Inequality in the Early Cognitive Development of British Children in the 1970 Cohort
Open accessAbstract
This paper develops an index of development for British children in the 1970 cohort, assessed at 22 months, 42 months, 5 years and 10 years. The score at 22 months predicts educational qualifications at age 26 and is related to family background. The children of educated or wealthy parents who scored poorly in the early tests had a tendency to catch up, whereas children of worse‐off parents who scored poorly were extremely unlikely to catch up and are shown to be an at‐risk group. There is no evidence that entry into schooling reverses this pattern.
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The growth in cognitive inequalities according to socioeconomic status during childhood has been established by analyses of the British cohort studies of 1946, 1958, 1970 and 2000.
“The growth in cognitive inequalities according to socioeconomic status during childhood has been established by analyses of the British cohort studies of 1946, 1958, 1970 and 2000 (Douglas 1964; Feinstein 2003; 2004; Fogelman & Goldstein 1976; Sullivan et al. 2013)”
From Reading for pleasure and progress in vocabulary and mathematics (2015) · cites this paper as Feinstein 2003
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- Authors
- Feinstein, L.
- Affiliations
- London School of Economics and Political Science (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Feinstein, Leon
- ORCID
- Feinstein, Leon
- Venue
- Economica
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2003-02
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 277
- Pages
- 73-97
- ISSN
- 0013-0427 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-0335
- OpenAlex
- W2109653769
- Cited by
- 620
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 36 · 2012: 39
- FWCI
- 52.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- papers.ssrn.com
- Locations
- Economica (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Keywords
- educational inequality, early childhood cognitive development, educational attainment, family background, parental education, parental wealth, vulnerable children, school entry, British children, 1970 cohort
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