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EDC Update Fall/Winter 2005

  • Cookie Monster and Lola at Work in El Slavador

    In its efforts to improve the care and education of young children in El Salvador, EDC teamed up with Sesame Workshop to create a series of public service announcements featuring Lola, a character from Plaza Sésamo, a Mexican adaptation of Sesame Street. The ads were part of the Early Childhood and Family Education (EDIFAM) project, an initiative designed for children through age 6, implemented by the Educational Quality Improvement Program-1 (EQUIP1) and led by EDC.

  • EDC Mentoring Program Assists Children with Incarcerated Mothers

    When a woman is convicted of a crime and sent to prison, family life can fall apart. To support children as they live through the trauma of a mother’s imprisonment, EDC is working with the Massachusetts-based Aid to Incarcerated Mothers (AIM) to provide children with an adult mentor. With training from EDC and AIM staff, the mentors help children, ages 4–14, build their sense of self-confidence and stability, strengthen their academic skills, and maintain family relationships.

  • "College Knowledge" for Latino Communities

    Nearly half the U.S. Latino population ages 18–25 have not completed high school, and only 15 percent earn a postsecondary degree, according to a recent report by the Education Commission of the States. To improve students’ opportunities for higher education, EDC developed the project known as PALMS (Postsecondary Access for Latino Middle- Grades Students).

  • EDC Research Focuses on Deaths of Children in Parked Cars

    In September 2004, a 22-month-old boy climbed into an unlocked, parked car. The boy’s mother left for work, thinking he was playing next door. The outside temperature was 86 degrees, and the child died of hyperthermia.

  • EDC Develops Bilingual Pedestrian Safety Campaign

    Too often, pedestrian injuries are seen as “unavoidable accidents.” But Manténganse Alerta/Stay Alert aims to show children, their caregivers, and drivers how and why pedestrian injuries and deaths are preventable. Program materials are in the form of a “photo novella,” or a brief story with photos, and were developed for the Latino population of three Massachusetts communities—Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield—with funding from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

  • Reaching the Hardest to Reach in India

    The state governments of Karnataka and Chhattisgarh in India have expanded an EDC initiative involving interactive classroom lessons via radio, to reach approximately 5 million students.

  • Life Skills Lessons for Children in the Caribbean

    EDC is part of a team that developed a regional life-skills-based curriculum framework that will allow curriculum planners, education officers, teacher educators, and teachers to review, develop, and strengthen national Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) curricula and curriculum guides throughout the Caribbean.

  • Discovering the Impact of Inquiry Science on Students

    New educational methods inevitably set off debates, and “inquiry science instruction” provides a classic case. Over the past two decades, proponents of inquiry science, sometimes referred to as “hands-on science,” laud it as an engaging and interactive teaching method. Critics lambaste it as an absence of instruction, unconcerned about scientific facts or correct answers.

  • EDC Convenes International Group of Tech-Savvy Youth in Costa Rica

    Teams of young people from around the world gathered in San Jose, Costa Rica, in August for the First International Power Users of ICT (information and communication technologies) Symposium. The event included student participants from Costa Rica, Latin America, Australia, the Netherlands, Nordic countries, and the Philippines. Participants, who interacted virtually with teams from Africa and Asia, demonstrated their digital skills with the goal of helping focus research on pressing questions and topics.

  • Learning and Earning in Macedonia

    Two EDC projects are working with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Macedonia to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve education and business. The e-BIZ and e-Schools projects, both conducted under USAID’s DOT-COM Alliance, are part of Macedonia’s efforts to boost economic growth and rebuild communities in the wake of the region’s recent upheavals.

  • Career Development and Exploration for Teens

    As fewer young people opt for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the National Science Foundation has funded EDC to develop a resource designed to engage young people in career exploration and development.

  • How to Measure Skills for the 21st Century

    Today’s students face unprecedented challenges in preparing for a more globalized society. While many organizations have worked to define the kinds of skills needed for the 21st century, few have undertaken efforts to measure the application of these skills. Recognizing this, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills commissioned a report from EDC’s Center for Children and Technology (CCT) to inform education leaders on this crucial issue.

  • Up Close with Janet Whitla, EDC's former President

    What were some of the positions you held at EDC before you became president?