Abstract
BackgroundSummer learning loss has been the subject of longstanding concern among researchers, the public and policy makers. The aim of the current research was to investigate inequality changes in children’s mental health and cognitive ability across the summer holidays.MethodsWe conducted linear and logistic regression analysis of mental health (borderline-abnormal total difficulty and prosocial scores on the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ)) and verbal cognitive ability (reading, verbal reasoning or vocabulary) at ages 7, 11 and 14, comparing UK Millennium Cohort Study members who were interviewed before and after the school summer holidays. Inequalities were assessed by including interaction terms in the outcome models between a discrete binary variable with values representing time periods and maternal academic qualifications. Coefficients of the interaction terms were interpreted as changes from the pre- to post-holiday period in the extent of inequality in the outcome between participants whose mothers had high or low educational qualifications. Separate models were fitted for each age group and outcome. We used inverse probability weights to allow for differences in the characteristics of cohort members assessed before and after the summer holidays.ResultsMental health (borderline/abnormal SDQ total and prosocial scores) at ages 7 and 14 worsened and verbal cognitive ability scores at age 7 were lower among those surveyed after the summer holidays. Mental health inequalities were larger after the holidays at age 7 ([OR = 1.4; 95%CI (0.6, 3.2) and 14: [OR = 1.5; 95%CI (0.7, 3.2)], but changed little at age 11 (OR = 0.9; 95%CI (0.4, 2.6)]. There were differences in pro-social behaviours among those surveyed before/after the school holidays at age 14 [OR = 1.2; 95%CI (0.5, 3.5)] but not at age 7 or 11. There was little change in inequalities in verbal cognitive ability scores over the school holidays [Age 7: b = 1.3; 95%CI (− 3.3, 6.0); Age 11: b = − 0.7; 95%CI (− 4.3, 2.8); Age 14: b = − 0.3; 95%CI (− 1.0, 0.4)].ConclusionWe found inequalities in mental health and cognitive ability according to maternal education, and some evidence or worsening mental health and mental health inequalities across school summer holidays. We found little evidence of widening inequalities in verbal cognitive ability. Widespread school closures during the COVID-19 restrictions have prompted concerns that prolonged closures may widen health and educational inequalities. Management of school closures should focus on preventing or mitigating inequalities that may arise from differences in the support for mental health and learning provided during closures by schools serving more or less disadvantaged children.
Highlights
Socio-economic differences in summer learning loss have been the subject of widespread concern among researchers, the public and policy makers since a landmark US study [1] found that a large fraction of total inequality in educational attainment between children from more and less affluent backgrounds was attributable to differences that emerge over the school summer holidays
Since our aim is to investigate changes in mental health and verbal cognitive ability across the summer holidays, we restricted our analysis to cohort members surveyed in the 2 months before and the 2 months after the summer holidays in each sweep
Sensitivity analyses using non age standardised ability scores, (Additional file 1, Table A4) and income and neighbourhood deprivation in place of mother’s education (Additional file 1, Tables A6–7) found similar results. This Millennium Cohort Study analysis is the first analysis of UK-wide data on the impacts of school summer holiday closures on inequalities in children and young people’s mental health and verbal cognitive ability
Summary
Socio-economic differences in summer learning loss have been the subject of widespread concern among researchers, the public and policy makers since a landmark US study [1] found that a large fraction of total inequality in educational attainment between children from more and less affluent backgrounds was attributable to differences that emerge over the school summer holidays. The existence and seriousness of the problem appeared to be confirmed by a systematic review published in 1996 [2], but recent research has suggested that the apparent widening of inequalities is an artefact of the way children’s ability is measured and analysed [3, 4]. Reanalyses of previously published data and analyses of other datasets indicate a much smaller effect or no effect of summer learning loss on socio-economic inequalities in attainment [5,6,7]. The aim of the current research was to investigate inequality changes in children’s mental health and cognitive ability across the summer holidays
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