2023 Jenny Leaper Lecture

The Jenny Leaper Lecture was held in November 2023, with visiting Associate Professor Jennifer LoCasale Crouch from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Education.

In this public lecture, 'The Village Matters: Widening Our Examination of Early Experiences that Enhance Children’s Preschool Outcomes,' Dr. LoCasale-Crouch drew on her research considering more closely the full range of contexts children grow up in to better complete the developmental inputs picture. Communities represent one such system worth exploring as they play an essential part in children’s development and are potential targets for policy prevention and intervention efforts. Although community characteristics are well documented determinants of adolescent and adult health and well-being, surprisingly little is known about how they shape children’s early school success. This presentation provided important insights about new approaches to addressing inequities in children's early development, suggesting ways to help move societies forward in understanding, and supporting, a range of avenues to ensure all children thrive.

View research brief: The Village Matters

With thanks to Jenny and John Leaper who have supported the REEaCh Centre since 2019 though their generous philanthropic investment.