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Young Lives Newsletter July 2023
Welcome to Young Lives' latest newsletter!
In this edition we spotlight our latest work on skills development, bring you updates on the progress of Round 7 and include highlights of Young Lives' recent activities - we hope you enjoy catching up on all our news.
Spotlight - Young Lives' Skills Development Research
The benefits of completing secondary education are well documented and much work has gone into understanding what works to improve skills such as literacy and maths ability. But Young Lives has delved deeper into how a broader set of skills develop through childhood, and what that means for children’s futures.
In a series of new research papers we analyse how the development of key skills and life–long learning are severely affected by poverty, entrenched gender inequalities and global crises such as climate shocks.
Two accompanying policy briefs set out a series of important calls to action. The papers are all available to download by clicking on each image below.
Young Lives will be discussing these findings and recommendations at UKFIET in September.
These latest findings build on earlier Young Lives research into foundational skills development, funded by NIH, which also features in our new illustration above. You can read more about this research on our webpage here.
Beating the Odds: BBC Ideas Film Features Young Lives' Research!
We were delighted that Young Lives' research 'Against the Odds: Why Some Children Fare Well in the Face of Adversity' was selected by BBC Ideas and Oxford University's Social Sciences Division from 80 submissions to feature in one of four amazing short films, out today!
In the film, writer and poet Lemn Sissay talks about Young Lives' research on why some children from difficult backgrounds do well and offers his take on three common factors that can help children beat the odds.
The other three films cover topics ranging from climate change to nutrition and anthropology. Read more about the project on Oxford University's news page here and more about the research behind the film on our new webpage here.
Round 7 Update From the Young Lives Peru Team
What are the team's expectations for Round 7?
We were delighted to launch the seventh round of fieldwork in Peru in June, and are now going back to meet our study participants face to face for the first time since before the pandemic.
Whilst this new survey features familiar modules on education, work and family formation, Young Lives has introduced questions to investigate mental-health, well-being and stress.
Watch our short videos to hear Peru's Country Director Santiago Cueto and Principal Investigator Alan Sanchez talk about their expectations for Round 7.
Round 7 Launches Next Week in India
Round 7 will launch in India next week. To prepare, Young Lives has piloted the survey to ensure that the questions would be asked clearly and understood by participants. Young Lives also conducted a series of training sessions so that the fieldworkers can deliver the survey in a consistent way.
The survey will be carried out with 2850 respondents in the provinces of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is expected to end in late January 2024.
The Young Lives India survey team
New Publications
Blog: 'How climate shocks impact children’s development – the evidence from Vietnam'
Young Lives in Vietnam is investigating the impact of climate shocks on children’s development. This blog pulls together early evidence on the immediate and long-term effects of climate shocks on children’s physical health, education, mental wellbeing, nutrition. A full research paper will be published later this year.
Blog - 'Caught in the Crossfire: Understanding the Impact of Conflict on Young People’s Lives in Ethiopia'
To prepare for Round 7 in Ethiopia, including the impact of the country’s recent conflict on the young people in our study, the team conducted a pre-pilot with a sample of young people living in similar circumstances.
This blog, published on UNOCHA’s ReliefWeb shares initial findings from this pilot survey data, highlighting some of the devastating impacts of conflict on young people which our forthcoming Round 7 survey will investigate in detail.
Events & Engagements
ESSSWA Conference Ethiopia
At the 18th Ethiopian Society of Sociologists, Social Workers and Anthropologists (ESSSWA) conference, Young Lives Ethiopia Director, Dr Alula Pankhurst, shared Young Lives' findings on COVID-19 and conflict.
Conference participants discussed the pandemic’s impact on education, employment, food security, wellbeing, and the impact of the country’s recent conflict on young people’s mental health.
WHO Conference
Following the publication of our policy brief ‘Young Lives Under Pressure’ in November 2022, Young Lives Senior Policy Officer Kath Ford joined a WHO Expert Technical Committee to advise on the development of a ‘WHO Guidance on Mental Health Policy’ and Strategic Action Plans.
The new document is planned for release early 2024 and aims to deliver a comprehensive guide on mental health practices around the world.
Global Coalition to End Child Poverty Webinar
Young Lives Director, Prof. Catherine Porter spoke at a webinar held by the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty about the qualitative methods employed by Young Lives to assess childhood poverty.
Vacancies at Young Lives - closing date August 14th!
Do you have strong data analysis skills?
Young Lives has two vacancies and we invite you to apply to come and join us as we roll out Round 7 of our innovative study! We are looking for two Quantitative Research Assistants. Click on the link to find details on how to apply. Please share with your contacts.
Coming Up
- UKFIET Conference: 12th-14th September; Young Lives will be presenting new research and policy recommendations on skills development, gender and poverty.
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit: 18 - 19th September.
If you have any questions or comments about this newsletter please contact Young Lives Communications Manager - julia.tilford@qeh.ox.ac.uk.
