Young Lives: Head Teacher Telephone Survey, Ethiopia and India, 2020

The Young Lives survey is an innovative long-term project investigating the changing nature of childhood poverty in four developing countries. The purpose of the project is to improve understanding of the causes and consequences of childhood poverty and examine how policies affect children's well-being, in order to inform the development of future policy and to target child welfare interventions more effectively. The study is being conducted in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. These countries were selected because they reflect a range of cultural, geographical and social contexts and experience differing issues facing the developing world; high debt burden, emergence from conflict, and vulnerability to environmental conditions such as drought and flood. The Young Lives study aims to track the lives of 12,000 children over a 15-year period, surveyed once every 3-4 years. Round 1 of Young Lives surveyed two groups of children in each country, at 1 year old and 5 years old. Round 2 returned to the same children who were then aged 5 and 12 years old. Round 3 surveyed the same children again at aged 7-8 years and 14-15 years, Round 4 surveyed them at 12 and 19 years old, and Round 5 surveyed them at 15 and 22 years old. Thus the younger children are being tracked from infancy to their mid-teens and the older children through into adulthood, when some will become parents themselves.<br> <br> The survey consists of three main elements: a child questionnaire, a household questionnaire and a community questionnaire. The household data gathered is similar to other cross-sectional datasets (such as the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study). It covers a range of topics such as household composition, livelihood and assets, household expenditure, child health and access to basic services, and education. This is supplemented with additional questions that cover caregiver perceptions, attitudes, and aspirations for their child and the family. Young Lives also collects detailed time-use data for all family members, information about the child's weight and height (and that of caregivers), and tests the children for school outcomes (language comprehension and mathematics). An important element of the survey asks the children about their daily activities, their experiences and attitudes to work and school, their likes and dislikes, how they feel they are treated by other people, and their hopes and aspirations for the future. The community questionnaire provides background information about the social, economic and environmental context of each community. It covers topics such as ethnicity, religion, economic activity and employment, infrastructure and services, political representation and community networks, crime and environmental changes. The Young Lives survey is carried out by teams of local researchers, supported by the Principal Investigator and Data Manager in each country.<br> <br> Further information about the survey, including publications, can be downloaded from the <a href="https://www.younglives.org.uk/" title="Young Lives" target="_blank">Young Lives</a> website.<br> <br> <p><span style="font-style: italic;">SN 9007 - Young Lives: Head Teacher Telephone Survey, Ethiopia and India, 2020</span><br>In 2020, a follow-up survey of head teachers was conducted to understand how the COVID-19 situation affected schools in Ethiopia and India. The survey investigated how schools provided support to children and families while schools remained closed, the effects of this on children's learning, and their plans for reopening. <br><br>The survey was conducted by Policy Studies Institute (PSI) in Ethiopia, Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) in India and the University of Oxford. Both PSI and CESS obtained permission from the government for this survey to be conducted with head teachers. The research was done in collaboration with the REAL Centre, who were also carrying out surveys of head teachers (and teachers) during the school closures.<br><br></p>

青年生活（Young Lives）调查是一项创新性长期研究项目，旨在探究四个发展中国家儿童贫困状况的动态演变规律。本项目旨在深化对儿童贫困的成因与社会后果的认知，剖析公共政策对儿童福祉的影响机制，以期为未来政策制定提供实证依据，并更精准地实施儿童福利干预举措。

该研究在埃塞俄比亚、印度、秘鲁与越南四国开展。上述四国的选取依据在于，它们分别代表了多元的文化、地理与社会语境，且各自面临发展中世界的差异化困境：高额债务负担、战后重建进程，以及干旱、洪涝等极端环境事件的脆弱性。

青年生活研究计划追踪12000名儿童的成长历程，调研周期长达15年，每3至4年开展一次追踪调查。首轮调查（Round 1）在各国针对两组儿童展开，分别为1岁龄与5岁龄儿童。第二轮调查（Round 2）回访了同一批儿童，此时他们的年龄分别为5岁与12岁。第三轮调查（Round 3）再次对这批儿童进行回访，此时他们的年龄介于7至8岁、14至15岁之间；第四轮调查（Round 4）在他们12岁与19岁时开展；第五轮调查（Round 5）则在他们15岁与22岁时进行。由此，低龄组儿童的追踪周期从婴儿期延伸至青少年中期，高龄组儿童则延续至成年阶段，届时部分儿童将为人父母。

本次调查包含三大核心模块：儿童问卷、家庭问卷与社区问卷。所采集的家庭数据与其他横截面数据集（如世界银行的生活水平衡量研究（Living Standards Measurement Study））具有较高可比性，调研内容涵盖家庭结构、生计与资产状况、家庭开支、儿童健康与基础服务可及性，以及教育领域等多个维度。此外，问卷还增设了关于照料者对子女与家庭的认知、态度与期望的相关问题。

青年生活调查还会收集所有家庭成员的详细时间使用数据，以及儿童（及照料者）的身高体重信息，并针对儿童的学业表现开展标准化测试，涵盖语言理解能力与数学能力两个维度。调查的一项核心内容是询问儿童的日常活动、对工作与学校的经历与态度、个人好恶、他人对待自己的方式，以及对未来的憧憬与期许。

社区问卷则用于收集各社区的社会、经济与环境背景信息，调研内容涵盖族裔构成、宗教信仰、经济活动与就业情况、基础设施与公共服务、政治代表与社区网络、犯罪率与环境变化等主题。青年生活调查由各国本地研究团队执行，并得到各国首席研究员与数据管理员的支持。

有关本次调查的更多信息（包括研究出版物）可从青年生活官方网站（<https://www.younglives.org.uk/>）下载获取。

<em>SN 9007 - 青年生活：埃塞俄比亚与印度校长电话调查，2020年</em>
2020年，项目组针对校长开展了一项追踪调查，以探究新冠疫情对埃塞俄比亚与印度学校的影响。本次调查聚焦于学校停课期间校方为儿童与家庭提供的支持措施、这些措施对儿童学习的影响，以及校方的复课计划。

本次调查由埃塞俄比亚政策研究学会（Policy Studies Institute, PSI）、印度经济与社会研究中心（Centre for Economic and Social Studies, CESS）以及牛津大学联合执行。PSI与CESS均已获得本国政府许可，可针对校长开展本次调查。本研究与REAL中心合作开展，该中心在学校停课期间也同步开展了针对校长（及教师）的相关调查。