Childhood Development and Learning Difficulties

There's so much to learn about how young Kiwis learn

What is learning? How do kids develop? It’s such a complex and multidisciplinary topic, but researchers are understanding more and more about how children and teenagers develop – including greater insight into the plasticity of the brain (ability to change and adapt) in the early stages of life.

2 Active projects

Why is it a problem?

In the same study, only a small number of children were flourishing for learning skills (4%) or social skills (14.5%), but almost 20% had learning‐skill difficulties.
In a 2024 Growing Up in New Zealand study of 6,109 children at age 4½: 52.6% of children were healthy, 19.5% had early learning skills difficulties, 5.6% had physical health difficulties, and 3.7% had developmental difficulties.
In 2023 (Term 1), 59.5% of all students attended school regularly (i.e. more than 90% of classes), up from 46.1% in 2022 – but still well below pre‑pandemic levels (72.8% in Term 1, 2019).

Why is it a problem?

First things first: what is childhood development?

Childhood development is simply the process by which a child changes over time. In broad terms, it can cover the time between conception and an individual becoming a fully functioning adult. Another way to describe this process is the change from total dependence to full independence.

What are the main areas of childhood development?

Although there are many differences in definition and terminology, it is generally accepted that childhood development includes:

• basic motor skills, e.g. crawling, jumping or running
• fine (more complicated) motor skills, e.g. writing and drawing
• speech and language
• cognitive and intellectual skills, e.g. counting or identifying shapes
• social and emotional skills, e.g. playing with other children.

So what is ‘normal’ vs ‘delayed’ development’?

Because most children reach specific developmental milestones at around similar ages, this is often called ‘normal development’. It doesn’t mean all children will reach the main areas of development at exactly the same age. A child whose skills and abilities in one or more areas are delayed compared with other children of the same age can be experiencing ‘delayed development’

Why is early intervention so important?

Recognising developmental delays early in a child’s life can provide the opportunities and support to develop new skills. The quality of nurturing and support provided in the early years can influence their:

• ability to learn
• behaviour
• ability to control emotions
• risks for disease later in life.

Did you know?

The first 5 years of a child’s life are a critically important time in brain development.

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO HELP?

Refractive error in New Zealand children

Dr Rebecca Findlay, University of Auckland

Children who have problems with their eyesight such as refractive error need glasses, to participate fully in the classroom and achieve academically. But because current screening programmes do not detect all children with refractive error, many children with vision problems start school without glasses.

Dr Rebecca Findlay aims to test 7-year-old children for refractive error, as a first step to understanding the size of this issue. And the results should inform large-scale programmes to provide vision screening and eye care to detect and treat refractive error, and set children up for success at school.