By Jim Mustard for J Fraser MustardThe Founders’ Network

Founding ChairmanCouncil for Early Child Development

February 6, 2009

Socioeconomic Determinants of Health, Learning, and Behaviour: How Do Societies Achieve Equity

from the Start?

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Evolving Perspectives in Immersion

Education in the Global Village

How do diverse populations with different cultures and language communicate with each other?

Canada set a target of being a bilingual country.

What is the best time to learn two or more languages?

World Health Organization

Michael Marmot

Inequalities in Health and Development

Closing the Gap in a Generation

WHO, August 2008

Chapter 5

Equity From the Start

Hertzman and Marmot

Equity: actions, treatment of others, or a general condition characterized by justice, fairness, and impartiality

WHO, August 2008

Science of Early Child Development

“The science of ECD shows that brain development is highly sensitive to external influences in early childhood starting in utero with life long effects.”

WHO, 2008

Developmental Neurobiology

03-080

Health Learning (literacy) Behaviour

Experience-Based Brain development in the early years of life sets neurological and biological pathways that affect throughout life:

Why do we care about brains?

You are your brain.

BUTYour brain is not just produced by your genes.

Your brain is sculpted by a lifetime of experiences. The most important time in brain development is the first few years of life.

Kolb, U Lethbridge

08-039

What is experience?

Everything that you encounter both pre- and postnatally as well as in adulthood…

Examples: sounds, touch, vision, smell, food, thoughts, drugs, injury, disease…

Kolb, U Lethbridge

08-026

Does Experience have the Same Effects on Brain Development at Different Times in

Life?

No !

There are qualitative differences at different stages of life.

There is something fundamentally different prenatally vs infancy vs juvenile vs adult.

One difference is gene expression.Kolb, U Lethbridge

08-029

All the neurons have the same DNA.

How do they differentiate for their diverse functions?

08-081

Diamond & Hopson, 1998

“The nerve cell, or neuron resembles a miniature tree…” A newborn has @100 billion neurons when they are born and form 1 trillion connections by the time they are 3

SIGNAL-SENDING NEURON

RECIPIENT NEURON

Synapse

Dendrite

Axon

Two Neurons04-039

03-012 Synaptic Density

Rethinking the Brain, Families and Work Institute, Rima Shore, 1997.

At Birth 6 Years Old 14 Years Old

02-066The Fear Response or Stress Pathway

Visual Cortex

Visual Thalamus

Amygdala

Scientific AmericanThe Hidden Mind, 2002, Volume 12, Number 1

Amygdala and Hippocampus

Sensory Stimuli

PIT

Cortisol CortisolCRF

ACTH

Amygdala Hippocampus

AdrenalCortex

HypothalamusPVN

+ + - -

LeDoux, Synaptic Self

03-002

PrefrontalCortex

Limbic HPA Pathway - Stress

Cortisol – Over Production

Behaviour (ADHD, violence), depression, diabetes, malnutrition, cardiovascular disease, memory, immune system, drug and alcohol addiction

Cortisol – Under Production

Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, immune system (autoimmune disorders) rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, asthma

05-212

01-012

"Significant correlation with registered

criminality (teenage) appeared for language

development at 6, 18, and 24 months.”

Early verbal skill development depends uponlanguage exposure which requires holding the infant and toddler (touch).

Early Learning and Criminal Behaviour

Stattin, H. et al

102; 369, 1993

Journal of Abnormal

Psychology

A “Natural” Experiment:Romanian Orphan Adoption

Children adopted into middle class homes after 8 months in the orphanages show at 11 years in contrast to children adopted early:

1. Abnormal brain development (small brain, low metabolic activity, abnormal EEG)

2. Social and cognitive problems (IQ loss)3. High vulnerability to behavioural

problems (ADHD, aggression) Kolb, U Lethbridge

08-031

Epigenetics(nature and nurture)

The process by which normal gene expression is altered by experience.

Genotype vs Phenotype

08-014

The Brain and Literacy

Brain Pathways

“Higher levels of brain circuits depend on precise, reliable information from lower levels in order to accomplish their function.

Sensitive periods for development of lower level circuits ends early in life.

High level circuits remain plastic for a longer period.”

Knudsen 2004

07-123

Early Child Development and Language

Starts early – first 7 months

Sets capability for mastering multiple languages

Sets literacy and language learning trajectory

04-200

0 1 4 8 12 16

AGE

Human Brain Development – Language and Cognition

SensingPathways

(vision, hearing)

LanguageHigherCognitive Function

3 6 9-3-6

Months Years

C. Nelson, in From Neurons to Neighborhoods, 2000.

Con

cep t

i on

01-003

Kolb & Whishaw, 2009

09-018Brain Areas Activated by Language Tasks

Kolb & Whishaw, 2009

09-019 Neural Webs for Language Tasks

Early Experience and Brain Architecture and Function

Affects gene expression and neural pathways

Shapes emotion, regulates temperament and social development

Shapes perceptual and cognitive ability

Shapes physical and mental health and behaviour in adult life

Shapes physical activity (e.g. skiing, swimming, etc.)

Shapes language and literacy capability

07-001

The Brain and French Immersion

07-105

01-040 Levels of Literacy:A Reflection of ECD

Level 1:Level 2:

Level 3:

Level 4:

indicates persons with very poor skills.people can deal with material thatis simple. 42% of Canadians

is considered a suitable minimum forcoping with the demands of everyday life.

people who demonstrate command ofhigher-order processing skills.

Level 5: competence in sophisticated reading tasks, managing information and critical thinking skills.

Enrollment in EFI and CE by SES

SES

Core English (CE) Early French Immersion (EFI)

09-015

Willms, 2008

Lower 20% Middle 20% Highest 20%

88

12

82

18

76

24

68

32

59

41

Assessment Results09-016

Willms, 2008

No French Immersion Early French Immersion

N = 558 N = 358

% with scores below 1.0 % with scores below 1.0

General Knowledge 12 5.3

Behaviour 10 5.6

Cognition 15.1 3.9

Language and

Communication 14.1 2.2

Physical 12.2 3.4

Enrollment by Program (%)09-017

Willms, 2008

Grade 1 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 10 Grade 12

Core English 69 77 60 73 82

Late French

Immersion -- -- 17 11 9

Early French

Immersion 31 23 23 16 9

Abecedarian Study – Reading

Age 8 Age 12 Age 15 Age 21

Age at Testing

0

1.2

0.8

0.4

Effect Size PrimaryGrades

Preschool Preschool &Primary Grades

04-153

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Canada

Australia

Italy

Germany

Netherlands

United States

United Kingdom

Austria

Hungary

France

Finland

Norway

Sweden

Denmark

Public Expenditures - Early Childhood Programs Selected OECD Countries (%), 2004

Rates of Return to Human Development Investment Across all Ages

Pre-school Programs

School

Job Training

ReturnPer

$Invested

R

2

4

6

8

0 6 18Age

Pre-School School Post School

03-074

Carneiro, Heckman, Human Capital Policy, 2003

Preschools

Chaos

Child care

Parenting centres

Children’s mental health centres

Kindergartens

Local school authori

ties

Public health

Munici-palities

Community

services

Parks & recreatio

n

Early interventio

n

Health Social services

Education

Family support

IT takes a Village to Raise a ChildIT takes a Village to Raise a Child

What does it take to raise a village?What does it take to raise a village?

Changing the Way we do things

Whether the issue is early human development, childcare, french immersion, food security, youth

engagement, literacy, suicide, global warming, poverty, employment, crime,

civil societies….

All our governance systems must move towards an

intersectoral/holistic approach. This is especially important at the local level where services, programs and

relational supports need to be connected and integrated towards a

communities vision

The Components to Raise the Village

The Message: Critical importance of early human development - hope

The Process: who to involve, where to start, questions to ask, steps to follow.

The Content: What are the components that create a comprehensive and integrated system of programs and supports

The Evidence: EDI, 18 month screening…

School communities are a natural place to start to engage the broader community with an inclusive and meaningful

process.

Process

It’s all about relationships

Get the Message Out !Regional Leaders Retreats

The revitalization of community comes through citizen participation and through having communities that understand EHD and value all their families and children.

An important first step in mobilizing community is to foster and encourage the coming together of a new cross sectoral leadership - with the usual and unusual suspects - to share their knowledge, assess needs, determine priorities and then commit to act!

CARS-Communities Achieving Responsive Services- “Road Map”

*Begins with what currently exists in the community and collectively plans the future-involves stakeholders.

*Develops a common community vision, community values, and community action plan

*Mobilizes community partners and resources.

*Is ongoing, celebrates and revitalizes the “village”

*Developing regional models of integration will help to provide evidence and to inform policy framework towards universality.

Content

The integration and coordination of quality ECD community based services and supports-works!

ECD &parentingcentres

ParentsSupporting

Parents

Play & natureBased activities

Toy and resource

libraries

Nutrition program

Family Resource Programs

Information & referral

services

Pre/Postnatal Health Care Early

Intervention

Pediatric

Care

Home/Local-based satellites

Libraries

Home-visitingnetwork

Recreation Programs

FamilyChild Care

Specialized services

Childcare

evidence

03-085Early Development Instrument (EDI)

Physical health and well-being

Communication skills and general knowledge

Social knowledge and competence

Emotional health/maturity

Language and cognitive development

Decrease in the % of vulnerable children as a result of improved ECD in Western Australia

Year 2003 2006

Floreat 47.22% 14.3%

Wembley 47.11% 11.8%

AEDI

07-204

Canada – EDIChildren 5-6 yrs

Adapted from NLSCY/UEY 1999-2000; EDI 1999-2000

07-026

% Vulnerable

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4SES - Income

30

20

10

0

Cost to Individuals and Canadian Society of

Poor Early Child Development (estimates)

Crime and Violence $120 Billion/year

Mental Health $100 Billion/yearBehaviour andDrug Use

07-158

Guiding Principles• This about support for the family and development of the

“whole child.” Explore, play and celebrate -not schoolification

Intrinsic motivation is a key

• In the process everyone needs to feel included, valued with a sense of belonging.

Share the load - no matter the age or the stage of life.

• Relationship based change where each family is a gift to our community.

Creating a leaderful world where Being at our best means not being the best at everything!

Each of us has a gift that when combined with others creates a ship full of leaders and that’s leadership

Growing Together from our infants to our elders

Creating Resilient Communities

It’s not about putting all our eggs

in one basket… but by each of us putting one egg in “this

basket” of support for families and children, we can celebrate the common wealth we create in ensuring equity from the

start for every child.