British Columbia Atlas of Child Development

by Paul Kershaw, Lori Irwin, Kate Trafford

The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) involves over 200 faculty, researchers, and graduate students from six of British Columbia's universities. Its mission is to create, promote, and apply new knowledge through promoting interdisciplinary research designed to help children thrive. The Early Development Mapping Project is a core research activity within HELP, and this Atlas represents one of its major achievements. It should be viewed as a community planning tool designed to help organizations and individuals who are involved in achieving the objectives of the National Children's Agenda.

The first chapter of this Atlas outlines the geography of British Columbia. This is followed by a brief demographic survey of early childhood in the province, visually displaying where children live and their ethnic and language diversity. The third chapter reports on results obtained using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) and illustrates near future developmental opportunities and challenges. Chapter 4 focuses on the social and economic characteristics of neighbourhoods that co-occur with favourable and worrisome EDI trends. The Atlas concludes by discussing the implications of EDI and socioeconomic data for community planning and public policy.

166 pages, Hardcover

First published February 21, 2006