. Education and
Skills
PISA mean reading score
PISA creative problem solving score
Youth not in job/education/training (NEET)
Educational deprivation ( age 15)
7. Civic
engagement
Intention to vote
Civic participation
8. Social and
family
environment
Teenagers talking easily to their parents
Students reporting kind, helpful classmates
Students feeling pressure from schoolwork
Students liking school
Time children spend with their parents
PISA sense of belonging index
9. Personal
security
Child homicide rates
Bullying
10. Subjective Life satisfaction

12. Other potential items
Of varying ease of measurement and relevance
by child age and by culture
 Breastfeeding
 Healthy diet
 Regular sleep
 Regular meals
 Physical activity
 Play (work-life balance for
children)
 Social and emotional skills
 Mental Health
 Freedom from abuse,
neglect, trafficking and
violence
 Risky behaviours
 Trouble with police
 Use and abuse of social
media,

13. Child well-being outcomes across OECD countries
Most countries in mixed position (How’s Life?, 2015)
AUT
BEL
CAN
CHE
CZE
DEU
DNK
ESP
EST
FIN FRA
GBR
GRC
HUN
IRL
ISL
ITA
LUX
NLD
NOR
POL
PRT
SVK
SVNSWE
TUR
USA
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Shareofindicatorswhereacountryis
amongthetopthirdperformers
Share of indicators where a country is among the bottom third performers

14. High academic scores in East Asia (Japan and Korea in this report)
 Best practice for other countries to emulate, or gained at the expense
of pressure on children ?
 Survey asking students about pressure not conducted in these
countries, but Children’s Worlds found Korean children less ‘satisfied
with their marks’
 No single explanation for high scores in East Asia: teacher quality,
teaching methods, curriculum, parenting styles, out of school tuition,
peer pressure, motivation, cultural valuation of education
Differences between countries
Jerrim J. (2015) ‘Why do East Asian children perform so well in PISA?’ Oxford Review of Education

15. PARADOX: USA High Child Poverty + high GDP
% of children aged 0-17 living in households with disposable income below 50% of the median
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2011 2007

16. The report covers differences by age, gender, migration, but the
most pervasive are by socio-economic status
̶ more affluent children tend to have better health and a
happier school life.
̶ Less affluent children more likely to be bullied, or not intend
to vote, and have ..
̶ lower life satisfaction, lower reading scores, less
communication with parents
It concludes..
‘Growing inequality among parents ends up sapping
opportunities available to their children’
Within-country differences

17. Low current resources are associated with many
aspects of low current well-being, in the 2015 report.
What about well-becoming, life chances through time?
What are the prospects of escaping poverty?
Is childhood inequality compensated by social
mobility?
For this we need evidence which follows individual
children through time.

18. Declining Equality of Opportunity in USA
Putnam tells of a growing gap in the life
chances of Americans in the life stories of
successive generations by home
background.
In the 1950s the social capital in tight knit
communities enabled ‘all boats to float’ on
a rising tide of economic opportunity.
‘Our kids’ refers to communities taking an
interest in ‘other people’s kids’. The dream
faded for many born towards the end of
the century. The picture changed to one of
‘diverging destinies’ (McLanahan )

19. Children’s Achievement gaps in
English-speaking countries
This book compares data following
the same children from birth to age
11 in USA, UK, Australia and
Canada. Compared to USA, the
other countries start with smaller
achievement gaps and tend to be
more successful at closing them
during primary school.
https://www.russellsage.org/publications/too-many-children-left-behind

20. U.S. U.K. Australia Canada
Survey name
Early Childhood
Longitudinal
Study,
Kindergarten
Cohort (ECLS-K)
Millennium
Cohort Study
(MCS)
Longitudinal Study
of Australian
Children
Kindergarten
Cohort (LSAC-K)
National
Longitudinal
Study of
Children and
Youth (NLSCY)
Cohort birth
dates
1992-93 2000-02 1999-2000 1991-94
Common ages
when children
assessed
5, 9, 11 5, 7, 11 5, 9, 11 5, 7, 9, 11
Too Many Children Left Behind
Cohort studies providing evidence
Sample size 8,370 11,762 3,940 4,346
Source: Bradbury et al 2015

21. Gap attributable to early years biggest
in USA which also shows more
subsequent divergence to at age 11.
Preventing inequalities emerging in
early years is very important, but what
happens once school starts, in and out
of school, contributes to differences.
Achievement gaps during primary schooling:
within USA, UK and Australia
Scores are standard deviations, attribution allows for
regression to mean. Not available for Canada.
Source: Bradbury et al 2015
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
AUSTRALIA
UK
USA
Gap in reading score at 11 between children
with high and low educated parents
Attributed to initial pre-primary differences
Attributed to subsequent divergence

22. Children with Teenage Mothers:
intergenerational divergence
3%
12%
21%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
High Medium Low
Percentageofchildrenbornto
ateenagemother
Parental education
United States
United
Kingdom
Canada
Australia
One in 5 children in
low educated US
families were born to
a teen mother, but
only 3% in high
educated families
Source: Bradbury et al
2015

23. Evidence from outside OECD: YOUNG LIVES STUDY
DFID-funded.
www.younglives.org.uk

24. Vietnam has high achievement at all social levels:
effective schools
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
300
350
400
450
500
550
Ethiopia India Peru Vietnam
Maths scores of 12 year-olds in 4
Young Lives countries, 2006
median math score at 12 % over min score 400, right hand scale
Maths as tested in TIMSS
Fewer students lag behind in
Vietnam.
Source: A Singh ( 2014) Emergence
and Evolution of Learning Gaps
across Countries: Panel Evidence
from Ethiopia, India, Peru and
Vietnam. Young Lives, Oxford

25. Discipline and child rights
 Corporal punishment in schools
 Prevalent in Young Lives countries despite laws against it
 Particularly affects disadvantaged students
 Affects liking school and drop out
 Punishment at age 8 associated with poor social/ emotional skills and
cognitive scores at 12
 Study concludes: Break a culture of violence in schools and improve
teacher training.
 Harsh discipline from parents also associated with poor
outcomes in rich countries (eg Putnam, 2015).
M O Portela & K Pells (2015) Corporal Punishment in Schools Longitudinal Evidence from
Ethiopia, India Peru and Viet Nam. UNICEF Innocenti office of Research Discussion paper 2015-2

26. Grade repetition – another driver of disillusionment
and inequality
11%
17%
26%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
High Medium Low
Percentofchildrenretainedby5th
grade
Parental education
United States
Canada
Australia
Rates are much higher in the
US than elsewhere, and
noticeably higher among low-
SES children
Source: Bradbury et al 2015

27.  Ideally indicators should be holistic but the choice will be affected
by measurability, timelieness and actionability
 Balance among dimensions is important
 Child’s age affects whether they can provide their own voice.
 Try to choose indicators of the present which also help predicting
future well being
 Longitudinal data useful to understand drivers of poor outcomes
and monitor divergence
 Children, like other people have prediction-defying idiosyncracies
Points about what to measure

28.  Measure what counts, rather than only considering what happens to be measured
 Allow children take responsibility for themselves neither too late nor too early
 Co-ordinate action by parents, schools, wider services
 Ministers with responsibility across different policy areas should aim to ensure a
balance of provisions for young people of different ages and backgrounds
 Joining up policies easier if the data on child well being is comprehensive, comparable
and reliable
 Thanks to the efforts of the child indicators community, children need not be out of sight
nor out of mind.
 The ‘level playing field’ should permit fun as well as competition.
Finally, what should be done?

29. Thank you

30. spare

31.  Age of child
̶ Families with small children show lower economic resources,
important for early years development (OECD ECEC Network).
̶ Indicators tend to show more about adolescents’ quality of life.
 Gender
̶ Not great differences between girls’ and boy’s scores in
contemporary OECD countries.
̶ Girls more concerned about their bodies in some countries in
Children’s World Survey.
̶ Teenage motherhood a risk for girls, in a few countries, also
jeopardising life chances of the offspring (whether or not birth was
intended).
Differences within countries