What role does singing have in fostering positive relationships between fathers and their young children? Researchers from Aalborg University and Aarhus University in Denmark explored this question through a series of open-ended interviews that took place between November 2022 and February 2023. Fathers were recruited for the study through ‘Singing, Language, and Togetherness’ workshops, which provide fun music-themed activities for children aged 0-2 in public spaces such as local libraries. Initially, only mothers attended the…
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A study conducted in partnership with UK-based Empathy Studios, and Cambridge University’s Faculty of Education, has found that children who engage in an in-school video course display greater empathy and improved behaviour over a 10 week period. 900 children aged 5 – 18 from 10 schools in 6 countries took part in the video course, as well as discussions that directly followed the videos. The ‘Empathy Programme’ is built around three main ideas: Empathy for…
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Under planned curriculum changes, children in England will learn to recognise misinformation and extremist online content. Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has announced a review to embed critical thinking skills across subjects, with the aim of protecting children from online conspiracy theories online. Examples include teaching students in English lessons how to analyse newspaper articles to distinguish between fabricated and true stories, in computer lessons how to spot fake news, and in maths lessons learn how…
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A recent large-scale study involving 35,000 children from eight countries reveals a significant link between exposure to green spaces during early childhood and improved lung function. Led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), this research was published in Environment International. Data was collected from 10 European birth cohorts across Denmark, France, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. Data was collected on green spaces both during pregnancy, as well as during…
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Recent analysis of data from the National Pupil Database made by FFT Datalab has found that pupils attending all-girls schools in England consistently achieve better exam results compared to their counterparts in mixed schools, or those in all-boys schools. Despite adjustments made for personal background and previous grades, girls’ schools demonstrated an unexplained boost equivalent to 10% higher GCSE grades in 2023. Conversely, boys in all-boys schools showed no significant exam result advantage over those…
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Recent findings from the University of Oregon, USA, have discovered that children’s behaviour can be directly linked to their mother’s early trauma. This may also be the case with children who were not raised by their biological parents and were adopted at birth, and adoptees, whose birth-mother experienced a traumatic childhood. The research team, led by Leslie Leve, a professor in the UO College of Education, and a scientist with the Prevention Science Institute, found…
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Research from the Nuffield Foundation, conducted by academics from Exeter, Strathclyde and the London School of Economics suggests that the GCSE results of students in England will gradually decline until 2030. It is believed that this will contribute to a lifetime of lower earnings, with the research suggesting that this is the result of the way school closures were handled during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, 45% of GCSE students received a “good pass” in…
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Previous research looking at the sibling dynamic has shown how influential having a brother or sister can be throughout one’s lifetime. Characteristics such as delinquency, educational attainment, and emotional regulation can be attributed to the sibling relationship – all features that are explored in a new body of research. Published for the journal Child Development, a team from several prominent universities in the United Kingdom used longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study to determine…
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Gen Alpha – those born between 2010-2024 – are increasingly appearing on social media. While many of these children are still too young to use sites such as TikTok or Instagram, their parent-run accounts are attracting millions of views. The US ‘Garza Crew’ family has nearly 5 million followers on TikTok, making 7 year old twins Haven and Koti Garza TikTok stars, with their content frequently amassing millions of views. However their posts have attracted…
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According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, wellbeing is continuing to decline for those under 30 in the United States. So much so, that the US is no longer in the top twenty happiest nations list. The World Happiness Report is a yearly study from Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Dr Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, believes that children’s exposure to social media is holds most…
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