HELP is pleased to announce that the Early Development Instrument (EDI) Data Dashboard has now been updated with Wave 9 data (collected between 2022- 2026) from across BC!
In Wave 9, 37.3% of children were vulnerable on one or more areas of development measured by the EDI. This is the highest BC rate of developmental vulnerability to-date, rising 4.4% from the Wave 8 rate of 32.9%. Community vulnerability rates range from below 20% to over 60%. Increases in vulnerability were seen across all five areas of development, with social competence and emotional maturity continuing to be the two areas of highest concern.
The EDI is a questionnaire completed by kindergarten teachers for the children in their classrooms each year, gathering information across five key areas, or “scales”, of development: Physical Health & Well-being, Social Competence, Emotional Maturity, Language & Cognitive Development, and Communication Skills & General Knowledge.
The EDI Data Dashboard is an online, interactive tool that allows for the exploration of maps, patterns and trends in data on the developmental health of children in BC over 20 years at the provincial, school district, neighbourhood, health and Ministry of Children & Family Development boundaries. EDI data reported through the Dashboard are based on children’s home postal codes and include kindergarten children who live within the boundary type selected. Supporting resources are available to assist in navigating the EDI Data Dashboard, including a brief video tour, a technical guide, as well as a slide deck template for building individual presentations.
HELP will be releasing new EDI research about long-term trajectories and linkage to health and education data in the fall. With almost 25 years of data, we can track outcomes throughout school into early adulthood. Stay tuned to hear more about what we are learning.
For more information about young children in the early years, read HELP’s latest reports:
- EDI pre-post pandemic report: Early Years Disrupted
- Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (CHEQ) Provincial Summary
Thank you to all educators – administrators and kindergarten teachers – that help us collect these data. We look forward to working with our cross-sector partners across the province in support of children and families. Please share the link to the EDI Data Dashboard widely, and contact us at edi@help.ubc.ca should you have any questions.