National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) is a project of Statistics Canada that engages in long-term study of children.

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth is a policy implemented by the Canadian government's "Statistics Canada" and "Human Resources and Social Development Canada" agencies, charged with identifying and charting longer-term trends in Canadian youth. The program tracks the progress and development of children from the time they are born through early adulthood, and is meant to identify different factors that influence each child's development. Specific areas of study include what contributes to emotional, social, and behavioral development and the implications they carry for the child as an adult. This is done by observing physical development and overall health, learning ability, behavioral tendencies, family and friend structure, as well as the types of schools and communities in which the child is raised. The study is conducted every two years, and was first implemented in 1994. The information gathered is used for policy decisions ranging from university financial aid and enrollment to distribution of educational, medical or family-related funds and education reform. The types of classes offered in schools, for example, may reflect the types of classes shown to best bolster a child's development. The program targets children raised in each of Canada's 10 provinces and excludes children living on Indian reserves, Crown Lands (lands belonging to the Crown—in this case the British Royal family), residents of institutions, children of full-time members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and children who live in certain remote regions. The program selects children ages 0 to 11 to begin the process, and studies five specific subject areas: Child development and behavior, children and youth, education, training and learning (education), and youth health and well-being. Each biennial report collects data for approximately one year. Each evaluation given is completely voluntary, and the data is measured by evaluating five different administered tests. The first three are surveys about the child, the "child component" uses the person most knowledgeable about the child as a respondent, the adult component" uses the spouse of the person most knowledgeable about the child as a respondent, the "youth component" is given to the child. Additionally, the fourth method is composed of a cognitive test that includes mathematics and other school subject matter. Finally, a series of tests given to the respondent child several times is used. Which test is given depends on the age of the child: a self completed questionnaire (ages 12–16), a problem-solving exercise (ages 16–17), a literacy assessment (ages 18–19), and a numeracy assessment (ages 20–21). Criticisms of the program are apparent when the details are known. Critics rally that a volunteer-based means of evaluation cannot possibly be fully representative, as certain types of respondents will already be predisposed to participate or abstain. Moreover, the exclusion of many children ensures that the study will not be wholly representative and may result in neglecting certain groups of children. For example, military children are not included in the survey, and neither are children who happen to live in more remote locations as tracking and administering or even just accessing these children may sometimes prove too difficult and costly. However, this has the effect of alienating these groups to possible reform and blinds government policymakers to the trends and needs of these children.

External links

• NLSCY page at Statistics Canada