Understanding the Early Years - Early Childhood Development in Winnipeg (School Division No. 1) - November 2001

V. Looking Forward

Overall, the children of this community showed strong signs of positive development and readiness for learning. Parents had relatively strong parenting skills, and the families were functioning quite well despite living in relatively less safe neighbourhoods with little social support.

The community had relatively low scores on wider community indicators describing its levels of social support, social capital, and the quality and safety of its neighbourhoods.

Although many Canadian communities share at least some of these broader characteristics, each community also exhibits a variety of unique features that sets it apart from others.

This is one of the reasons community-based research is so important. Research allows a community to understand how well its youngest citizens are developing and lends insight into how the obtained results came about. Investments for families and children, as well as for children's development, can be monitored over time so that effectiveness and efficiency of community effort can be improved.

This community can take pride in the success of its youngest children; however, there is room for improvement, particularly in the areas of literacy, general cognitive development, and behaviour.

The results from the EDI were inconsistent with the results from the direct assessments of the children. This may be because the EDI presents the range of outcomes within a community, which may be different from the range of outcomes when all children in Canada are assessed.

A. What Makes Winnipeg (School Division No. 1) Unique?

Several features stand out as unique to Winnipeg (School Division No. 1). First, this community exhibits considerable diversity in terms of culture and socio-economic backgrounds. Second, its parenting capabilities are generally strong, especially in light of the fact that there are many very low-income areas in the community. Third, the community scored low on all of the community indicators deemed important to child development.

Probably the most essential issue that needs to be tackled in this community is children's early language and literacy skills. These skills are critical for school success.

A key factor for improving early language and literacy skills is the quantity and quality of language to which a child is exposed. For example, children whose mothers talk more with their children learn new words at a faster pace than children whose mothers do so less.

It is less obvious how to increase children's exposure to language. For some children, attending high-quality child care can help improve these skills. Another essential factor is parents' engagement with the child in literacy-related activities, such as storytelling, reading to the child, and playing board games.

An essential issue in communities composed of families with diverse cultural and economic backgrounds is to ensure that children are not segregated along socio-economic or ethnic lines. As was evident in the map displaying socio-economic status (Figure 1.3), there is a high degree of residential segregation. The school system has to ensure that children from lower-income areas of Winnipeg are not further segregated between schools or within schools through special programs such as pull-out remedial programs or specialized programs that mainly attract children from affluent families.

Finally, neighbourhood safety and quality is a concern in this community, which it needs to address before it can make progress on other aspects of community development.

The community can take action to increase levels of social support and social capital, and this is likely to contribute to improving children's outcomes.

For example, over 30% of the children in this community live in single-parent families. It is especially difficult for these parents to take advantage of the community resources that are available. For some of these parents, having a neighbour who takes their child to swimming lessons once a week may be a tremendous form of social support; for others, it might simply mean having an affordable caregiver.

B. Summary

Winnipeg (School Division No. 1) is one of the first communities participating in the UEY initiative. Through this initiative, valuable lessons are being learned about the needs and strengths of communities with different economic, social, and physical characteristics. With respect to early childhood development, we are also learning how they are working to improve children's outcomes, as well as the relative success (or lack thereof) of their efforts.

Communities will determine how their citizens will work together to improve children's early developmental outcomes. Results from the UEY initiative will inform the discussion in the community for future action.

At the same time, it is a societal responsibility - of governments, educators, community agencies, neighbourhoods, and families - to make sure improvements take place for all children. Strategies that require the community to look at itself as a whole community, as well as neighbourhood by neighbourhood, will likely have more enduring effects. UEY is able to provide research results to support both.

For example, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, families may improve their outdoor play-spaces, and on a community level, concerned agencies and organisations could improve community-wide strategies to integrate disadvantaged groups. As communities document their efforts, as well as their results, effective practices will be identified.

Any community's response must consider its unique features. The importance of a coordinated approach involving families, teachers, and all community members must be emphasised because each has been shown to be important in enhancing a child's development. Governments, community institutions, schools, and the voluntary sector in Winnipeg (School Division No. 1) must continue to work together, as each can make a valuable and important contribution. Support for families with children from the larger community network is critical.

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