by Troy Townsend

What is the Early Development Instrument?

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a questionnaire designed to measure five main areas of early child development (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2021). These areas are physical health and wellbeing, language and cognitive development, social competence, emotional maturity, and communication skills and general knowledge (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2021). The questionnaires are completed by children’s kindergarten teachers once they have had time to learn about their students’ behaviours and capabilities (Help, 2021). Data collected from these questionnaire’s is used to measure the vulnerability rates of children in different geographical regions (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2021). Without additional support and care, vulnerable children may experience future challenges in school and personal life (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2021). UBC’s Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) has collected this data to inform child development workers, school representatives, government agencies, and researchers about these vulnerabilities in B.C. with the hope that action will be taken to improve child development where it is needed (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2021).

Language and Cognitive Development

The language and cognitive development scale focuses on children’s basic and advanced literacy skills, basic numeracy, and interest in math and reading (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2019). Children’s vulnerability to this scale is the least among the five scales in B.C., decreasing slightly since 2005 compared to the other scales which have seen increases in vulnerability (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2019). While the average vulnerability is improving for the language and cognitive development scale, disparities are still very present between neighbourhoods across the province. By analyzing these variances, policies can be tailored to address children’s vulnerability in each region.

Environmental and Genetic Influences on Child Development

Epigenetics is an emerging field of psychology that describes development as a bidirectional exchange between an individual’s genetics and their environment (Berk, 2021). While gene expression can influence behaviour, thus affecting a person’s environment, a person’s environment can also influence gene expression. Protective factors, aspects of a child’s personality or surroundings that encourage resilience, can help protect a child from experiencing negative outcomes because of their genetics or environment. For example, certain children may be predisposed with poorer temperaments than others, but their family and school surroundings can lead to them having similar outcomes as kids with better temperaments.

Environmental and Genetic Influences on Language and Cognitive Development

For the language and cognitive development scale, genetics are a greater predictor of developmental outcomes than environment. Byrne et al. (2006) conducted a variety of literacy tests on preschool age monozygotic and dizygotic twins to understand the relative influence of genetics and shared environment on literacy; the researchers found that phonological awareness, rapid naming, and verbal short-term memory were significantly influenced by genetics, whereas elements such as vocabulary, print knowledge, and higher-order language processes were influenced by a mix of both genetic and environmental factors (Byrne et al., 2006). Another study by Grasby et al. (2016) studied the reading and numeracy abilities of Australian schoolchildren and found that “with very few exceptions, genes explain more of the variation in academic achievement in Australia than the environment.”

Research by Holmes et al. (2018) found that individual protective factors, relationship protective factors, and community protective factors promoted resilience in maltreated preschoolers and improved their language and academic functioning. Children who are prosocial, have warm parental support, and feel safe in their neighbourhood are more likely to develop resilience in the face of detrimental environmental influences (Holmes et al., 2018). Additional resilience factors for children vulnerable in the language and cognitive development scale include caregiver cognitive/verbal responsiveness and caregiver well-being (Holmes et al., 2018).

North Vancouver District 44 – Lynn Valley

Because I live in Lynn Valley, I chose to focus my vulnerability research for the language and cognitive development scale on this neighbourhood. Lynn Valley’s vulnerability for this scale is about 2% as of Wave 7, which is much lower than the North Vancouver average of 7% and the B.C. average of 10% (Human Early Learning Partnership. 2021a). Lynn Valley’s vulnerability is stable in both the short term and long term, with its vulnerability decreasing slightly over time.

Demographic data about Lynn Valley provides insight into why this neighbourhood is less vulnerable than others. Children ages 0 to 5 make up a larger percentage of Lynn Valley’s population (7.0%) than they do in BC as a whole (5.8%; Human Early Learning Partnership, 2018). A larger child population could indicate that greater resources are being spent on child development in this neighbourhood compared to others.
Additionally, the vast majority of families in Lynn Valley (88.0%) are two-parent families (Human Early Learning Partnership, 2018). This is an important statistic because more caregiver-child conversation can take place when parents are able to split their time caring for their children. The richness of adult vocabulary helps with child language development, so more time spent with children is likely to decrease vulnerability (Berk, 2021).
Behaviour of Children Vulnerable in Basic Numeracy

Children vulnerable in basic numeracy show a variety of signs in early childhood. Vulnerable kids may not be able to accurately discern the differences in geometric shapes, which can be observed when they fail to sort the correct shapes into a toy sorting box. Vulnerable children also tend to incorrectly use on-to-one correspondence when counting, which involves counting objects one at a time as they place them around themselves. Lastly, these children often do not understand the size differences between numbers; they do not recognize the meaning of numbers and cannot sort them from smallest to largest when prompted. Without intervention, these children will likely develop poor spatial reasoning skills and have trouble understanding mathematical tasks or how to apply math concepts to real-world problems.

How Do We Decrease Vulnerability in Basic Numeracy?

One interesting solution for decreasing vulnerability in basic numeracy comes from research by Dowker (2016) who tested an individualized numeracy intervention called “Catch Up Numeracy” on elementary school students in middle childhood. Students undergoing this intervention were first assessed on ten components of early numeracy to determine the appropriate focus of numeracy teaching for each individual child (Dowker, 2016). Children then received two 15-minute sessions of targeted mathematical games and activities per week for 30 weeks (Dowker, 2016). The results of the intervention showed that children who received the intervention made significant improvements in numeracy test scores over time compared to those who did not receive the intervention (Dowker, 2016). This intervention targets children who exhibit poor mathematical reasoning and have trouble applying math concepts to real-world problems. By promoting Catch Up Nemeracy in more schools, vulnerable students will be able to keep up with their agemates and prosper in problem solving as they move into adolescence.

References

Berk, L. E. (2021). Revel for Infants and Children: Prenatal through Middle Childhood (9th ed.). Pearson.

Byrne, B., Olson, R. K., Samuelsson, S., Wadsworth, S., Corley, R., DeFries, J. C., & Willcutt, E. (2006). Genetic and environmental influences on early literacy. Journal of Research in Reading, 29(1), 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9817.2006.00291.x

Dowker, A. (2016). Factors that influence improvement in numeracy, reading and comprehension in the context of a numeracy intervention. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01929

Grasby, K., Coventry, W., Byrne, B., Olson, R., & Medland, S. (2016). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Literacy and Numeracy Performance in Australian School Children in Grades 3, 5, 7, and 9. Behavior Genetics, 46(5), 627–648. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-016-9797-z

Holmes, M. R., Yoon, S., Berg, K. A., Cage, J. L., & Perzynski, A. T. (2018). Promoting the development of resilient academic functioning in maltreated children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 75, 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.07.018