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…
The long-run impacts of parental leave policies on the motherhood penalty: Evidence from Canada
Motherhood affects the earnings of women. But does the type of maternity and parental leave available at the time of first birth matter? This paper addresses this question for lower- to middle-income mothers, using Canadian tax data for the years 1997–2019 and...
Quantitative Analysis and Methods
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...
Redefining Learning After COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and how organizations serve their communities, especially newcomers to Canada. In response to these challenges, organizations in the Greater Toronto Area, including Catholic Cross-cultural Services (CCS), have moved their...
Intervention Creation and Testing
“It’s important to have windows so you can get sunlight”: Understanding children’s perceptions of quality in early childhood education and care settings
Across the globe young children are increasingly spending time in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Exposure to ECEC settings is associated with positive developmental outcomes when they are of high quality. Quality rating and improvement systems...
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...
Designing Effective Policy Responses
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...
Variation All the Way Down: Charting the Subnational Trajectories of School Choice Policy across and within Multicultural Democracies
The expansion of choice within and outside the public education system has become a defining characteristic of countries across the Western world. Yet comparative analyses of these policy developments at the subnational level, where the most extensive and significant...
Are Citizens Responsive to the Regulatory State? The Effect of Regulation on Evaluations of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)
Public service delivery has increasingly involved mixed markets, with for-profit, not-for-profit, and government-delivered pro-grams. In such contexts, regulation can protect the public interest by enhancing safety, expanding consumer choice, or improv-ing the quality...
Mailing Address
Department of Management
University of Toronto Scarborough
UTSC Instructional Centre
1095 Military Trail
Toronto, ON M1C 1A4
