1 in 3 Kindergartners Still Vulnerable in BC
Photo by La-Rel Easter on Unsplash
Celebrating twenty years of EDI Data collection in BC, the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) has recently released the Edi Wave 8 Provincial Summary.
The Wave 8 EDI data report recently issued by the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) shows that one in three children in BC were arriving at kindergarten vulnerable, or developmentally behind, in one or more of the core areas important to their future success: Physical Health & Well-Being, Social Competence, Emotional Maturity, Language & Cognitive Development, Communication Skills & General Knowledge.
On their website, they note: “This one-in-three statistic (32.9% in Wave 8) is not new for EDI findings – Wave 8 data was collected between 2019 to 2022, and is the fifth wave in a row where more than 30% of children were within the vulnerable range. Without additional support and care, children who are vulnerable on one or more scales on the EDI are more likely to experience future challenges in their school years ahead.”
Also highlighted is that, “This is also the third wave in a row where the Emotional Maturity and Social Competence scales had the highest vulnerability rates out of the five EDI scales, which is particularly concerning given that these scales measure behaviours and competencies related to the most common childhood mental health disorders. This finding is also consistent with other studies that have noted an increase in mental health concerns for children and youth across Canada.”
The provincial summary findings also point out significant regional variations. “For example, at the school district level, vulnerability ranges from 22 – 72% -- this signals that the need for additional supports can be drastically different for individual school districts.” An additional concern is the report finding that “the number of neighbourhoods with lower levels of overall vulnerability decreased, falling from a high of 25 neighbourhoods in Wave 3 to just two in Wave 8.”
Commenting that there was not a significant difference in the new findings on vulnerability from those of Wave 7, despite Wave 8 covering the intense phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report notes:
While the pandemic presented a major disruption, federal and provincial pandemic relief programs provided income support for two-thirds of all Canadian adults, three-quarters of the adults in BC (the highest in the country). According to newly released census data, the Canadian low-income rate decreased in 2020, especially for families with children, largely driven by government transfers. And, between 2015-2022, income inequality decreased in all provinces and territories.
Previous EDI research has demonstrated a strong association between EDI overall vulnerability and the socioeconomic status of neighbourhoods and families. More research is in progress that explores the relationships between these large-scale policies and investments as well as global events on the health and well-being of children, families and communities.