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…
Equity in Education Research Digest
In this first issue of our Research Digest, we highlight three different articles and two progress notes, that intersect in the area of education and public policies. For our Research in Progress notes, Mark Ariba describes work he did with Dr. Phil Triadafilopoulos...
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
Information effects on parental choices for early childhood education and care
Existing research demonstrates that parents are poorly informed consumers of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Choosing such services is a complex process shaped by a combination of logistical limitations (e.g., cost/location), informational barriers...
Navigating Parenthood in the Pandemic: Revealing the Trade-offs of Childcare Choices Through Conjoint Analysis
Inequalities that emerged during COVID-19 pandemic highlight the need to examine parent constraints in their decision-making around work and early childhood education and care (ECEC). This paper draws on conjoint survey data from a representative sample of 976 parents...
One size does not fit all: Associations between child characteristics, differential treatment of children by educators and quality in child care centers
High-quality interactions in early childhood education settings support children's cognitive and socioemotional development. However, little is known about what explains variability in how educators interact with different children in these settings and how this...
Designing Effective Policy Responses
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...
Selective Adoption or Comprehensive Learning? Domestic Policy Makers’ Use of International Organization and Global Management Consulting Firm Advice in Future Skills Policy Making in Canada
The fourth industrial revolution, brought about by technological innovations including artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced robotics, is already shaping many economies around the world. International Organizations (IOs) and Global Management Consulting...
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