50 years of life in britain by Centre for Longitudinal Studies – UCL Institute of Education

Our last episode of the series examines how BCS70 and our study members have been faring during the pandemic and looks to the future of longitudinal research.

In this episode, we move into the 2010s to find out how our study members were faring in their forties. We learn how BCS70 cast light on increasing rates of mental ill-health among men, and find out more about the most recent biomedical survey where participants were given a health MOT. We also chat to one of our in-house study detectives about the role they play tracing long lost study participants.

We move into the new millennium, when the study enjoyed a golden decade. With BCS70 greatly valued by scientists and policymakers, the study was funded to meet participants on three occasions and was regularly cited by New Labour in government policy. With this new-found recognition, researchers across the globe started using BCS70 in conjunction with other birth cohort studies to see how members of Generation X were faring compared to other generations. We also speak to study participants about their careers and lives in their thirties.

We move into the 1990s to find out how the study and its staff survived the lean years of the 80s and early 90s, and managed to get back in contact with study participants after a 10 year gap. We learn about the study’s stark findings on adults’ numeracy and literacy, which led to the government's Skills for Life adult learning programme. We also ask study participants what it was like to join the study again as adults and find out how they were getting on in the big wide world after the boom and bust years.

We move into the 1980s to find out how Neville Butler kept the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) going during a decade of austerity. We learn about the benefits of reading for pleasure for children’s English and maths skills. We also ask study participants about their teenage years and find out what it was like sharing their 19th birthday with 4,000 other people at Alton Towers.

We explore the first decade of the 1970 British Cohort Study (1970) and the impact of its early years research on policy many years later.

Welcome to "50 years of Life in Britain"