Investigating the origins of the ‘achievement gap’

This project will explore the associations between adversities experienced in the prenatal period and children’s later cognitive development and educational attainment.  

Why this research is important

Interventions to support children’s educational attainment mostly target children in early years education and schools.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear that intervention programmes and even national curricula arrive often too late in children’s development to improve their later attainment. The Chair of The Early Years Healthy Development Review recognised that ‘the building blocks begin at conception’.  

Within the field of developmental psychology, there is a wealth of research about environmental effects on brain development in the womb. A range of lifestyle and well-being factors can expose a foetus to adversity in the prenatal period, including:  

• maternal stress
• malnutrition 
• teratogens
• maternal sleep
• and maternal metabolic disorders.  

The effect of some adversities, such as alcohol, are well known and the risks mitigated. Others are understudied and little guidance is provided to expectant families and there is limited influence on government policymaking. 

How this research will be carried out

The research team will investigate the long-term educational consequence of adverse factors experienced during pregnancy through systematic reviews of the five topics listed above. 

Meta-analysis will be carried out where possible, but variation in methods across fields may preclude this in some cases.  

How this research will make a difference

The project will produce recommendations for policymakers on the known effects of each adversity and likely effects on educational attainment will be produced. It will identify the prevalence of the effects of likely comorbidity of factors. These will provide recommendations on how funding could be targeted to mitigate effects of the different adversities experienced in pregnancy.

The research findings will be disseminated through national maternity networks and an end of project seminar.