New OECD report helps to measure what matters when it comes to child wellbeing

Freya Lucas

Jul 05, 2021

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A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has outlined a new child well-being measurement framework, identified key gaps in child data, and outlined how they can be filled.

Measuring What Matters for Child Well-being and Policies notes that while enhancing child well-being benefits society as a whole, improving policies to help children thrive will require better data on their needs and lived experiences.

Based on a review of research evidence on child well-being and how it relates to later life outcomes, the framework follows a number of principles; that well-being is multidimensional, is tightly embedded in a child’s environment, and that fundamental aspects change according to age. Well-being measures must also take into account children’s views and perspectives, authors noted. “A multidimensional approach is central because difficulties or strengths in different areas interact,” an OECD spokesperson said.

The report cites, for example, how emotional regulation in early childhood has a positive impact on learning and on the quality of friendships and social skills, as children grow older. The framework treats the different dimensions of child well-being – material, social, emotional, cultural and educational well-being, as well as physical health and cognitive development – as interconnected. It also aims to capture the distribution of well-being through measures that reflect lack of opportunities and disparities across different groups of children, for instance by sex, by living arrangement, and by migrant background. The report identifies a number of key priorities for measuring child well-being, including:

Do children have the things they need?
Are children active and physically healthy?
Do children feel safe and secure, respected, included and happy?
Are children learning and achieving in education?

The report says that although comparable international data has improved, it remains limited in scope. Some children, often the most vulnerable, are frequently missing or not easily identifiable in existing data, while information is limited on the well-being of the very young and on children’s own views on important aspects of their lives. “Co-ordinated action from governments, international organisations, and the wider community to improve the availability of cross-national child data, is needed,” the spokesperson noted - a sizable task that will require both significant investment and a medium- to long-term commitment. The report has been prepared by the new OECD Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE) and may be accessed here.

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