Data sets on children: National and international surveys
Children in internationally comparable surveys (OECD+)
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Objective A UNICEF IRC and OECD initiative seeks to:
Mapping child well-being in OECD countries: broadening the data, indicators, analysis and responses In the development of the UNICEF Innocenti Report Card No. 7 'Child Poverty in Perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries', available cross-national survey and data series in OECD countries wereidentified and reviewed. Data from multiple sources were collected over a range of domains generally identified as significant to the well-being of children. The final matrix consisted of over 600 country-level indicators of child outcomes and environments (e.g. family structure). The final overview compared 25 OECD countries over 6 domains (material well-being; health and safety; education; peer and family relationships; behaviours and risks; and subjective sense of well-being) with an average ranking provided for 21 of the countries. The Innocenti Report Card generated much interest in cross-national comparisons of child well-being indicators from governments, the media and the public. However, the unavoidable limitations of the analysis were also recognized. The main challenges were a general lack of comparable data on child well-being across all OECD countries: across the ages (stages) of childhood; across all domains of well-being (most notably civic participation, housing, mental health, neglect and abuse); as well as over time. Where data were available, these often took the form of aggregated figures that did not allow for analysis of variations, gaps or sub-populations (e.g. by sex or rural/urban differences). Data are available for cross-national assessment of child outcomes in OECD countries from a mixture of sample surveys and administrative sources. Such data often focus on a single indicator, such as educational achievement or child poverty. The data frequently do not cover children of all ages or capture children living without a family, and are not disaggregated by gender. Late childhood is the focus of the majority of surveys (ESPAD, HBSC, PISA, TIMSS)*, while there is very little survey and time-series data on early childhood (ages 0 to 5) or middle childhood (ages 6 to 11) beyond traditional health and education data. Furthermore, scarce data are collected on household environments and family relations, and there is little consistency in approaches among the different surveys. By increasing dialogue between data producers/providers and the institutional research community, the initiative hopes to stimulate and facilitate research into the development of a broader set of indicators of child well-being. This will allow for a more detailed analysis of the well-being of particular groups of children, and ultimately stimulate national and international debates and policy responses that are in the best interests of children, and enable all children to realize their full potential. Comparable matrices for some child or family-focused survey can be downloaded via the links in the right-hand panel. Details of the content of the surveys, the respondents and methodology can also be found here. All of the surveys have been undertaken more than once, and so dates for each wave are provided along with the countries participating that year. In addition the matrices briefly describe the background to each survey, why it is being undertaken, and who is involved in the funding and management of the project. Links for technical information and contact details for the surveys are also included. * European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs; Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children; Programme for International Student Assessment; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.
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A UNICEF IRC / OECD compendium of basic information on child or family-focused cross-national surveys ESS - European Social Survey  Matrix Website ICCS - International Civic and Citizenship Education Study Matrix Website PISA - Programme for International Student Assessment  Matrix Website TIMSS - Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies Matrix Website HBSC - Health Behaviour in School-aged Children  Matrix Website EQLS - European Quality of Life Survey Matrix Website ESPAD - European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs Matrix Website PIRLS - Progress in International Reading Literacy Study Matrix Website EU-SILC - European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Matrix Website |
