Evolving Perspectives in Immersion Education in the Global Village Winnipeg, Manitoba

Socioeconomic Determinants of Health, Learning, and Behaviour: How Do Societies Achieve Equity from the Start?

By Jim Mustard for J Fraser Mustard The Founders’ Network Founding Chairman Council for Early Child Development February 6, 2009

How do diverse populations with different cultures and language communicate with each other?

Canada set a target of being a bilingual country.

What is the best time to learn two or more languages?

World Health Organization Michael Marmot Inequalities in Health and Development

Closing the Gap in a Generation WHO, August 2008

Chapter 5

Equity From the Start Hertzman and Marmot Equity: actions, treatment of others, or a general condition characterized by justice, fairness, and impartiality WHO, August 2008

Science of Early Child Development

“The science of ECD shows that brain development is highly sensitive to external influences in early childhood starting in utero with life long effects.” WHO, 2008

Developmental Neurobiology

03-080 Experience-Based Brain development in the early years of life sets neurological and biological pathways that affect throughout life:

Health Learning (literacy) Behaviour

08-039

Why do we care about brains?

You are your brain.

BUT Your brain is not just produced by your genes.

Your brain is sculpted by a lifetime of experiences. The most important time in brain development is the first few years of life.

Kolb, U Lethbridge

08-026

What is experience?

Everything that you encounter both pre- and postnatally as well as in adulthood… Examples: sounds, touch, vision, smell, food, thoughts, drugs, injury, disease… Kolb, U Lethbridge

Brain Development at Different Times in Life?

No !

There are qualitative differences at different stages of life.

There is something fundamentally different prenatally vs infancy vs juvenile vs adult.

One difference is gene expression.

Kolb, U Lethbridge

08-081 All the neurons have the same DNA.

How do they differentiate for their diverse functions?

“The nerve cell, or neuron resembles a miniature tree…” A newborn has @100 billion neurons when they are born and form 1 trillion connections by the time they are 3 Diamond & Hopson, 1998

04-039

SIGNAL SENDING NEURON

Two Neurons

Axon

RECIPIENT NEURON

Synapse Dendrite

03-012

Synaptic Density

At Birth 6 Years Old 14 Years Old Rethinking the Brain, Families and Work Institute, Rima Shore, 1997.

02-066

The Fear Response or Stress Pathway

Visual Thalamus Visual Cortex Amygdala

Scientific American The Hidden Mind, 2002, Volume 12, Number 1

Amygdala and Hippocampus

03-002

Sensory Stimuli Prefrontal Cortex

+ Amygdala + Hypothalamus PVN Cortisol CRF PIT ACTH Adrenal Cortex Hippocampus Cortisol LeDoux, Synaptic Self

05-212

Limbic HPA Pathway - Stress

Cortisol – Over Production Behaviour (ADHD, violence), depression, diabetes, malnutrition, cardiovascular disease, memory, immune system, drug and alcohol addiction Cortisol – Under Production Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, immune system (autoimmune disorders) rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, asthma

01-012

Early Learning and Criminal Behaviour

"Significant correlation with registered criminality (teenage) appeared for language development at 6, 18, and 24 months.” Early verbal skill development depends upon language exposure which requires holding the infant and toddler (touch).

Stattin, H. et al

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

102; 369, 1993

08-031

A “Natural” Experiment: Romanian Orphan Adoption

Children adopted into middle class homes after 8 months in the orphanages show at 11 years in contrast to children adopted early: 1. Abnormal brain development (small brain, low metabolic activity, abnormal EEG) 2. Social and cognitive problems (IQ loss) 3. High vulnerability to behavioural problems (ADHD, aggression) Kolb, U Lethbridge

08-014

Epigenetics (nature and nurture)

The process by which normal gene expression is altered by experience.

Genotype vs Phenotype

The Brain and Literacy

07-123

Brain Pathways

“Higher levels of brain circuits depend on precise, reliable information from lower levels in order to accomplish their function. Sensitive periods for development of lower level circuits ends early in life.

High level circuits remain plastic for a longer period.” Knudsen 2004

04-200

Early Child Development and Language

Starts early – first 7 months Sets capability for mastering multiple languages Sets literacy and language learning trajectory

01-003

Human Brain Development – Language and Cognition Sensing Pathways (vision, hearing) Language Higher Cognitive Function -6 -3 0 Months 3 6 9 AGE 1 4 8 Years 12 16 C. Nelson, in From Neurons to Neighborhoods, 2000.

09-018

Brain Areas Activated by Language Tasks

Kolb & Whishaw, 2009

09-019

Neural Webs for Language Tasks

Kolb & Whishaw, 2009

Affects gene expression and neural pathways Shapes emotion, regulates temperament and social development Shapes perceptual and cognitive ability Shapes physical and mental health and behaviour in adult life Shapes physical activity (e.g. skiing, swimming, etc.) Shapes language and literacy capability

07-105

The Brain and French Immersion

01-040

Levels of Literacy: A Reflection of ECD

Level 1: indicates persons with very poor skills.

Level 2: people can deal with material that is simple.

42% of Canadians

Level 3: is considered a suitable minimum for coping with the demands of everyday life.

Level 4: people who demonstrate command of higher-order processing skills.

Level 5: competence in sophisticated reading tasks, managing information and critical thinking skills.

09-015

Enrollment in EFI and CE by SES

88 Core English (CE) 82 76 Early French Immersion (EFI) 68 59 41 32 24 18 12 Lower 20% Middle 20% SES Highest 20% Willms, 2008

09-016

Assessment Results

No French Immersion Early French Immersion

N = 558 N = 358 % with scores below 1.0 % with scores below 1.0

General Knowledge 12 Behaviour 10 Cognition Language and 15.1

Communication Physical 14.1

12.2

5.3

5.6

3.9

2.2

3.4

Willms, 2008

09-017

Enrollment by Program (%)

Grade 1 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 10 Grade 12 Core English 69 77 60 73 82 Late French Immersion - - 17 11 9 Early French Immersion 31 23 23 16 9 Willms, 2008

04-153

Abecedarian Study – Reading

Effect Size 1.2

Primary Grades Preschool Preschool & Primary Grades 0.8

0.4

0 Age 8 Age 12 Age 15 Age at Testing Age 21

Public Expenditures - Early Childhood Programs

Selected OECD Countries (%), 2004

Denmark Sweden Norway Finland France Hungary Austria United Kingdom United States Netherlands Germany Italy Australia Canada 0 0.5

1 1.5

2 2.5

Rates of Return to Human Development

03-074

Investment Across all Ages

8

Return Per $ Invested

6 4 R 2 0

Pre School

6

Pre-school Programs School Job Training School Age

18

Post School

Carneiro, Heckman, Human Capital Policy, 2003

Health

Chaos

Social services Early intervention Family support Education Public health Parks & recreation Munici palities Communi ty services Local school authoriti es Preschools Parenting centres Kindergartens Child care Children’s mental health centres

IT takes a Village to Raise a Child What does it take to raise a village?

Changing the Way we do things

Whether the issue is early human development, childcare, french immersion, food security, youth engagement, literacy, suicide, global warming, poverty, employment, crime, civil societies….

All our governance systems must move towards an intersectoral/holistic approach. This is especially important at the local level where services, programs and relational supports need to be connected and integrated towards a communities vision

The Components to Raise the Village

The Message : Critical importance of early human development - hope The Process : who to involve, where to start, questions to ask, steps to follow.

The Content : What are the components that create a comprehensive and integrated system of programs and supports The Evidence : EDI, 18 month screening…

School communities are a natural place to start to engage the broader community with an inclusive and meaningful process.

Process

It’s all about relationships

Get the Message Out !

Regional Leaders Retreats

  The revitalization of community comes through citizen participation and through having communities that understand EHD and value all their families and children. An important first step in mobilizing community is to foster and encourage the coming together of a new cross sectoral leadership - with the usual and unusual suspects - to share their knowledge, assess needs, determine priorities and then commit to act!

CARS-Communities Achieving Responsive Services- “Road Map” *Begins with what currently exists in the community and collectively plans the future-involves stakeholders.

*Develops a common community vision, community values, and community action plan *Mobilizes community partners and resources.

*Is ongoing, celebrates and revitalizes the “village” *Developing regional models of integration will help to provide evidence and to inform policy framework towards universality.

Content

The integration and coordination of quality ECD community based services and supports-works!

Home-visiting network Home/Local-based satellites Libraries Pre/Postnatal Health Care Information & referral services Toy and resource libraries Parents Supporting Parents ECD & parenting centres Family Resource Programs Pediatric Care Early Intervention

Childcare

Nutrition program Play & nature Based activities Specialized services Family Child Care Recreation Programs

evidence

03-085

Early Development Instrument (EDI)

Physical health and well-being Social knowledge and competence Emotional health/maturity Language and cognitive development Communication skills and general knowledge

07-204 Decrease in the % of vulnerable children as a result of improved ECD in Western Australia Floreat Wembley 2003 Year 2006 47.22% 14.3% 47.11% 11.8% AEDI

07-026 % Vulnerable 30

Canada – EDI Children 5-6 yrs

20 10 0 Q1 Q2

SES - Income

Q3 Q4 Adapted from NLSCY/UEY 1999-2000; EDI 1999-2000

07-158

Cost to Individuals and Canadian Society of Poor Early Child Development (estimates)

Crime and Violence Mental Health Behaviour and Drug Use $120 Billion/year $100 Billion/year

Guiding Principles

• This about support for the family and development of the “

whole child.” Explore, play and celebrate -not schoolification Intrinsic motivation is a key

• In the process everyone needs to feel included, valued with a sense of

belonging.

Share the load - no matter the age or the stage of life .

•

Relationship

community.

based change where each family is a gift to our

Creating a leaderful world where Being at our best means not being the best at everything!

Each of us has a gift that when combined with others creates a ship full of leaders and that’s leadership

Growing Together from our infants to our elders Creating Resilient Communities

It’s not about putting all our eggs in one basket… but by each of us putting one egg in “this basket” of support for families and children, we can celebrate the common wealth we create in ensuring

equity from the start for every child.