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 tool helps Head Start programs better understand the link between their school readiness goals and their health service plans.
This brief can help you develop a continuous quality improvement (CQI) plan and communicate it to others in your organization. It explains what the plan should cover and includes a sample outline and template for drafting your plan.
This report shares findings from EDC’s evaluation study of Cha-Ching Money Adventures.
Science skills and habits of mind are the missing elements of the foundational skills package, and their addition to the mix can accelerate education recovery and reform. In the context of climate change, these skills are even more critical. This report makes the case for investment in primary science as a foundational skill set in low-resource contexts.
This brief draws on research and development supported by the National Science Foundation to highlight important considerations about STEM educational experiences for young children and professional learning for educators who provide those experiences.
This snapshot presents findings from an EDC study on child care collaboration conducted in Maryland and Vermont.
This report, intended for early childhood educators, offers five evidence-based recommendations for integrating technology tools, such as computers and tablets, into a variety of early learning settings.
Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is one of the most pervasive and devastating consequences of the opioid crisis, affecting six newborns per 1,000 hospital births. This webinar will explore the current evidence for what drives this problem and what works to prevent it.
The Somali Interactive Radio Instruction Program (SIRIP) advances stabilization in Somalia by delivering education in a precarious situation and by giving children the capabilities they will need t
This resource library from the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) contains policy reports, briefs, annotated bibliographies, and other tools targeted to help early childhood educat