Introduction: Foundations are Stepping up for Children
Honorable Margaret Norrie McCain
In 1997, Quebec 5-year-olds were enrolled for the first time in fullday kindergarten. For just $5 a day, they could also attend before- and after- school programming. In fact, schools took on extended-day activities for children up to 12 years of age. In 2000, for the same $5, parents could enroll their youngest offspring in “Early Childhood Centres.”
-
- Introduction: Foundations are Stepping up for Children
- Introduction: Mothers and others needed for healthy human development
-
Chapter 1: A Smart Start for School and Life
- 1. Good education cares
- 2. The child care dilemma
- 3. The loop in the public debate
- 4. Starting from education's base
- 5. One-in-four start out disadvantaged
- 6. Democracy in trouble
- 7. Making a difference
- 8. Paying for inaction
- 9. Turning chaos into systems
- 10. Changing populations
- 11. Changing families
- Chapter 1: Figures
- Chapter 1: References
-
Chapter 2: Early Life and Learning, Behaviour and Health
- 1. Genes and environments
- 2. Building the brain's architecture
- 3. Sensory Pathways
- 4. The limbic system pathways
- 5. Prefrontal cortex pathways
- 6. Language pathways
- 7. Learning, behaviour and health
- 8. Early adversity and later life
- 9. Consilience: A new framework of understanding
- Chapter 2: Figures
- Chapter 2: References
-
Chapter 3: Creating Spaces and Places for Young Children and Families
- 1. Celebrating childhood
- 2. What early childhood education offers children and families
- 3. Components of quality early childhood education
- 4. Educators matter
- 5. Early childhood options for all
- 6. Challenges to early childhood service integration
- 7. Benefits of early childhood program integration
- 8. New thinking for new challenges
- 9. Influencing policy change
- Chapter 3: Figures
- Chapter 3: References
-
Chapter 4: Early Childhood Education as Economic Development
- 1. Decades of research reveal benefits
- 2. Canadian cost-benefit analyses
- 3. Developing community capacity to support children
- 4. Child care as regional economic development
- 5. Preschool as economic stimulus
- 6. Early childhood programming: A no cost solution
- 7. Wisely investing in early childhood
- Chapter 4: Figures
- Chapter 4: References
-
Chapter 5: Public Policy Shapes Early Childhood Programs
- 1. Federal involvement in ECE policy and programs
- 2. Direct federal funding to ECE programs
- 3.1 Policy developments: The provinces and territories - Governance
- 3.2 Policy developments: The provinces and territories - Funding
- 3.3 Policy developments: The Provinces and Territories - Access
- 3.4 Policy developments: The Provinces and Territories - Learning Environments
- 4. Curriculum
- 5. Next Steps
- Chapter 5: Figures
- Chapter 5: References
- Chapter 6: Where are we? How Far do we have to go?
- Download the Study