- The Growing Up in Ireland study monitors the development of almost 20,000 children
- Department of Children and Youth Affairs given go-ahead to enter procurement process to continue with the Study
- Extension of study until 2019 will allow for tracking of critical transition points in children and young people’s lives
Wednesday 24th July 2013
Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has today announced that her Department has been given the go-ahead to begin preparations for the next phase of Growing Up in Ireland: the National Longitudinal Study of Children. The extension of the study beyond 2014 will allow for the important tracking of critical transition points in children and young people’s lives.
Following a Government decision this week, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will now finalise the design brief for the Study with a view to entering into a procurement process to continue with the Study in the period 2015-2019.
Minister Fitzgerald stated: “The Growing Up in Ireland Study is a unique source of data on children in an Irish context. It provides a significant national resource of data on childrens lives and a research resource to support evidence based policy and practice.”
“It is important that the Study’s future is secured and the significant investment already made is capitalised on. Growing Up in Ireland has policy relevance for almost all Government departments and their agencies and I welcome the support, among my cabinet colleagues, for the continuation of this very important study”.
Growing Up in Ireland is the first national longitudinal study of children in Ireland. Over the course of 2006-2014, the study has monitored the development of almost 20,000 children, an infant cohort of 11,100 9-month olds and a child cohort of 8,570 9-year olds.
The aim of Growing Up in Ireland is ‘to study the factors, which contribute to or undermine the well-being of children in contemporary Irish families, and, through this, contribute to the setting of effective and responsive policies relating to children and to the design of services for children and their families’.
Two waves of data collection have been completed for both the infant cohort (at age 9 months and then 3 years) and the child cohort (at age 9 years and then 13 years) and reports of the findings have been published.
A third wave of data collection of the infant cohort (at age 5 years) is currently being undertaken and will complete Phase 1 of the Study.
It is proposed that under phase 2 further waves of data collection will take place for both the infant and child cohort.
Minister Fitzgerald noted that the extension of study until 2019 will allow for tracking of critical transition points in children and young people’s lives including providing an insight into key issues such as:
development of literacy and numeracy skills and the role of digital technology in learning;
health and physical development including the continued examination of health risks such as obesity and health risk behaviours such as smoking and alcohol;
emotional and behavioural development in middle childhood; and
transitions from junior cycle to senior cycle and from second level education to third level education, employment and/or training
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) focuses on harmonising policy issues that affect children in areas such as early childhood care and education, youth justice, child welfare and protection, children and young people’s participation in decision-making, research on children and young people, youth work and cross cutting initiatives for children and young people. To that end, Growing Up in Ireland makes an important and valuable contribution.