Early Learning Abilities Promoting Success in Education (ELAPSE): Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study and directions of a new longitudinal study

Despite the wide acknowledgment that adverse early life conditions negatively influence cognitive development (e.g. longitudinal UK data Feinstein, 2003; Jerrim & Vignoles, 2013; Schoon, Hope, Ross, & Duckworth, 2010), little is known about how this influence operates and changes over time (Shonkoff & Levitt, 2010). The aim of the proposal is to investigate quantitatively the developmental mechanisms by which children's early learning skills and life conditions result in different later educational outcomes. It has two research strands. The first strand's purpose is conducting secondary analyses of the longitudinal Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) data in order to distinguish children's profiles, examine developmental trajectories, and estimate models of early child development asking specifically how early learning abilities influence school readiness and later educational success. The second strand's goal is undertaking a systematic review and organising a panel of experts in order to inform a feasibility evaluation for a future longitudinal study of early development, with a significant emphasis on the role of self-regulation and play. The intention would be to develop a proposal for an enhancement for the new ESRC birth cohort study, the Life Study.
These two strands will take a child-centred developmental approach and consider children's characteristics across socio-economic backgrounds. The project will inform policy aimed at promoting children's school readiness to reduce later educational disadvantage. Consequently, the proposal targets two of the ESRC's strategic priorities, i.e. influencing behaviours and informing interventions (by understanding the development of learning-related skills) in order to promote a vibrant and fair society (by contributing to the reduction of the educational attainment gap). This is an interdisciplinary initiative bringing together developmental and educational sciences. It makes use of an existing longitudinal database and develops capability in advanced quantitative methods, all of which is encouraged by the ESRC.
Funding this project represents an investment in the career development of young quantitative researcher addressing social issues about child poverty and early education through the understanding of early developmental psychological processes. It involves a rigorous skills development plan and a strong strategy for generating high impact upon academic and non-academic users.

As a researcher I believe in the importance of bringing together real policy issues and critical questions from a scientific perspective to maximise the social impact of science. In my career, I wish to expand my potential to address social issues about child poverty and early education through the scientific understanding of the developmental processes of key cognitive and learning skills. My work capitalises the clear synergy that exists in this field: the more we know about which cognitive skills make a difference and how children develop them, the better we can inform early educational interventions to be effective in overcoming the negative effects of social inequality in children's lives.
My project is focused on understanding the development of key learning-related skills in children; those that make children more likely to do well in school, both in terms of their academic outcomes and socio-emotional experiences. Thus, the ultimate beneficiaries of my line of research are children and the people in charge of providing the experiences that help them develop these fundamental skills for life: their caregivers and educators.
Social policy influences the multiple spheres in which children develop: their family lives, school, public spaces, etc., so I recognise policy-makers as key stakeholders in realising the main purpose of my research. I also recognise and intend to engage with other stakeholders that aim to influence policy regarding children's lives, such as practitioners' organisations, charitable and philanthropic advocates, and other academic colleagues committed to translating scientific research about child development into real change in society.
Different users can benefit from the proposed research in several ways:
a. Children's lives can benefit from better educational practices in the early years to develop important skills to fulfil their potential
b. Caregivers and educators may have better tools for providing effective education in the early years
c. Policy makers may benefit from insights about child development based on scientific evidence that can help them to make effective policies to improve children's lives
d. Practitioners' organisations, charitable and philanthropic advocates, and other academic colleagues may benefit from learning convincing evidence-based narratives about the role of early learning skills, such as play and self-regulation, in children's later achievements