EARLY DEVELOPMENT INSTRUMENT (EDI)
Every three years, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) asks regional school boards to collect information about how well communities are preparing children for school in grade one. In Toronto, this project is completed in partnership between the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University, the Canadian Mothercraft Society, and the City of Toronto’s four public school boards including the Toronto District School Board.
Why is this project being done?
Children who are ready to learn at school from their first day have a better chance of doing well in all their years at school. Yet, some children are more ready for formal learning in a classroom than others. This project will help educators to better understand and measure readiness to learn at school. As part of its commitment to being accountable to Ontarians, the Province of Ontario is looking for more information so that communities and families can be better informed in their efforts to prepare young children for school. The information will be used to look for factors affecting a child’s development between the ages of 0 to 5 that influence their successful start to school.
What will take place?
Senior kindergarten teachers will complete questionnaires for all children in senior kindergarten classes between January 17 and February 4, 2011. The questionnaire, called the Early Development Instrument (EDI), measures children’s readiness to learn at school. It was developed at McMaster University with the help of principals and kindergarten teachers.
This will NOT involve your time or your child’s time, nor does it take away from classroom time. Your child’s teacher is given time to complete the questionnaires.
The questionnaire is NOT a test, nor a tool for diagnosing a particular child’s problems. It will NOT become part of your child’s school record. The results of this project will focus on groups of children only, and not on individual children.
Confidentiality
All care has been taken to protect your child’s privacy. No data or records will be available or identifiable by name. The data will be stored on a password protected computer. The data will be accessible only to the project team to produce findings on groups of children that will be used by both the community and the school system for effective programming.
Are there any risks or benefits to you or your child?
No, there are no risks involved with this project. There will also be no direct benefit to your child. However, this project may help to answer questions about why children in some areas are doing better in their early development than children in other areas. The hope is that changes resulting from the project will bring about improvements in conditions for families with young children. This in turn could have an effect on the success of future generations of children at school and beyond.
Who do I contact if I have questions or concerns about this project?
If you have questions or concerns you may contact myself or your child’s kindergarten teacher. If you do not want your child to be included in this project, please tell your child’s kindergarten teacher. You can find additional information about this project on Mothercraft’s website (http://www.mothercraft.ca/TorontoEDI) and information about the questionnaire on the Offord Centre’s website (www.offordcentre.com/readiness).
Thank you for your support on this important project.
Why is this project being done?
Children who are ready to learn at school from their first day have a better chance of doing well in all their years at school. Yet, some children are more ready for formal learning in a classroom than others. This project will help educators to better understand and measure readiness to learn at school. As part of its commitment to being accountable to Ontarians, the Province of Ontario is looking for more information so that communities and families can be better informed in their efforts to prepare young children for school. The information will be used to look for factors affecting a child’s development between the ages of 0 to 5 that influence their successful start to school.
What will take place?
Senior kindergarten teachers will complete questionnaires for all children in senior kindergarten classes between January 17 and February 4, 2011. The questionnaire, called the Early Development Instrument (EDI), measures children’s readiness to learn at school. It was developed at McMaster University with the help of principals and kindergarten teachers.
This will NOT involve your time or your child’s time, nor does it take away from classroom time. Your child’s teacher is given time to complete the questionnaires.
The questionnaire is NOT a test, nor a tool for diagnosing a particular child’s problems. It will NOT become part of your child’s school record. The results of this project will focus on groups of children only, and not on individual children.
Confidentiality
All care has been taken to protect your child’s privacy. No data or records will be available or identifiable by name. The data will be stored on a password protected computer. The data will be accessible only to the project team to produce findings on groups of children that will be used by both the community and the school system for effective programming.
Are there any risks or benefits to you or your child?
No, there are no risks involved with this project. There will also be no direct benefit to your child. However, this project may help to answer questions about why children in some areas are doing better in their early development than children in other areas. The hope is that changes resulting from the project will bring about improvements in conditions for families with young children. This in turn could have an effect on the success of future generations of children at school and beyond.
Who do I contact if I have questions or concerns about this project?
If you have questions or concerns you may contact myself or your child’s kindergarten teacher. If you do not want your child to be included in this project, please tell your child’s kindergarten teacher. You can find additional information about this project on Mothercraft’s website (http://www.mothercraft.ca/TorontoEDI) and information about the questionnaire on the Offord Centre’s website (www.offordcentre.com/readiness).
Thank you for your support on this important project.
