From birth to age eight, children take the first steps in a lifelong learning journey. EDC speeds them on their way by designing, studying, supporting, and scaling up programs that enhance school readiness and success. We have a special focus on meeting the needs of children from disadvantaged communities and dual language learners, engaging and supporting families, and building the capacity of educators and communities to sustain improvements.

In the United States, we work to create strong, coherent preK-Grade 3 systems and advance knowledge of how to improve early science, mathematics, and literacy learning. Around the world, we implement innovative early childhood programs that build literacy and numeracy skills, excite interest in learning, and help educators, volunteers, and parents enrich early learning.

Read "A Fair Start for Every Child" to learn more about EDC's work to support early childhood learning.

Learn about EDC’s work with Family STEM Communities.

Learn about EDC’s work to strengthen early childhood interventions with Continuous Quality Improvement.

Learn about the work of EDC’s Center for Children and Technology.

Related Content

A New Language for Mathematics
Young children often struggle to write down their mathematical ideas. Could computer programming be an easier language for them?

EDC Talks: Making Time for Family Math
What are some fun, easy activities that families can do to encourage math learning at home? (Hint: You are probably already doing some of them.)

Tapping, Swiping, and Learning Science
Research findings on The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!™ have implications for parents, educators, and educational media developers.

Helping All Children Learn and Thrive
EDC’s David Jacobson discusses his ideas for changing—and improving—early childhood services.

Tools to Support Preschool Learning
New resources support educators on integrating technology and working with emergent bilingual learners.

The Other Side of the Screen
As a researcher, Tiffany Maxon gets to help develop the next generation of children’s television shows.

Resources

Here are a few of our resources on early childhood development and learning. To see more, visit our Resources section.

White papers

In this paper, the authors discuss the purpose, design, and launch of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s first ever Home Visiting Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (HV CoIIN).

White papers

This EDC brief spotlights how important it is for new mothers to receive responsive and supportive postpartum care.

Reports

This report, intended for early childhood educators, identifies promising practices to support emergent bilinguals in a variety of early childcare settings.

Reports

This brief describes how EDC works with multi-sector partners to pioneer new ways to harness the power of digital tools to support families and enhance early teaching, learning, and health promotion.

White papers

This EDC brief explores the key role that parent-child interaction plays in children’s development and describes how home visitors can support parent-child interaction.

Reports

This collection of six essays shares insights and strategies from EDC’s work to close opportunity gaps in mathematics education and support teachers in improving instruction.

 

Toolkits

This toolkit provides program designers with information on how to develop and implement effective early childhood interactive audio instruction (IAI) programs in a range of settings.

Reports

This factsheet provides a brief overview of some of EDC’s work to ensure that all young children—especially those who live in low-income communities and are members of under-represented groups—can

Reports

The Bullying Prevention Resource Guide provides links to organizations, programs, publications, and resources focused on bullying prevention. It is divided into seven sections:

Reports

This study examines First 10 Schools and Communities—coordinated efforts to improve teaching, learning, and care during the first decade of children’s lives.