The role of cultural institutions in promoting language learning opportunities

Language development during the early years is a key predictor for academic success and life chances (Law et al., 2017), whereas poor language is closely associated with social, emotional and mental health problems in children and adolescents (Whitehouse et al., 2011). It is widely recognised that many preschool children from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds have poor language skills (Fernald et al., 2013), raising concerns about their long-term outcomes. However, language can be improved through the provision of supportive language learning activities and environments (Law et al., 2017). A wealth of research demonstrates that cultural institutions such as museums have beneficial impacts at multiple levels and timescales, for example by increasing an individual’s knowledge of a topic (Anderson et al., 2007), catalysing long-term interest (Anderson & Shimizu, 2007), or fostering the social integration of minority communities (Schultz, 2011). However, much of this work focuses on adults. At the same time, there has been a huge increase in provision of events within cultural institutions aimed at young children and their families in an attempt to engage and enrich their experiences, reflecting the assumption that such experiences will enhance learning and development.

This project capitalises on a collaboration between the University of Manchester, the Manchester Museum, and a Manchester educational trust which incorporates primary schools situated in areas of social deprivation, and will address the following research questions:
(i) What are the perceptions of cultural institutions amongst caregivers, children and teachers in disadvantaged communities, and does this change as a function of engagement with cultural institutions?
(ii) Can vocabulary development in the early years be enhanced by museum contexts, and are there any knock-on benefits for broader language skills?
(iii) How is the quality of the school language learning environment impacted by the community background of the children and the context for learning?

The MRes provides a thorough grounding in advanced research methods. Further specialist training is available including corpus data and analysis, experimental design, behavioural measures, and advanced statistical analysis in R. The student will receive additional training from the Manchester Museum Learning Team and the Educational Trust, covering topics around teaching and learning in schools and public engagement in cultural institutions. Engagement with the partners will take place across all four years, involving the student spending some time within the partner organisations to gain experience of the working environment.

In addition to the project-specific training/techniques, students are expected to get involved in lab activities such as reading groups and statistics workshops, and contribute to the many public engagement and outreach activities undertaken by the child study centre (training provided as needed).

Further subject-specific and transferable skills training is provided by the LuCiD Centre and by the Manchester Doctoral Academy (https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/doctoral-academy/ ).

This is an ESRC NWSSDTP funded CASE studentship. To apply for this project, please visit the UoM website https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/apply/ and select PhD Psychology on the online application form. Information on how to apply, the relevant documents you need to include, can be found on our website.