Child Poverty Research Day: Paul Dornan and Frances Winter Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. 18th November 2016

1. What matters in shaping key transitions
through adolescence? Evidence from four
countries
Frances Winter and Paul Dornan
www.younglives.org.uk
@YLOxford

2. 1. Vital importance of the early years. But potential for later recovery
2. Marked differences in learning at the time children enter school
3. During school years poor children often get less good opportunities to
learn. Not inherent – Vietnam bucks the trend
4. In second decade, great variation in trajectories. Gendered
differences emerge strongly, tied to future opportunities. But not a
simple story of girls always most disadvantaged
5. Key adolescent transitions– leaving school, marrying, changes in
work, family ill-health or death and migration create ‘cliff edge’
differences between adolescents
6. The future -> high aspirations for social mobility – will it happen?
In summary…
Young Lives The developing young lives story
2
Improving living
standards but
ongoing inequalities
Improving living
standards but
ongoing inequalities
Unequal pathways
through childhood
and adolescence
Unequal pathways
through childhood
and adolescence
Early is best but it’s
never too late
Early is best but it’s
never too late
Responding to the
multidimensionality of
child poverty
Responding to the
multidimensionality of
child poverty

3. What’s different for adolescents?
• Most of second decade of life is still childhood
• Huge potential to improve later chances – a
second critical window
• ‘Peak youth’ - 1.8 billion people between 10-24
years of age
• Child poverty – old and new pressure
 Old: inadequate living conditions and risk
 New: social pressures and norms

4. What are the key adolescent transitions?
Transitions
•Puberty and physical growth
•Transitions between schools
•Leaving school
•Household changes
•Migration
•Marriage/cohabiting
•Becoming a parent
•Work trajectories
Consequences of poverty on
transitions?
•Timing
•Extent
•Impact
“Transitions refer to changes in status that are discrete
and bounded in duration, although their consequences may
be long-term.” George, 1993
… but all taking place within a life course

5. Three transitions
School
Marriage
Work

6. School
Who is out of school at age 15?
Poor children’s experience of
school exit shaped by
1.Poverty directly (need to
work; cost of schooling &
equipment);
2.Opportunity costs (future
ability to get a well paid job/
use new skills).
3.Experience of school itself
(eg. violence, quality,
sanitation)
4.Institutional triggers/ design
School, work & boys’
responsibilities
When I was fishing, I was not arriving at
school on time. Because of that, the
teacher sent me out of the class … he
said “Go back home”
Gemechu, Ethiopia

7. Work
Poor children’s experience of work
shaped by
1.More likely to need to work; practical
difficulty & high opportunity costs of
staying in school
2.Stopping work doesn’t automatically
increase chance of going to school. Role
of social protection support.
3.Gender, location, siblings & economy
key
4.Evidence of (uneven) trends in
children’s work over time.
Contributing to the household in Peru
In 2009, following a drought, 14-year-old Esmeralda
took a job as a farm hand during weekends and
holidays, earning around 3.5 US dollars a day. She
was able to pay for her schooling, clothing and food,
thus saving her mother these expenses.

8. Marriage
Children’s age at marriage
shaped by
1.Gender, poverty and rurality
2.Local practices and norms
3.Current experiences of school
and work
4.Future risk and opportunity
Ill health, marriage & the future
We never thought of marrying her
so soon. I have high blood sugar
and blood pressure problems and I
suffer with kidney problems also. If
I die who will take care of the girl?
People are always ready to slander
a girl if she is alone.
Ameena’s mother, Hyderabad

9. So what?
1. Transitions magnify impacts: translating poverty in childhood
to later outcomes. They are also points which can be
programmed for (eg. transitions between schools);
2. But transitions occur in a life course. Many positive effects for
children flow from improving what comes before (eg. low
education results) and after (eg. marriage and job prospects)
3. Policy implications?
• Key services: quality education; accessible health
services; underpinning social protection
• Prevention early losses; Sustaining gains through
adolescence; Providing a pathway to the future

10. Background to Young Lives study
Background
•12,000 participants giving their
time and experiences
•Focus - causes & consequences
of child poverty
•Child and household survey,
qualitative reports and school
based data
•Survey publically archived; 400
published papers
•Currently seeking funding to
carry out round 6 and 7