Publications
A collection of publications written by Atkinson Centre team members, in addition to important articles, documents and reports related to early learning and child care.
Posted on The Conversation.
Excerpt: "As Canada emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, early education is key to the recovery of not just children and families, but of our social economy. Children have endured learning delays and many have seen worsening mental health. The pandemic has also rocked an early childhood sector that was already unstable and uneven. We must do better.
The newly released Early Childhood Education Report 2020 monitors quality and changes in early child education across Canada, and suggests critical issues to consider. The report is produced by the Atkinson Centre, a research centre based at the University of Toronto that uses best available evidence on early child development to inform public policy."
Excerpt: "As Canada emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, early education is key to the recovery of not just children and families, but of our social economy. Children have endured learning delays and many have seen worsening mental health. The pandemic has also rocked an early childhood sector that was already unstable and uneven. We must do better.
The newly released Early Childhood Education Report 2020 monitors quality and changes in early child education across Canada, and suggests critical issues to consider. The report is produced by the Atkinson Centre, a research centre based at the University of Toronto that uses best available evidence on early child development to inform public policy."
Posted on The Conversation.
Excerpt: "COVID-19 underscored what women knew all along. Faced with few viable options, mothers ended up exiting the workforce. Small wonder that the recent federal budget focused on reducing fees when describing its early learning and child care plans. Ottawa’s plan to cut costs in half by next year, with the promise of $10-a-day child care fees within five years, throws a lifeline to thousands of households."
Excerpt: "COVID-19 underscored what women knew all along. Faced with few viable options, mothers ended up exiting the workforce. Small wonder that the recent federal budget focused on reducing fees when describing its early learning and child care plans. Ottawa’s plan to cut costs in half by next year, with the promise of $10-a-day child care fees within five years, throws a lifeline to thousands of households."
Early Childhood Education Report 2020 - Québec Provincial Profile
From the Early Childhood Education Report 2020, access the Quebec Provincial Profile.
Posted on National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).
Excerpt: "Canada’s Budget 2021 is focused on pandemic recovery, including the intention to develop a country-wide system of early learning and child care. The convergence of COVID-19, a finance minister who is herself a working mother, and decades of research and advocacy created a unique moment for historic public spending on young children."
Excerpt: "Canada’s Budget 2021 is focused on pandemic recovery, including the intention to develop a country-wide system of early learning and child care. The convergence of COVID-19, a finance minister who is herself a working mother, and decades of research and advocacy created a unique moment for historic public spending on young children."
Early Child Development Funders Working Group - Open Letter in Response to the Federal Budget 2021 - English
Excerpt: "Budget 2021 is the culmination of decades of tireless, dedicated efforts of many to recognize the benefits of early learning for every Canadian child and the value of child care in supporting families. Investment of $30 billion over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $9.2 billion going forward, will bring the federal government’s annual contribution for early learning and child care equal to that of the provinces and territories. Included in the amount, is $2.5-billion to expand and improve early learning and care for Indigenous families."
Groupe de travail en petite enfance - Open Letter in Response to the Federal Budget 2021 - French
Excerpt: "Budget 2021 is the culmination of decades of tireless, dedicated efforts of many to recognize the benefits of early learning for every Canadian child and the value of child care in supporting families. Investment of $30 billion over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $9.2 billion going forward, will bring the federal government’s annual contribution for early learning and child care equal to that of the provinces and territories. Included in the amount, is $2.5-billion to expand and improve early learning and care for Indigenous families."
The Explainer: Budget 2021 – Early Learning and Child Care
Excerpt: "The federal government is using its spending powers to incent provinces and territories to participate. Budget 2021 commits to new investments totaling $30 billion over the next five years, including $1.4 billion for Indigenous families. After that an annual commitment to $9.2 billion, with $385 million ongoing for Indigenous programs, raises the federal contribution to early learning and child care to the equivalent of what provinces and territories now spend.
Budget 2021 signals a bias for non-profit/public delivery and clearly directs funding to program operations to support quality and access and to reduce fees, rather than payments to parents. It moves away from the current market approach to a view of early learning and child care as a public good."
Budget 2021 signals a bias for non-profit/public delivery and clearly directs funding to program operations to support quality and access and to reduce fees, rather than payments to parents. It moves away from the current market approach to a view of early learning and child care as a public good."
Review of Toronto Early Learning and Child Care Services
Excerpt: "The economic impact of investment in the child care sector includes three major facets: It is a job creator for those directly employed in the sector and for those who participate in the sector’s supply chain.; It creates opportunities for parents to increase their labour force participation. (As a job creator and a job facilitator it impacts tax revenue and GDP growth).; It positively impacts children by enhancing learning and health, which influences their future earnings and wellbeing, and contributions to the broader community."
COVID-19 First Phase Response Plan: A federal municipal partnership to model sustainable quality early learning and childcare (ELCC) services across Canada
Excerpt: "This proposal outlines an immediate $500 M Federal granting program to municipalities to demonstrate best practices in ELCC delivery through investments in access, workforce development and service development, planning and oversight. Designed to rapidly expand child care access, these investments will also identify the resources and measures required to create a pan Canadian system of public, sustainable, high quality early learning and childcare."
Posted on The Conversation.
Excerpt: "Strong, focused and equitable policies to support children are needed now more than ever. Now that we have seen decades of consistent evidence of inequity and poverty, Canadian policy makers should not need to see another report. They need to take action. Canada’s children deserve better. They need federal efforts to rectify the obvious opportunity gaps. Canada’s track record leaves out too many: it needs to do better. Not tomorrow, today."
Excerpt: "Strong, focused and equitable policies to support children are needed now more than ever. Now that we have seen decades of consistent evidence of inequity and poverty, Canadian policy makers should not need to see another report. They need to take action. Canada’s children deserve better. They need federal efforts to rectify the obvious opportunity gaps. Canada’s track record leaves out too many: it needs to do better. Not tomorrow, today."
A Year-By-Year Approach to Investing in Early Learning and Child Care
Excerpt: "Fair compensation and supported working conditions are a proven formula for incenting ECE graduates to return to the sector. For example, almost half of the 53,000 registered educators in Ontario’s College of ECEs do not work in licensed child care, largely because of low wages and poor working conditions. Nova Scotia has demonstrated it is possible to bring back and retain these skilled workers. When the province rolled out its universal pre-primary school program, 70% of the educator positions were filled by certified ECEs who returned to the profession. Many moved back to N.S. to work in the program. It is a striking example of how recruitment prospects really change when workers are paid commensurate to their training and skills."
Ten reasons to expand public kindergarten
Excerpt: "Two-years of kindergarten delivered within the school system leverages existing investments within public education and ameliorates several issues facing families, communities and government: High rates of illiteracy (including reading, writing and numeracy) that are a drag on the economic futures; Growing special education demands fueled by an increase in academic and language gaps and behavior challenges that are easier to address when interventions begin early; Increasing child care costs to families that reduce parental, particularly the labor force participation of mothers."
