Learning Environments in Danish Families

What?

How often did your parents read aloud to you when you were a child, and did they expect you to (not) go far in the educational system? The aim of this project is to describe different types of family learning environments (FLEs) in Denmark, their socioeconomic stratification, and how they link to children's academic and social skills.

Why?

We know that the family in which children grow up has a substantial impact on later socioeconomic outcomes, e.g., health, education, and income. Yet, we do not know much (or nearly enough) about FLEs, i.e., the combinations of activities, everyday routines, emotional climates, expectations, and social networks that make up different types of FLEs. This projects provides new evidence on different types of FLEs and how they link to children's skills.  I am Co-PI with Jens-Peter Thomsen from VIVE.

How?

The project uses a mixed-methods approach. In the first phase, we collected rich qualitative data from 44 Danish families based on interviews and a custom smartphone app (digital diary). This report and article presents key findings. In the second  phase, we use the results from the first phase to develop a questionnaire to measure the FLE in a large sample. We collected survey data with around 1,500 families in 2021. This report presents key findings. In the third phase, we re-interviewed participants from the first survey, thereby providing panel data on FLEs.

Funding