Extensive evidence and theory suggest that the development of motor skills during infancy and early childhood initiates a "developmental cascade" for cognitive abilities, such as reading and math. Motor skills are closely connected with the development of spatial cognition, an ability that supports deductive reasoning. Despite the…

Concern about the negative impact of the digital world on young people has increased in recent years (see, e.g., Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport [DCMS], 2021; United Nations, 2021). A growing body of research explores aspects of young people's online lives and mental wellbeing (see, e.g., Kandola et al., 2021, Kelly et al., 2018,…

Video games are a significant cultural and creative force, often involving a number of art forms, including narrative, design and audio composition. They have been the subject of a large-scale exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museums in London and Dundee, while the British Games Institute (BGI) was set up to support video game culture in…

This report focuses on children aged 8 to 11 and their enjoyment of reading, reading behaviour, and attitudes toward reading. It synthesises information from surveys that have been conducted since 2005, but most heavily exploits data from the fourth annual literacy survey conducted in November/December 2013 in which 10,946 8 to 11-year-olds…

As a way to raise attainment, schools are encouraged to form ability groups across classes for particular subjects. There is limited evidence however about the relationship between setting and primary school children's characteristics and how teachers perceive them. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between set positioning for…

This small-scale study reports the findings from an investigation into non-verbal communication. It primarily seeks to analyse whether 9 and 13 year-olds can encode and decode non-verbal communication in the context of classroom behaviour management. This research showed that, in contrast to previous published research, there were no distinct…

Adverse outcomes of teenage sexual activity are common in the United Kingdom. The authors used a computer-assisted interview to ask young adolescents aged 11 to 12 years (N = 6,856) and 12 to 13 years (N = 6,801) who were part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children about romantic and intimate behaviors. A total of 24% of 11- to…

This paper reports on findings derived as part of a two-year project funded by the European Union's Daphne III scheme, involving collaboration between seven partner organisations across six European countries. The project involved an evaluation, using questionnaires and focus groups, of domestic abuse prevention education programmes delivered in…

Purpose: In the 2nd decade of life, language skills expand in both quantitative and qualitative ways. The etiology of these new skills and the relationships among them have been little explored. Method: Taking advantage of widespread access to inexpensive and fast Internet connections in the United Kingdom, we administered four Web-based measures…

The authors' previous work and the data reported in the preceding chapters of this monograph provide conclusive evidence of the persistent nature of the negative impact of early severe deprivation. Institutional deprivation, despite the good outcomes for many, was often associated with substantial impairment and disorder across a wide range of…

Background: Are there sex differences in the etiology of high performance in science in childhood that could contribute to the under-representation of women in scientific careers? In this study the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences on high performance in science in both boys and girls were assessed using standard twin…

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among youths. Comparatively few studies have studied recent trends over time, or examined rates and characteristics of service contact in well-defined national samples. Methods: Data on general population suicides and mid-year population estimates were used to calculate suicide rates (per…

The aim of the research project was to explore new ways in which we might evaluate boys' and girls' engagement and "performance" in English at Key Stage 3. This paper draws on recent theories regarding literacy, identity and gender and includes an analysis of short stories written by boys and girls aged 12- to 13-years-old. An…

Background and aims: There is uncertainty about the extent or even existence of sex differences in the mean and variability of reasoning test scores ( Jensen, 1998; Lynn, 1994, ; Mackintosh, 1996). This paper analyses the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) scores of a large and representative sample of UK pupils to determine the extent of any sex…

Whilst the association of risk with schools is predominately a negative one, fostering images of potential dangers, this paper draws upon a socio-cultural counter-discourse to explore the perceived benefits of certain risk taking activities within educational establishments. Using research data on school Internet "misuse" it is argued…