Emerging Longitudinal Scholars Symposium 2026

Description:

CLOSER's Emerging Longitudinal Scholars Symposium is back again — this year the focus turns to digital technology and social media use among children and young people.

Chaired by CLOSER Head of Education and Training, Dr Neil Kaye, this symposium provides a collaborative platform for fostering knowledge exchange and showcasing research by early career researchers using UK longitudinal population study data.

For this year’s Symposium, CLOSER has curated a diverse set of talks followed by an interactive discussion within the overarching theme. Professor Victoria Goodyear, from the University of Birmingham’s School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Institute for Mental Health, will be our discussant for the session.

Taking place on Wednesday 17 June, this online symposium is free to attend.

Programme of events

The symposium will feature talks from each of the presenting emerging longitudinal scholars, followed by commentary and insights from our discussant.

• Parenting in the digital age: Ethnic differences in adolescent digital device use and socioemotional health in the UK – Chia Liu (University of St Andrews)

• Digital Technology Use in Middle Childhood: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Study in the Born in Bradford Cohort – Sara Ahern [presenting on behalf of Kirsty Crossley] (Born in Bradford)
• Adolescent social media use and psychiatric diagnoses in secondary care in England – Tom Metherell (UCL)
• Early Screen Time and Children’s Language Development: Heterogeneous Effects by Parental SES – Beyda Çineli (Autonomous University of Barcelona)
• How Digital Use Shapes Early Learning in the UK – Yi Feng (Durham University)

How to register

The symposium will be delivered via MS Teams. Instructions for how to access the session will be sent to all registered attendees prior to the session.

Please book your place via the Eventbrite page to ensure you receive the joining details.

The session will be recorded and videos posted after the event has ended.

Discussant biography

Professor Victoria Goodyear is Professor of Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing at the University of Birmingham’ School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Institute for Mental Health. She is an internationally recognised leader in school-based and youth-focused research examining how digital technologies shape children’s and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, health outcomes, physical activity behaviours, and learning.

Her work examines interventions promoting physical activity, health and wellbeing, in schools and in community settings. She has expertise in pedagogy and qualitative methods. She is also experienced in the design, delivery, and evaluation of training and CPD in behavioural research.

Victoria is a previous physical education teacher and school sport coordinator. She was awarded an Alexander Trust Bursary to complete a PhD at the University of Bedfordshire, where she was subsequently appointed as a Lecturer. Victoria joined the University of Birmingham in 2015.

Cost:

Free

Website and registration:

Register for this course

Region:

International

Keywords:

Quantitative Data Handling and Data Analysis, Longitudinal Data Analysis, social media use, social media research, longitudinal research

Related publications and presentations from our eprints archive:

Quantitative Data Handling and Data Analysis
Longitudinal Data Analysis

Back to the training database