Professor Edward Melhuish recognised in Queen’s birthday honours
Professor of Human Development appointed OBE for services to social science
Professor Edward Melhuish, of Birkbeck’s Department of Psychological Sciences, has been recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours.
The Professor of Human Development has been made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to social science.
Professor Melhuish, who holds positions at Birkbeck and the University of Oxford, is an established figure in the study of social and communicative development from birth to adulthood, including the effect of environmental factors, in a number of longitudinal studies.
During his career, he has been influential in government policy, such as in the areas of early education and care, parenting, child poverty and disadvantage, and child development and social policy. His research has impacted on a national scale, including influencing the 1989 and 2005 Children Acts, the 2006 Childcare Bill, plus the government’s decision in 2013 to roll out free part-time early education to all of the 40% most disadvantaged children in the country from the age of two upwards.
He has consulted, and been science advisor for, a number of government departments, multinational children’s organisations and charities. He also acted as director of the National National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS). The evaluation of Sure Start – an early intervention programme targeting disadvantaged young children and their families – involved an investigation of more than 20,000 children and families and a longitudinal follow-up of 8,000 children in poor communities. The resulting analysis was widely praised as being of the highest quality.
Currently, Professor Melhuish’s research focuses on evaluating interventions such as early childhood education and care (ECEC), parental support, and early intervention strategies.
Regarding being recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours, Professor Melhuish said: "I feel privileged to be acknowledged in this way. The recognition reflects decades of work integrating research on child development into projects that can inform social policy. It also reflects contributions by many of my collaborators in the Institute for the Study of Children, Families & Social Issues."
Professor Mike Oaksford, Head of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck said: “Massive congratulations to Prof Ted Melhuish on the award of an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. This is a much deserved reward for Ted’s ongoing work integrating pure and applied research on the influence of pre-school years on development and educational attainment.
“The work was funded under the Sure Start programme and has been hugely influential in shaping Government policy. It was also one of the Department of Psychological Sciences 100% rated research impact statements in REF2014.”
Find out more