Explore:
Inequities in early childhood education and care (ECEC), formal education and youth training.
Test:
Novel solutions to known problems, collaborating with stakeholders.
Create:
Knowledge mobilization tools, including evidence-informed policy.
We draw on multidisciplinary insights from many fields, including economics, applied psychology and human development, and political science. We work with researchers across Canada and abroad to answer questions, develop interventions and mobilize information.
Featured Insight…
Income Inequality and Parent Education Spending in Canada
Comparative research documents substantial education- and income-based class gaps in parent spending on children’s education, with important repercussions for the perpetuation of intergenerational (dis)advantage. Spurred by higher levels of income inequality and...
Quantitative Analysis and Methods
Economic Gains from Early Childhood Education and Care: The Role of Workforce Participation
The benefits of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children, such as increased cognitive and social-emotional development, are well-known and documented. However, ECEC also provides economic benefits for caregivers and society by supporting...
Creating a Positive Learning Environment: Considering Students with Disabilities, Teacher Qualifications, and Classroom Structures
Ample research investigates returns to teacher preparation and other instructional inputs for the general student population, yet evidence is lacking for students with disabilities (SWDs). This study uses North Carolina data to estimate achievement returns to teacher...
Promoting equity in hiring: An evaluation of the HireNext Job Posting Assessment
The language used in job postings can deter applicants and contribute to the employment gap, which refers to high rates of youth unemployment occurring simultaneously with high levels of job vacancies. We tested youth preferences for job postings modified using a free...
Intervention Creation and Testing
Cultivating young minds: Exploring the relationship between child socio-emotional competence, early childhood education and care quality, creativity and self-directed learning
Creativity and self-directed learning (SDL) have been identified as two key skills that children need to develop for success in the 21st century. As such, developing such skills has become a priority. High quality early childhood and care (ECEC) can play a pivotal...
Enhancing Children’s Creativity in Early Childhood Education and Care: A Systematic Review and Multivariate Meta-Analysis of Studies Between 1969 and 2019
This study integrates evidence on the effectiveness of interventions within early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings that aimed to promote the development of creativity in young children, from birth to six years of age. We explored 44 studies based on 5,817...
“It is almost impossible to get a spot when you need it”: Understanding parental knowledge and experiences of Canada’s new child care policy
Starting in 2021/2022, Canada implemented a new early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy, the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC). CWELCC aims to reduce the cost of child care to an average of $10CA/day. However, prior implementation of similar...
Designing Effective Policy Responses
Income Inequality and Parent Education Spending in Canada
Comparative research documents substantial education- and income-based class gaps in parent spending on children’s education, with important repercussions for the perpetuation of intergenerational (dis)advantage. Spurred by higher levels of income inequality and...
Policy Design, Instrument Choice, and Policy Feedback Effects of Institutional Business Power: Child Care Investments in Australia, Canada, and Germany
Recent research examining the policy feedback effects of delegated governance note that private actors accumulate institutional business power—distinct from structural and instrumental power typical of businesses—through such mechanisms as delegation, deregulation,...
Transformative Change in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) or More of the Same? Child Care in the Canadian Federation
This chapter provides an examination and assessment of the changes to early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies and programs since the 2006-15 federal Harper era (Friendly and White 2012). This chapter begins by reviewing the set of policies in place during...
Mailing Address
Department of Management
University of Toronto Scarborough
UTSC Instructional Centre
1095 Military Trail
Toronto, ON M1C 1A4








