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.
Inspiring Climate Action Now (ICAN) demonstrates the power of investment in science as a foundational skill set in low-resource contexts. In transforming primary science instruction, ICAN addresses gaps that limit later STEM opportunities for marginalized learners and motivates local action to respond to climate change. This brief introduces the ICAN initiative in Mali, Zambia, and Antigua & Barbuda.
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.
This report presents the results of a first-of-its-kind national survey of parents, who were asked about the types of early science educational activities they do with their young children.
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.
Inspiring Climate Action Now (ICAN) demonstrates the power of investment in science as a foundational skill set in low-resource contexts. In transforming primary science instruction, ICAN addresses gaps that limit later STEM opportunities for marginalized learners and motivates local action to respond to climate change. This report presents the results of the ICAN Year 1 evaluation.
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
Rwanda has made commendable efforts to improve basic education, including literacy in the early grades.
Published by Brookes, the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) pre-K and K–3 toolkits are research-based instruments that enable teachers, leaders, and researchers to observe,
Parents with young children are facing an unprecedented demand to support their children’s learning at home—and technology can help.
This checklist provides early childhood educators with practical tips for supporting children’s bilingual learning within a rich classroom environment.