Poster Introductions II--The Relationship between Children’s School Readiness and Community Social Risk Factors

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a teacher-completed tool that measures children’s school readiness in senior kindergarten. The measure provides an important indicator of population health at the transition between the early years and formal school education in five domains: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge. School readiness is known to be predictive of later academic achievement and high school graduation. Analysis of Ontario EDI data in combination with social and community risk factors such as incidence of low income, mobility and unemployment illuminate variations in school readiness outcomes across the province. Analyses using EDI data captured at school entry point to significant social and community factors that affect the developmental trajectory of individuals over time.