EDC supports the development of engaging and safe educational programs for young children.
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.
Projects
Resources
Here are a few of our resources on early childhood development and learning. To see more, visit our Resources section.
This infographic spotlights the researchers’ theory of change and illuminates conditions at the teacher, classroom, and school/system levels that are key to effective teacher professional development.
The Learning Generation Initiative strategy is a comprehensive road map that outlines our vision and strategic initiatives.
This is the summary pre-print report of a pair of national research studies examining the impact of the PBS KIDS series Molly of Denali on children’s ability to use informational text to answer real-world questions.
This EDC brief spotlights the challenges that home visiting programs face in recruiting and retaining staff.
This paper provides a resource for prospective DRK–12 grantees by identifying some of the theories that current and recent DRK–12 grantees are using in their research on broadening participation.
Executive Summary of a report that examines The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!™, a PBS KIDS multi-platform media property based on “The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library” book series by Random House and Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
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.
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.
This final report summarizes the evaluation of the impact of EDC’s Early Childhood Caregiver Professional Development and Certification Program in Rwanda.
This study reviews student assessment data collected from 15 EDC projects to determine the impact of interactive radio instruction (IRI) on student achievement in hard-to-reach areas.