Mapping Early Child Development

1
Mapping Early Child Development

• School District 48
• Howe Sound
• Summary 2000

Summary information is derived from The Early
Child Development Mapping Project This
project is administered by the Human Early
Learning Partnership (HELP) with funding from the
BC Ministry of Children and Family Development
2
What is the Early Child Development Mapping
Project?

• Includes mapping of
• childrens readiness for school,
• socioeconomic characteristics of communities,
• location of community assets (e.g. location of
  child care centres, literacy programs, etc).
• Helps communities monitor early child development
  and create effective community based responses
  that support the needs of children and families.

3
Mapping School Readiness

• Measuring childrens readiness for school is
  important because it reflects childrens early
  development and it can predict their performance
  later in life.
• A key component is the Early Development
  Instrument (EDI), a research tool that assesses
  childrens readiness to participate in and
  benefit from school activities.

4
The Early Development Instrument (EDI)

• The EDI is a checklist that kindergarten teachers
  complete for each child in their class after they
  have known them for several months.
• The EDI has been found to have promising validity
  for use with children from different cultures,
  including Aboriginal children.
• Results from the EDI are only interpreted at the
  level of school or neighbourhood. Individual
  assessment is not done.

5
Five EDI Subscales

• The EDI measures a childs development in 5
  areas
•       communication skills and general knowledge,
•       emotional maturity,
•       language and cognitive development,
•       physical health and well being,
• social competence.
• Children who score in the bottom 10 of all
  scores are considered vulnerable within the
  given developmental area.

6
Where has the EDI been administered in BC?
7
For School Districts which participated in the
EDI mapping project

• we have prepared neighbourhood maps to show
  results of EDI mapping and to illustrate some
  socioeconomic characteristics of the community.
• with assistance from communities, we will
  generate and post electronic maps of community
  assets.

8
Number of Children tested on the Early
Development Instrument (1998-2000)
9
Across neighbourhoods, what is the pattern of
vulnerability with respect to readiness to learn?

• For each subscale, there are three types of maps
  depicting readiness to learn data for
  kindergarten children
• - map of average scores per subscale,
• - map of proportion of k-children vulnerable
  per subscale,
• - map of proportion of k-children vulnerable per
  subscale
• based on Vancouver cut-offs.
• What are the differences between these maps?

10
Maps of average scores for each subscale - these
maps represent average raw scores for k-students

• How are average scores derived?
• For each question of each subscale, values are
  assigned, then a mean (average) is calculated
  for subscale questions and the subscale as a
  whole.

For example, for the Communication subscale,
questions 1-7 and 41 of Section B of the EDI as
well as question 26 of Section C would make up
this subscale. - these questions would be
assigned values from 0.0 2.5 5.0
10.0 very poor average good
excellent - means would be calculated for the
questions and an average score would be derived
for this subscale
11
Maps of proportion of k-students vulnerable -
these maps show bottom 10 of scores per
subscale.

• How are percentiles calculated?
• To determine the bottom 10 or vulnerable
  children, a cutoff value is derived from the
  means of the questions for subscales.
• The cutoff separates the bottom 10 of values
  from those percentiles above.
• Scores which fall below the cutoff, are
  categorized as vulnerable or at risk with
  respect to development in a particular area.

12
Why are some maps based on Vancouver cut-offs?

• Vancouver cutoffs are used to provide standard
  categories to which other areas can compare.
• The Vancouver EDI sample was large and its size
  (statistically) was capable of averaging the high
  and low values, providing representative values.
• Applying the at risk cutoff values derived from
  Vancouver to other samples helps put other data
  into context.
• Areas with smaller samples could be subject to
  bias, whereas Vancouver EDI results showed a
  spectrum less subject to sampling bias.

13
Communication Skills and General Knowledge

• This subscale measures
• ability to clearly communicate ones own needs
  and understand others,
• clear articulation,
• active participation in story telling,
• interest in general knowledge about the world.

14
Communication Skills and General Knowledge
Proportion of children in the bottom 10
15
Communication Skills and General Knowledge
Proportion of children in the bottom 10 based on
Vancouver cut-offs
16
Communication Skills and General Knowledge
Subscale

• The majority of areas had less than 4 of
  children vulnerable on this subscale.
• There were no children within the vulnerable
  range in Pemberton and Squamish North.
• A higher proportion was seen in Squamish South
  (up to 9.5).
• The proportion of children vulnerable on this
  subscale within Vancouver (2001) ranged from0 to
  16.

17
Emotional Maturity

• This subscale measures
• pro social behaviour helping, tolerance,
  empathy
• as opposed to aggressive behaviour, anxiety,
  hyperactivity, inattention, impulsiveness.

18
Emotional Maturity Proportion of children in the
bottom 10
19
Emotional Maturity Proportion of children in the
bottom 10, based on Vancouver cut-offs
20
Emotional Maturity Subscale

• There were no children within the vulnerable
  range on this subscale in Whistler North.
• Lower proportions were also seen in Squamish
  North and Squamish Central.
• In Whistler South up to 19.4 of children were
  considered vulnerable.
• The range in Vancouver was 2 to 16.

21
Language and Cognitive Development

• This subscale measures
• interest in books, reading, and language
• literacy issues
• interest in simple math activities
• numeracy issues.

22
Language and Cognitive Development Proportion of
children in the bottom 10
23
Language and Cognitive Development Proportion of
children in the bottom 10, based on Vancouver
cut-offs
24
Language and Cognitive Development Subscale

• The Squamish North and Squamish Central areas had
  no children vulnerable on this subscale based on
  Vancouver cut-offs.
• Up to 23.8 of children in Pemberton were
  considered vulnerable on this subscale.
• The neighbourhood to neighbourhood difference is
  greatest on this subscale and exceeds that of the
  Vancouver study (2001).

25
Physical Health and Well-Being

• This subscale measures
• fine and gross motor development,
• levels of energy,
• daily preparedness for school,
• washroom independence,
• established handedness.

26
Physical Health and Well-Being Proportion of
children in the bottom 10
27
Physical Health and Well-Being Proportion of
children in the bottom 10, based on Vancouver
cut-offs
28
Physical Health and Well-Being Subscale

• The Squamish North and Squamish Central areas had
  the lowest proportion of children vulnerable on
  this subscale. (0 1.09).
• Pemberton had the highest proportion of children
  within the vulnerable range.
• The range within Vancouver was 0 to 22 of
  children vulnerable on this subscale, as compared
  to 0 to 16.7 in this district.

29
Social Competence

• This subscale measures
• cooperative and respectful to others,
• able to work within the school environment,
• socially appropriate behaviour during school
  activities,
• self control and self confidence.

30
Social Competence Proportion of children in the
bottom 10
31
Social Competence Proportion of children in the
bottom 10, based on Vancouver cut-offs
32
Social Competence Subscale

• All areas had less than 13 of children within
  the vulnerable range on this subscale.
• The lowest proportions were seen in the Squamish
  Central and Whistler North areas.
• The range within the Vancouver study was 1 to 17
  of children vulnerable on this subscale.

33
EDI Proportion of children living in each
neighbourhood that fell into the bottom 10 on
one or more subscales
34
EDI Proportion of children living in each
neighbourhood that fell into the bottom 10 on
one or more subscales, based on Vancouver cut-offs
35
Proportion of Students vulnerable on one or more
subscales

• Children within the Squamish North area had the
  lowest proportion of children (0 to 3.09) within
  the vulnerable range on one or more of the
  subscales.
• Squamish Central had between 3.1 and 4.49 of
  vulnerable children. Whistler North between 4.5
  and 11.09.
• Between 11.1 and 29.99 of children were
  vulnerable on one or more of the subscales in
  Whistler South and Squamish South.
• The highest proportion of vulnerable children
  (with up to 38.1) was found in Pemberton.
• The range in Vancouver was 6 to 38.

36
Socioeconomic Characteristics

• We know that socioeconomic characteristics have
  an influence on the healthy development of
  children.
• The ECD mapping project compiles socioeconomic
  information by neighbourhood to help us
  understand differences in childrens
  development.
• The socioeconomic data comes from the 2001 census.

37
Average Family Income

• A higher family income level makes conditions for
  healthy child development more easily accessible.
• For example, access to good quality child care,
  nutritious food, secure housing, and community
  participation improves as income level rises.

38
Low Income
39
Average Family Income Howe Sound

• In Whistler 13.3 of families were living below
  the Low Income Cut off (LICO) at the time of the
  2001 Census.
• This compares with only 7.4 in Pemberton.

40
Home Ownership and Mobility

• High levels of mobility may be stressful for
  families and young children.
• Canadian families tend to be quite mobile,
  particularly within more urban neighbourhoods.
• Home ownership suggests a level of stability of
  residence and some economic security.
• Often neighbourhoods with lower levels of
  mobility have higher levels of home ownership.

41
Recent Movers
42
Mobility Howe Sound

• Overall this district has a very high rate of
  transiency compared to other areas of the
  province.
• 72.6 of the population in Whistler reported
  having moved in the last year at the time of the
  2001 census.
• The Squamish area had the lowest rate of
  transiency, yet still 47.6 of the population
  there had changed residence within the last year.

43
Child Care

• Good quality child care can positively influence
  developmental outcomes for young children whether
  it is provided in the home or in a child care
  centre.
• Hours spent by parents, extended family, or other
  adult caregivers on unpaid child care would
  promote a childs readiness for school.

44
Unpaid Child Care
45
Child Care Howe Sound

• Pemberton had up to 28.6 of the population (15
  years or older) who provided 15 or more hours of
  unpaid child care per week.
• The proportion was lowest in Whistler (12.8).

46
Education Levels

• Higher parental education levels tend to have a
  positive impact on the healthy development of
  children.
• Studies have shown that the education level of
  the primary caregiver, often the mother, is of
  particular significance to the childs readiness
  for school.

47
No Secondary School
48
Education Levels Howe Sound

• Overall the education levels in this district are
  high as compared to other areas of the province.
• Whistler has only 8.7 of the population (20
  years and older) who have not completed secondary
  school.
• Pemberton has 16.8 and Squamish 19.4 of the
  population who have not completed high school.

49
Language and Immigration

• Immigration enriches a community, but it may also
  present challenges to the immigrant families.
• Access to services and community supports is
  difficult for immigrants whose first language is
  not English.
• Young children may be delayed in their English
  language acquisition at kindergarten entry.

50
Mother Tongue
51
Home Language
52
Recent Immigrants
53
Language and Immigration

• The immigration and ESL rates throughout this
  district are low.
• In all three areas, there is less than 2.5 of
  the population that immigrated to Canada in the
  last five years.
• Squamish has higher rates of ESL with 18.4 of
  the population with a mother tongue other than
  English or French and 6.4 of the population
  speaking another language in their home.

54
Summary

• In Howe Sound the socioeconomic characteristics
  are quite unusual. The mobility rates are
  extremely high. Education and income levels are
  also higher than the provincial average.
• More distinct socioeconomic data (e.g. Whistler
  South and North) could assist in further
  understanding the patterns of EDI vulnerability.
• Pemberton has the highest level of family income,
  yet has the most children vulnerable on the EDI.
• The Squamish North area had a low level of EDI
  vulnerability, yet the whole community had a
  lower level of education and income than other
  parts of the district.
• The range of difference in EDI vulnerabilities
  seen within Howe Sound (0 to 38.1) is very
  similar to Vancouver (6 to 38).