3.1 Advocating for early child development
The last few decades have brought a fairly profound global change in how early child development is valued and understood, but the investment into programs and supports for infants and young children remains comparatively low. On this page we look at some practical ways to increase both awareness and action.
You learned about the ECE Report on DH 2.3. Listen to Dr. Emis Akbari, one of the co-authors, describe how the report can be used to help improve early childhood education.
Explore the resources that are available. Click on the links to “charts and graphs” and “videos”.
How can the charts, graphs, and videos increase your own awareness and help you to take action to support investments into programs for infants and young children?
How can they help you increase others’ awareness?
The ECE Report is released every three years and since 2011, when the first ECE Report was published, there have been significant developments. Reviewing the reports since 2011 can provide a snapshot of how early learning services have changed across all provinces and territories in Canada. Many of the changes to service provisions have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as funding and requirements of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements (CWELCC). Browse prior reports to see the changes to early learning care and services in Canada.
Take a look at how the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements (CWELCC) vary by province and territory.
In the following link, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) explains CWELCC, also known as the $10-a-day plan, for child care in Canada including all pieces of the plan and why each are so important to building a child care system.
Making the case
What wins you over to a cause? For most of us, it helps if the messages are not too long, are clear and appeal to our hearts as well as our minds. In order to take action, it is particularly helpful when complicated issues are simplified and include practical suggestions about “what I can do”.
The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society is an organization that advocates for First Nations children and their families so that they can have culturally based and equitable opportunities. Executive Director Dr. Cindy Blackstock shares some startling facts about inequality for First Nations children and ways that people who work with young children can support equitable practices. The First Nations Caring Society website highlights “what you can do” with practical “ways to make a difference”.
How does Cindy Blackstock’s message “appeal to our hearts as well as to our minds”?
Which of the “ways to make a difference” can you implement?
Blackstock explains how issues related to inequality and reconciliation are addressed through the Spirit Bear plan, highlighting a number of activities that adults can share with children in early childhood settings.
How does the Spirit Bear plan address serious issues like equity and discrimination in a way that is understandable to young children?
What has the First Nations Caring Society done to create easy and practical ways of implementing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)? How can this be used for advocacy?
What is it about the Spirit Bear plan that appeals to you? Which of the ideas can you implement? How can you take action?
Video is a tool that is often used for advocacy. The following examples come from different parts of the world, but all are produced to win the public and policy-makers over to support for early child development.
The first video was produced by the Atkinson Centre, University of Toronto.
The second video was developed as by the Secretariat of the Bangladesh ECD Network (BEN) as part of advocacy on early childhood development in Bangladesh in 2007. This theme song is an audio-visual representation of the basic messages of early childhood development. Several renowned Bangladeshi artists and public figures participated, as well as children.
Communicating the case for investing in early childhood education effectively is critical. To be effective, key points must be stated clearly and concisely. To close the gap between what we know about early child development and what we do often depends on how we communicate evidence and experiences. Listen to Kerry McCuaig and Dr. Charles Pascal, at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, explain.
Earlier SECD modules present information about brain development, epigenetics, and other biological developmental issues. These can strengthen and substantiate advocacy messages. Dr. Dan Keating, professor at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, recommends aiming for a higher comfort level with the biology of early child development.
In the next clip, Dr. Jody Heymann, founding director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, discusses two reasons countries often do not invest in young children.
How can you use the various strategies identified in this section to improve your advocacy efforts?
Useful evidence
On page 2.1 of this module there is a link to the executive summary of the report, Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale (2016). It is an excellent source of evidence, presenting the core messages from the 2016 Lancet Early Child Development Series. It synthesizes what is known, what works and what is needed in order to support the developmental health of children.
The research rationale for investing in early child development comes from: the biology of early brain development, the impact of early experiences on overall health and well-being, factors related to individual and population health, and the economics of healthy populations and successful societies.
Why is it so important to have accurate evidence when advocating for a cause?
How could you draw upon the Lancet core messages for advocacy purposes?
While it seems like common sense to say it is better to prevent a problem from occurring rather than trying to repair it later on many countries’ policies and programs don’t seem to reflect this approach.
Dr. Neal Halfon, founding director of the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, makes the argument for early investments that set life trajectories on a positive path and prevent problems.
Research presented throughout this resource provides evidence that the prenatal and early years environments set the foundation for health and well-being. Interventions in the early years, when the brain is rapidly growing, are crucial in preventing potential delays in development. However, for children born with a disability, support and services are often few and far between, if available at all. Barriers, such as attitudes, policies and physical accessibility, often exclude children with disabilities from participating in the daily life of their families and community.
For children with disabilities, the role of early child development initiatives in fostering their healthy growth and development cannot be understated. It is in those first years of life that early assessment and intervention is most effective. As Dr. David Philpott, professor in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University in Newfoundland, describes in the next videos, early childhood programs can support children with additional support needs, reduce the need for them to receive special services as they transition to school and improve educational outcomes.
Unexpected champions
In the next clip, Dr. Mary Eming Young, formerly at the World Bank, explains how understanding the economics of investing in early child development makes sense from the perspective of donors.
Dr. Sarah Watson is the founder and former global director of ReadyNation, a global business organization supporting executives to be champions for children. They believe that investing in children starting in the earliest ages is the best way to grow the economy and produce a strong workforce.
Watson goes on to explain the importance of having ‘unexpected champions’ in your corner.
In the next reading, Watson et al., (2015) focus on how the business sector is increasingly understanding the link between early years development, future workforce and impacts on the economy.
In the next video, listen as business leader Mahmud Janmohamed, managing director for Serena Hotels in East Africa and a strong supporter of children and families, describes the culture of corporate social responsibility central to their enterprise.
Do you know any “unexpected champions” for early childhood development where you live?
Can you think of some you might approach – and how you would go about convincing them to support your cause?
