Particularly after the devastation of COVID-19, evidence is mounting for the economic argument of reinvesting in high-quality early childhood education.
As Canada emerges from the pandemic, creating jobs and achieving full employment are top priorities. Relegated to the back burner are balanced budgets and reducing debt.
Moving between in-person and virtual schooling affects children with anxiety disorders like selective mutism. In addition, access to diagnosis and support is delayed because of pandemic restrictions.
Researchers mapped the variation in preschool policies, and how they impact on what families pay, across all states and territories. Some places charge much higher fees than others.
Art can be a way to promote and support mental health in children, and understanding children’s experiences through the pandemic as seen through children’s art may help support them into the future.
Teachers’ optimism is strained when they know much more could be done to minimize COVID-19 safety risks in schools and to help them support student needs during COVID-19.
Statistics Canada could help provinces and territories design and implement interventions to improve schooling quality, and governments should better engage with the public.
Developmental language disorder affects more than seven per cent of children, yet is not well known. If your child struggles in school, social interactions or reading, the underlying issue may be DLD.
All is not lost if your child has missed out on some of their usual social interaction during COVID-19. They might have actually gained something in spending more time with family.
If families embrace reading as fun and routine and teachers work more closely than before with the families of their students, it’s possible that remote learning won’t be a huge obstacle to literacy.
Motivating students, encouraging their self-regulation and maintaining home-school communication are ways parents have the potential to positively influence learning outcomes.
Food insecurity is income insecurity. After COVID-19, we must no longer tolerate the inequities of corporate charity and the stigma associated with relying on society’s leftovers for those in need.
Adjunct Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE) and Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Centre, University of Toronto
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary