SLIDE 1 The case for investing in the early years: lessons from Canada
Clyde Hertzman, MD Human Early Learning Partnership University of British Columbia, Vancouver
SLIDE 2 Sensitive Periods in Early Brain Development
Vision
1 2 3 7 6 5 4
High Low
Years
Habitual ways of responding Emotional control Symbol Peer social skills Numbers Hearing
Graph developed by Council for Early Child Development (ref: Nash, 1997; Early Y ears S t udy, 1999; S honkoff, 2000.)
Pre-school years School years
Language
SLIDE 3
The experiences children have in the environments where they grow up, live and learn.
What drives ECD?
SLIDE 4 Biological embedding occurs when
- experience gets under the skin and alters human
biodevelopment;
- systematic differences in experience in different
social environments lead to different biodevelopmental states;
- the differences are stable and long-term;
they influence health, well-being, learning, and/or behaviour over the life course.
Biological Embedding
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Archeology of Biological Embedding
Gene Function Cell/Synapse Neural Circuitry Experience/Behavior
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SLIDE 7 Life Course Problems Related to Early Life
2nd Decade 3rd/ 4th Decade 5th/ 6th Decade Old Age
chool Failure
- Teen Pregnancy
- Criminalit y
- Obesit y
- Elevat ed Blood
Pressure
- Depression
- Coronary Heart
Disease
Aging
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SLIDE 9 Monitoring the state of development at the level of the population and how it changes
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The Early Development Instrument
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A Population Based Measure
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What Does the EDI Measure?
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Neighbourhood
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Neighbourhood Wave 4
Range from
3% to 61% Neighbourhoods
SLIDE 18 What the maps reveal…
- Large local area differences in the proportion of
developmentally vulnerable children
- The high proportion of avoidable vulnerability
- The degree to which socioeconomic context explains and
does not explain variations in early development
- Which communities are doing better or worse than
predicted…….to set up the study of ‘why’
- Trace change over time
- Rationale for programs and policies
SLIDE 19 On average, disadvantaged children have poorer outcomes, However, most vulnerable children are in the middle class
Socioeconomic Disadvantage Socioeconomic Advantage
SLIDE 20 High Low HELP S ES Index
Targeting programs towards low S ES leave many vulnerable children without access
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Lessons learned after a decade of engagement
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S trong local inter-sectoral leadership
Lessons Learned
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Focus on EDI outcomes
Lessons Learned
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Lessons Learned
A focus on barriers that prevent equitable access to high quality programming
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Vertical coordination – local, state, commonwealth
Lessons Learned
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Alignment with school system
Lessons Learned
SLIDE 31
Population-based Developmental Trajectories
SLIDE 32 BC: Unique Population Laboratory
Kindergarten Grade 4 Grade 7 Grade 12
SLIDE 33 Linkage of EDI to S uccess in Grade 4
Percent not meeting expectations
Number of EDI vulnerabilities
Reading Numeracy
Zero One Two Three Four Five
90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0
SLIDE 34 S
- urce: Adapt ed f rom Kershaw et al. 2009, 15 by 15 : A Comprehensive Policy Framework f or Early Human Capit al Invest ment in BC, Table 1..
Vulnerability (EDI) University Eligible Grades 29% 15% 10% 41.5% 50.3% 55.6%
34% increase
Observe Transitions from EDI to School Completion
SLIDE 35
The Benefit:
GDP growth of 1% for every 1% reduction in EDI vulnerability
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SLIDE 37 “Equity from the Start”
Commit to and implement a comprehensive approach to early life
building on existing child survival programs and
extending interventions in early life to include social/ emotional & language/ cognitive development.
SLIDE 38
www.earlylearning.ubc.ca
Thank You
