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…
Socio-economic Segregation between Schools in Canada
Canada’s level of socio-economic segregation or sorting between schools—the extentto which students of different socio-economic status (SES) attend different schools—is low by international standards. However, this overall level may mask inter-provincialdifferences in...
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
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
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









