What is the Early Development Instrument?

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a population-based tool developed by Drs. Dan Offord and Magdalena Janus used to measure the state of children's development at Kindergarten entry.

Why measure development?

Province-wide collection of EDI data in British Columbia has been used to establish a baseline estimate of the state of early child development at school entry. If we are to improve the health, well-being and competence of the population of BC, we need an outcome measure that will inform communities about how the programs, policies and social environments that we provide for young children combine to support their development.

How it works

The EDI is a checklist that Kindergarten teachers complete for each child in their class. It is a holistic measure of children's development across five areas:

1. physical health and well-being
2. social competence
3. emotional maturity
4. language and cognitive development
5. communication skills

Teachers complete the EDI in February, after they have had several months of interaction with their Kindergarten class.

Benefits

The Early Development Instrument: Benefits to Children, Families and Communities
Human Early Learning Partnership, 2008
8:08 minutes

Population-based measure

While teachers complete the EDI for individual children, the results are grouped geographically by neighbourhood, school district, health area, and provincial levels. The EDI is NOT used to label or identify individual children.

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