Singapore Longitudinal EArly Development Study (SG LEADS)

Abstract

<p>SG LEADS was funded in 2017 to investigate early childhood development in Singapore. The study highlights the importance of promoting human development to increase productivity and maintaining the well-being of a population as a means of achieving a vibrant economy and secure society. SG LEADS examines factors that affect children’s early development in the domains of health, cognitive, and social-psychological functions. It also aims to understand how multiple contexts such as the family, pre-school, community and the state interact to influence children’s development. The study intends to track development of children in Singapore to understand factors that can promote Singaporean children’s early childhood development and provide interventions that can help address these factors. </p>

<p>The main research questions are: (1) what is the state of Singapore children, (2) how family, childcare and early education institutions, community, and state interact to shape the development of Singapore’s children, and (3) how these investments affect intergenerational mobility and social stratification in Singapore. Our research addresses policy concerns such as how caregiving arrangements, preschool education, the roles of mother, father and extended family, cross-cultural family background, family resources, time and technology use, living arrangements, and family dynamics/relations affect children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and health development, and what roles community and government can play in improving child outcomes. </p>

<p>SG LEADS consists of a core panel survey and three sub-projects.</p>

<p>The Panel Survey is comprised of 2 waves of survey, with the first one conducted in 2018/2019 and the second in 2021. The Panel Survey is led by PI Professor Wei-Jun Jean Yeung and co-PIs Assistant Professor Ding Xiaopan and Associate Professor Ryan Hong from the NUS Department of Psychology, and Professor Lim Sun Sun from the Singapore University of Technology and Design. Wave 1 data collection was completed with 5,005 children and Wave 2 data collection was completed with 4,352 children. More information on the core panel survey can be found in the documents attached.</p>

<p>The 3 sub-projects focus respectively on 1) children’s language development, 2) children’s social skills development, and 3) development in the context of cross-cultural families. Information on each sub-project can be found in the document attached “Description for SG LEADS Subprojects”.</p>

<p>The Core Panel Study documents and datasets included in this folder are: <ul> <li> Wave 1 Questionnaires – Household Information Form, Household Questionnaire, Child Questionnaire</li> <li> Wave 1 Study Guide</li> <li> Wave 1 Technical Reports – Report 1-12</li> <li> Wave 1 Data – Main Dataset, Time Diary Dataset, Codebook, Variable Codebook</li> <p> <li> Wave 2 Questionnaires – Household Information Form, Household Questionnaire, Child Questionnaire</li> <li> Wave 2 Study Guide</li> <li> Wave 2 Technical Reports – Report 1-11</li> <li> Wave 2 Data – Main Dataset, Data Set Up, Codebook, Variable Codebook</li> </ul>

<p>The Wave 1 Study Guide describes the study’s design, questionnaire development, field procedures, response rate calculation, and sampling weights. It also provides technical notes on how the data was weighted and how variables were coded and scored. </p>

<p>The Wave 2 Study Guide documents the second wave of the panel survey’s study design, instruments, field procedures, response rate calculation and sampling weights.</p>

<p>For enquiries on the study, please email Professor Wei-Jun Jean Yeung at <a href="mailto:socywj@nus.edu.sg">socywj@nus.edu.sg</a></p>