Event Description
A growing body of small-scale studies documents that the cognitive and brain development of low-income children differs from that of children in higher-income families. At the same time, a large body of social science research has found disparities by income in measures of children’s achievement, school performance, and learning-related behaviors, such as attention and self-regulation. Developmental scientists agree that poverty is especially likely to shape children’s early development because of the high plasticity and rapid growth of the brain during the first years of life.
Baby’s First Years is the first causal study to test the connections between poverty reduction and brain development among very young children. One thousand low-income mothers and their newborns were recruited in several ethnically and geographically diverse communities. Mothers are receiving either (1) $333 each month ($4,000 each year), or (2) $20 each month ($240 each year), for the first 76 months of the children’s lives, with the first payments occurring shortly after the baby’s birth. Kimberly Noble, the senior author of the study, will discuss Baby's First Years' recent findings and their implications both for science and social policy.
Event Speaker
Kimberly Noble, Professor of Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College
Event Information
Free and open to the public; registration required. For more information, please visit the event webpage or email [email protected]. Please visit the Heyman’s Center website for directions. All in-person attendees must follow Columbia's COVID-19 policies. Visitors will be asked to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Hosted by the Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University.
