Supporting parenting to promote early child development (2018)

Their research in South Africa has shown that children whose mothers had received the training showed marked improvements in language, attention, empathy and social understanding. The programme is now being adopted worldwide and the team have developed a version for pre-school teachers and crèche workers.

In order to disseminate their work, Professors Cooper and Murray set up a charity, the Mikhulu Trust, which trains staff of local government agencies and NGOs to deliver the programme in local communities. From deprived inner cities in the UK to remote villages in the mountains of Lesotho, book-sharing has attracted global attention and is even finding a valued role in supporting refugee communities in Sicily and Greece.
The World Health Organization has adopted the programme into their Parenting for Lifelong Health initiative, of parenting programmes for low-resource settings. Professors Cooper and Murray are currently working with colleagues across nine countries who are collaborating   on local book-sharing initiatives to support pre-school learning, leading to an ever-growing, worldwide community, with the University of Reading at its hub.

Partners: The Mikhulu Trust, South Africa and over 20 international non-profit organisations (such as Save the Children, South Africa), several government bodies (e.g. the Municipal Government of Pelotas, Brazil), and universities in the UK and five other countries. For further information and an up-to-date list of partners, please visit the Mikhulu Trust website.

Judges’ comments: “A great example of research that makes a real difference in people’s lives – and scaling up a successful project with new partners in new locations” [25 words]