New project aims to increase knowledge about the living conditions of vulnerable children

The School of Education and Communication at Jönköping University has received funding of almost SEK 4 million for a new research project. The project builds on lessons learned from the pandemic and aims to increase knowledge about how different factors affect the health and well-being of children and young people - especially those with disabilities or migrant backgrounds.

The new project, HOPE, builds on the EXPECT project, led by Ole Henrik Hansen, Professor of Education at the School of Education and Communication. EXPECT focuses on the experiences of Nordic preschools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recently published scoping review - an overview that maps and summarizes existing research - within the project shows that the pandemic created both major challenges and important lessons for Nordic preschools. Staff shortages, unclear information and poor contact with parents were key problems, while smaller groups of children, increased flexibility and more outdoor education strengthened the quality and resilience of the activities.

Want to deepen understanding

The HOPE project aims to deepen the understanding of how different biological, cultural and societal factors can strengthen children and young people's ability to cope with and recover from difficult situations, and how this affects their well-being and access to support. The focus is on children and young people with disabilities and migration backgrounds in Finland and Sweden, with comparative perspectives from Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

By integrating data from EXPECT but also D-youth, HOPE will contribute to new knowledge about how early experiences shape young people's living conditions in the Nordic countries after the Covid pandemic - but also to policy recommendations that strengthen equality and social sustainability.

"Both EXPECT and D-youth's consortium consist of researchers from the different Nordic countries and combining our experiences will be very exciting and hopefully lead to something valuable," says Lilly Augustine, Assistant Professor of Disability Research at the School of Education and Communication.

According to NordForsk, who is funding the project, HOPE has the potential to contribute very well to the goals of the initiative, as the research results can drive the development of research on young people in the Nordic countries and have an impact on policy, practice and society.

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