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 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 study provides states and schools with information about the use of kindergarten entry assessments nationwide and offers contextual information to state-level administrators as they select, de
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.
In this brief, the authors examine potential differences between child care providers engaged in formal collaborations organized through state-level initiatives versus informal collaborations that are self-directed.
This report presents findings from a study that examined whether child care providers that partnered with Head Start programs showed improvements in the quality of their services compared with similar child care providers that did not partner with Head Start. The authors report that partnership predicts improved classroom quality; partnership duration predicts observed quality; and partnership predicts some improvements in school readiness outcomes.
This guide provides an overview of IRI as a methodology, and discusses its feasibility and applicability in a range of contexts.
Conducted by EDC and SRI International, the study’s goal was to understand the extent to which providing access to media resources focused on critical science and engineering concepts can help children living in low-income households learn.
This presentation describes the innovative strategies, accomplishments, and lessons learned of the Child Safety Collaborative Innovation and Improvement Network at EDC.
This EDC brief spotlights how important it is for new mothers to receive responsive and supportive postpartum care.