Children and their brains

An evening symposium and a debate on neuroscience and infant development

An evening symposium and a debate on neuroscience and infant development organised by the Institute of Ideas in association with the European Dana Alliance for the Brain, brings together a panel of speakers who will look a the issues afresh with differing perspectives. The event will examine exactly what neuroscience can and cannot tell us about infant development and the political and social context in which these findings are being interpreted.

Neuroscience is beginning to yield tremendous gains in helping us understand how children develop. Exciting new insights are having an effect in the spheres of politics and education policy. In America, both the Democrats and Republicans have drawn on new brain research to inform policies relating to families and children. At a conference on early child development and learning at the White House in 1997, then First Lady Hillary Clinton noted that ‘everything we do with a child...determine(s) how their brains are wired’. In 2001 her successor Laura Bush hosted a White House 'Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development'. At this she claimed science confirms, ‘What a child experiences from day one to grade one has a direct and profound impact on his future’. In the UK, Minister for Children Margaret Hodge cites scientific evidence for a range of early years initiatives such as SureStart Schemes and Early Excellence Centres. In education, debates about learning styles, creativity and assessment techniques all claim the credibility of evidence from brain science.

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