Research summary
When it comes to early childhood interventions, understanding what works for which children is critical to preventing psychosocial and educational problems and ensuring that public resources are used safely and efficiently. As Canada Research Chair in the Prevention of Psychosocial and Educational Problems in Childhood, Dr. Sylvana Côté aims to provide this knowledge.
She and her research team are working to better understand the impact of a variety of early childhood services—such as child care, social work, psychological education, family support, and experimental interventions—in order to improve service quality. They are testing various community-based early childhood interventions for educators and caregivers using intersectoral and longitudinal databases that include information about children’s psychosocial development and education. Ultimately, they will use these data both to identify children’s needs and to monitor the impacts of interventions.