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Publications

A collection of publications written by Atkinson Centre team members, in addition to important articles, documents and reports related to early learning and child care.

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Families need schools to step up

Excerpt: "Across Canada it is a familiar scene, parents lined up in the cold to get their kids into a preferred slot at a preschool. Whether motivated by a desire to give their child a head start for school or the need for care so they can work, the challenge is the same - too many children for too few good spots. But in the Northwest Territories the scene is changing. Publicly funded schools are filling the breach."

Atkinson Centre Statement: Consultation on Ontario’s Full Day Kindergarten Research and Results

Excerpt: "A group of diverse research and policy experts in early child development met to discuss the recently released findings on the implementation and impact of Full Day kindergarten in Ontario. As supporters of FDK, participants were interested in developing strategies to address the media backlash that followed the release of the ‘Meta-Perspective’ document and to ensure the program would be evaluated fairly and effectively over time."

Full Day Kindergarten/Extended Day - Submission to The Honourable Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance

Excerpt: "While full day kindergarten is a policy milestone, on schedule to serve over 260,000 four- and five-year-olds, unfortunately our government stopped short of implementing the bold vision for school operated early learning and care described in With Our Best Future In Mind. Fewer than 20 per cent of Ontario’s children 12-years and younger have access to regulated care. The dearth of safe, affordable child care options literally endangers children’s lives, curtails parents’ work opportunities and costs the economy in work/family conflicts. As currently organized, child care creates a low wage sector reliant on social transfers."

Issues That Matter - Full Day Kindergarten

Excerpt: "Margaret Wente contends the Education Minister fudged the numbers in her September announcement on the benefits of full day kindergarten for children. The true story she claims lies the ‘full report’ released by Queen’s University. (“Ontario's $1.5-billion kindergarten hoax”. Nov 30, Globe and Mail) Ms. Wente is referring to two different reports with two different purposes. Both were commissioned by the Ministry as part of the same evaluation."

Issues That Matter - Good new and bad in Bill 143

Excerpt: "There is much depth and change in Bill 143. It repeals the Day Nurseries Act and amends the Early Childhood Educators Act and the Education Act in ways good and bad."

Responses to Child Care Modernization Act

On December 3, 2013, the Ontario government introduced the Child Care Modernization Act, to "take steps to strenghthen oversight of the province's unlicensed child care sector while increasing access to licensed child care options for families."

Key Information:

Additional Resources:

Responses:

Update July 10, 2014

Today, the Ontario government continues its support for families and children by re-introducing the Child Care Modernization Act, 2014.

The legislation, if passed, would strengthen oversight of the province's unlicensed child care sector, while increasing access to licensed child care options for families. In addition, it would allow the province to immediately shut down a child care provider when a child's safety is at risk.

Update November 17, 2014

The Atkinson Centre, presented to the Standing Committee on Social Policy of  the Ontario Legislature, to provide feedback on Bill 10, An Act to enact the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (PDF Download). Presented by Bernice Cipparrone and Kerry McCuaig, November 17, 2014, Toronto, Ontario

Update December 2, 2014

. Today, Bill 10, the Child Care Modernization Act, 2014, passed third reading in the Ontario legislature.

Update February 1, 2016

. All interested parties are encouraged to provide feedback on the proposed regulations by April 1, 2016. The ministry values the unique and diverse perspectives from parents/families and broader child care, education, service system management, and early years partners.

Ontario’s full-day kindergarten a success story

Excerpt: "Those of us who held the pend a few years back to capture the best global research and practice available regarding the positive impact full-day kindergarten would have on 4- and 5-year-olds, titles our report, "With Our Best Future in Mind." Based on the research released a few days ago, our best future is arriving ahead of schedule."

A remedy for this childcare tragedy

Excerpt: "The parents of Eva Ravikovich are trying to drag a small good out of a huge wrong. They are using the courts to hold the province of Ontario accountable for the death of their little daughter in an overcrowded, unsanitary daycare. Precedence indicates they may get some small respite. Eva is not the first toddler to die in an unlicensed facility. Each time an official inquiry has chastised the province for the dearth of safe child choices and urged it to do better. In turn, Queen’s Park responds by adding a few more daycare spaces, a few more government controls."

LMF1.2: Maternal employment rates

Excerpt: "Data on maternal employment rates are presented both by age of youngest child and by the number of dependent children under age 15. Employment rates refer to the annual average calculated from various national employment or household surveys and from the European Labour Force Survey. There is yet no comprehensive regular annual data collection of maternal (or parental) employment across OECD countries. Data are presented for 2009 or the most recent year available (see the comparability and data issues section for details on the definition of paid employment)."

One School Board's Response to "The Munchkin Invasion: Does Full-Day Kindergarten deliver?" Maclean’s Magazine, May 27, 2013

Article by MaryLou Mackie and Scott Podrebarac of the Waterloo Region District School Board: Does Full Day Kindergarten deliver? Early indicators point to an enthusiastic "Yes!" The experience of the Waterloo Region District School Board, a district that has embraced both Full Day Kindergarten (FDK), and the vision of extended Before and After school programs articulated in Charles Pascal’s, With our Best Future in Mind, suggests that there are immediate and sustained gains for children.

An Evidence-Based Response to Maclean’s Article on Early Child Education

Article by Charles Pascal and Janette Pelletier: Full day kindergarten for four and five year olds in Ontario has many champions – parents, educators, researchers and the children themselves. But it does have its detractors. In this response to The Munchkin Invasion appearing in the May 27/2013 issue of MacLean’s magazine, Charles Pascal, the author of Ontario’s blueprint for early learning, and researcher Janette Pelletier discuss the pitfalls of using disconnected research to draw broad policy conclusions.

Early Learning and Early Childhood Education - An Accord by the Association of Canadian Deans of Education

The Accord on Early Learning and Early Childhood Education by the Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) seeks to address the uneven provision of quality early learning experiences by highlighting practices that focus on the learning and care of all children; promoting improved, better connected education for preschool and elementary children; and recognizing educator knowledge as vital to effective education for early learners and their families. It was launched at the Canadian Society for Studies in Education Conference, Victoria, B.C. on June 2.

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