Resources

Research Initiatives

According to current scientific research, the most crucial time in a human life is early childhood. Children’s experiences in the early years provide the foundation for their futures.

From birth to age six, the brain develops at an incredible rate and children need stimulating environments to ensure their healthy development. In order to expand our knowledge about the early years, BC is committed to supporting a variety of academic research initiatives.

Human Early Learning Partnership

The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) is a consortium of five BC universities contributing to new knowledge in early childhood development through interdisciplinary research. MCFD formed a partnership with HELP in 2002/2003 to take a key research and leadership role in advancing early childhood development and enhancing the quality of children's early years. In 2008/2009 the Ministries of Education and Healthy Living and Sport joined this partnership, strengthening provincial support for early childhood development research initiatives in BC.

One of the key HELP projects is the implementation of the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a research tool that assesses the state of children's development in kindergarten, and is completed by kindergarten teachers, in partnership with BC's Schoold Districts.

The primary focus of the EDI is to provide information on school readiness based on the five early childhood development indicators. The EDI maps display the proportion of vulnerable children on each subscale of the EDI, on a local, regional and provincial level.

The EDI gathers data on five subscales of children’s development:

  • Physical health and well-being – child is healthy, independent, ready each day, etc.
  • Social competence – child plays, gets along with others and shares, is self-confident, etc.
  • Emotional maturity – child is able to concentrate, help others, is patient, not aggressive or angry, etc.
  • Language and cognitive development – child is interested in reading and writing, can count and recognize numbers, shapes, etc.
  • Communication skills and general knowledge – child can tell a story, communicate with adults and children, articulate themselves, etc.

In early 2007, BC became the first jurisdiction in the world to have an established, standardized tool - the EDI - for assessing early childhood development at a population level, over time.

For further information on HELP research, including the EDI and community mapping, please visit the HELP website.

University of Victoria's Unit for Early Learning and Child Care Research

The Unit for Child Care Research and Professional Development is located within the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, BC. The Unit is currently leading two important research and professional development initiatives: the Investigating Quality Project, and; the BC Early Learning Framework Implementation Project.

  1. The Investigating Quality Project has been actively addressing issues relating to quality early hildhood education services in British Columbia since 2005 with funding provided by the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development.
  2. The BC Early Learning Framework Implementation Project, with funding from the BC Ministry of Education, is a partnership between the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, the Early Childhood Care and Education Departments at Camosun and Selkirk Colleges, and the Human Development, Education and Care Department of Northern Lights College.

Both of the above projects provide professional development opportunities for Early Childhood Educators in BC. The ultimate outcomes of these research projects are to:

  1. Sustain leadership capacity within the early childhood education sector by providing opportunities for dialogue and reflection on best practices;
  2. Provide support for early childhood educators in BC;
  3. Sustain the engagement of early childhood educator leaders with the principles, vision, and goals of the BC Early Learning Framework; and
  4. Sustain children’s learning opportunities, experiences and outcomes in early childhood settings participating in the projects.

Related ECD research initiatives: