EDC supports the development of engaging and safe educational programs for young children.
From birth to age eight, children take the first steps in a lifelong learning journey. EDC speeds them on their way by designing, studying, supporting, and scaling up programs that enhance school readiness and success. We have a special focus on meeting the needs of children from disadvantaged communities and dual language learners, engaging and supporting families, and building the capacity of educators and communities to sustain improvements.
In the United States, we work to create strong, coherent preK-Grade 3 systems and advance knowledge of how to improve early science, mathematics, and literacy learning. Around the world, we implement innovative early childhood programs that build literacy and numeracy skills, excite interest in learning, and help educators, volunteers, and parents enrich early learning.
Read "A Fair Start for Every Child" to learn more about EDC's work to support early childhood learning.
Learn about EDC’s work with Family STEM Communities.
Learn about EDC’s work to strengthen early childhood interventions with Continuous Quality Improvement.
Learn about the work of EDC’s Center for Children and Technology.
Related Content
A New Language for Mathematics
Young children often struggle to write down their mathematical ideas. Could computer programming be an easier language for them?
EDC Talks: Making Time for Family Math
What are some fun, easy activities that families can do to encourage math learning at home? (Hint: You are probably already doing some of them.)
Tapping, Swiping, and Learning Science
Research findings on The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!™ have implications for parents, educators, and educational media developers.
Helping All Children Learn and Thrive
EDC’s David Jacobson discusses his ideas for changing—and improving—early childhood services.
Tools to Support Preschool Learning
New resources support educators on integrating technology and working with emergent bilingual learners.
The Other Side of the Screen
As a researcher, Tiffany Maxon gets to help develop the next generation of children’s television shows.
Projects
Resources
Here are a few of our resources on early childhood development and learning. To see more, visit our Resources section.
This checklist provides early childhood educators with practical information about integrating educational technology in their classrooms.
To better understand the implementation of prekindergarten legislation (Act 166) in Vermont, this study describes the relationship between the characteristics and location of prekindergarten childr
Parents with young children are facing an unprecedented demand to support their children’s learning at home—and technology can help.
This is the summary of a report that presents the results of a first-of-its-kind national survey of parents, who were asked about the types of early science educational activities they do with their young children.
This is the executive summary of a report that describes the proceedings from the first State-Federal STEM Summit, held June 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Sustainable Finance Initiative: Identifying multi-year financing opportunities for school meal programs with a focus on low- and lower-middle income countries.
This paper describes the work of the Home Visiting Collaborative for Improvement and Innovation Network (HV CoIIN).
In this video, NSF-funded researchers Arthur Barody, Jere Confrey, Paul Goldenberg, and Julie Sarama discuss the importance of mathematics education in the early grades.
Executive Summary of a report that examines The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!™, a PBS KIDS multi-platform media property based on “The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library” book series by Random House and Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
This study examines the effects of EDC’s interactive radio instruction (IRI) programming on student learning outcomes in classrooms in India, documenting the significant positive effects of the structured support for instructional improvement that IRI provides.