Events > 2016 Events > Summer Institute 2016
The 13th Annual Summer Institute on Early Childhood Development
Growing ECE Access and Quality: Opportunities and Challenges
The Summer Institute is an annual collaboration between the School of Early Childhood at George Brown College and the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto. The Institute strives to offer timely information to inform research, policy and practice. As Canada embarks on a new early years strategy, the Institute looks at the conflict between increasing access to early childhood programs while maintaining quality.
Across Canada and around the Globe policymakers are looking to expand children’s access to early childhood education. Join Canadian and International experts as they discuss how states are expanding access while maintaining program quality; balancing the needs of 0-3 year olds with programs for 4-6 year olds; and addressing children’s right to early education with parents need for child care. Plus workshops and poster sessions featuring leading edge approaches to early years practice and policy.
Date: June 3, 2016
Location: George Brown College, Waterfront Campus, 51 Dockside Drive, Toronto, Ontario
#SI2016
Presentations and links to videos are posted below.
-
To view pictures from the day....
- Did you attend this year's Summer Institute? Please take a moment to provide us with feedback on the event https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/65YNWQV
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Tove Mogstad Slinde
Chair of the Network on Early Childhood Education and Care, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Advancing Quality in Early Childhood Settings
Tove Mogstad Slinde leads the work on Starting Strong IV, a toolbox to enhance quality in early childhood services. It offers international perspectives and concrete examples to help policy makers, monitoring experts and early childhood professionals develop best practices in policies and programming. Ms. Slinde focuses on the elements that promote quality in early childhood programming including governance, curriculum, staff competencies, research and evaluation and how national policies are implemented at regional and local levels.
Rowena Phair
Education and Skills Directorate, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Effective Outreach: Promoting Equitable Access to Early Childhood Programming
Rowena Phair leads a new study at the OECD examining children’s early development across social, emotional and cognitive skills. Its findings will assist countries to improve parenting and early childhood programs. Ms. Phair’s work includes the development of inclusion strategies for disadvantaged children, such as migrant and indigenous students.
Dr. Michel Boivin
Canada Research Chair on Child Social Development
The Link Between Research and Quality in Early Childhood Programming
Michel Boivin is a professor in the School of Psychology of Université Laval where he leads a program of research on the biological, psychological and social components of early child development. The program is anchored in large-scale longitudinal studies, including the Quebec Study of Newborn Twins and the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Dr. Boivin leads the development of INECK, an international network of policymakers, researchers and practitioners committed to bringing the best evidence to policy development.
Association Quebecoise des CPE (AQCPE)
Louis Senecal, President-Director General
Genevieve Belisle, Deputy Director General and Director
Quebec's Early Childhood System at 20, All Grown Up and Eager for It's Turn to Speak in our National Conversation
FEATURED WORKSHOPS
The Abecedarian Approach in a North Winnipeg Community
The Abecedarian Approach is an internationally recognized early childhood intervention program focused on vulnerable children from birth to age 5. For the past 40 years it has been the subject of numerous research studies and is regularly cited in child development literature for its long-term health, social and academic outcomes. In February 2012, Red River College, The Government of Manitoba and Manidoo Gi Miini Gonaan (“The Great Spirit is Giving”), embarked on a multifaceted project to bring this intervention to Winnipeg’s North End. This session provides an overview of the project, highlighting the early findings from Manitoba.
MELANIE D’SOUZA Research Faculty, School of Health Sciences and Community Services, Red River College
Playing for Keeps: The Long-Term Benefits of Play
Play is the work of early childhood. How and how much young children play influences learning, health and behaviour throughout life. Yet play is controversial, surrounded by debates about whether it belongs in classrooms as it faces ever-increasing restrictions on the playground. This workshop takes a fresh perspective highlighting innovative approaches to play as central to learning and healthy living.
CHRISTINE ALDEN Program Director, Lawson Foundation, PhD Candidate, OISE, University of Toronto
CAROLYN WEBBER Director, Early Years Centre, East Antigonish Education Centre, Monastery, Nova Scotia
GAIL BORNSTEIN, School Ground Design Consultant, Evergreen/TDSB Associate, Toronto
BRENDA SIMON, Director of Play Programs, Earth Day Canada
- To view the presentation by Christine Alden (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Carolyn Webber (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Gail Bornstein (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Brenda Simon (pdf)
Toys or Tools? Tablet Applications to Support Early Literacy
Adding to the debate about children and screen time, findings from an on-going Canadian study examining educators’ experiences and comfort levels using tablets to support children’s oral and visual literacy will be shared. The study employs tablet applications that allow children to take photographs or draw on blank slides and accompany their work with recorded oral explanations. The presenters will share data from educator interviews, classroom observations, and children’s slideshows.
DR. MONICA MCGLYNN-STEWART Faculty, George Brown College, School of Early Childhood
DR. TIFFANY MACKAY Instructional Coach, Peel District School Board
Transformational Leadership and Professional Self-Identity in Early Childhood Education
Two important studies on the impact of professional learning: The experiences from the College of Early Childhood Educators’ Leadership Pilot Two project on the role of continuous professional learning, self-reflective practice and communities of practice on leadership capacity, plus a look at how recent public policy changes have influenced the professional identity of Registered Early Childhood Educators. Participants will have an opportunity to provide input into, and add to, the research process and data collection.
MELANIE DIXON Director Professional Practice, College of Early Childhood Educators
KRISTINE PARSONS RECE, Director of Operations, Owl Child Care Services of Ontario
TONYA MILLSAP RECE, Program Supervisor, Children's Services, County of Simcoe
DR. ELAINE WINICK Professor, George Brown College, School of Early Childhood
ELAINE LEVY Vice-President, Family & Neighbourhood Services, WoodGreen, PhD Candidate, OISE
NICOLA MORRISON RECE, George Brown College Early Childhood Leadership Intern
DANIEL VENDITTI RECE, George Brown College Early Childhood Leadership Intern
- To view the presentation by Melanie Dixon, Kristine Parsons & Tonya Millsap (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Elaine Winick, Elaine Levy, Nicola Morrison & Daniel Venditti (pdf)
Integrating Research, Theory and Practice to Promote Quality in Early Childhood
Ontario’s early year’s pedagogy acknowledges that quality in early childhood settings is all about relationships. Hear about the City of Toronto’s research into quality improvement through program empowerment and the coaching and mentoring efforts of the City of Sudbury that are encouraging practitioners to rethink quality efforts and evaluation as both a means and an end to desired program outcomes.
CYNTHIA GRUNDMANN Policy Development Officer, City of Toronto, Children’s Services Division
DR. JOEL LOPATA Researcher, University of Western Ontario
JANE TOUSIGNANT RECE, Program Quality Coordinator, City of Sudbury Children’s Services
LAURA URSO RECE, Program Coordinator, City of Sudbury Children’s Services
Equipping ECEs to Discuss the Development of Sexuality in Childhood: In the Classroom and with Families
Against debates surrounding Ontario’s new Health and Physical Education Curriculum this presentation highlights the need for building professional capacity in the sexual developmental domain in the early years. Researchers identity the gaps in training and identify the need for teaching strategies and building rapport with families.
ALICE-SIMONE BALTER Faculty, Early Childhood/Family and Community Social Services, University of Guelph-Humber
ADAM DAVIES PhD Candidate, Curriculum Studies & Teacher Development, OISE, University of Toronto
TRICIA VAN RHIJN Assistant Professor, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph
Early Years Systems Development in the Northwest Territories
The territories face special challenges when developing early childhood programs responsive to the diversity of communities, high levels of vulnerability and the challenging geography of Canada’s far north. The NWT’s early childhood framework and action plan is now in its third year. This presentation shares promising practices and partnerships, the status of early intervention pilots and efforts to improve quality and access across the territory.
SHELLEY KAPRAELIAN Director, Early Childhood Development, Department of Education, Culture & Employment, Northwest Territories
SABRINA BROADHEAD Aboriginal Health and Wellness, Department of Health, Northwest Territories
Responding to Victims of Trauma in Early Childhood Settings
With the increase in refugee and immigrant families and the growing numbers of children who have witnessed violence, having a trauma informed lens can help build relationships, bridge trust, and open the door for better outcomes. This workshop describes the six main trauma-informed principles outlined in the literature and focuses on how to translate these principles into practice with both children and parents.
CHELSEA HOBBS Researcher and Trainer, Early Childhood Development Support Services
Little Kids in Big Schools
Increasingly jurisdictions are using schools to expand access to early childhood education and care but as schools shoulder more responsibility for younger children where does this leave the child care sector? Hear the perspective of jurisdictions managing the transition. The Region of Waterloo formed innovative partnerships with its school boards and children’s service providers. Nova Scotia is documenting its journey as it expands full day preschool and creates early years hubs in its schools. British Columbia’s new Provincial Office of the Early Years coordinates services to improve access, and identifying promising practices of child care in school districts.
DENISE STONE Director, Early Years Integration and Community Development, Nova Scotia
NANCY DICKIESON Director, Children’s Services, Region of Waterloo, Ontario
TESSA GRAHAM Executive Lead, Provincial Office for the Early Years, British Columbia
- To view the presentation by Denise Stone (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Nancy Dickieson (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Tessa Graham (pdf) ~ coming soon
Aligning Early Childhood Pedagogy from Preschool to Kindergarten
While education and early years programs move ever closer together, what is the lived experience of young children as they transition into school? To what degree are the pedagogical approaches of Kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators aligned? Jurisdictions are paying attention and developing resources to address the discontinuities that young children may experience as they enter school.
WENDA DICKENS Coordinator, Early Childhood Education Unit, Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning
CAROLYN SIMPSON Director, Early Childhood Development, Department of Education, Early Learning and Culture, Prince Edward Island
MAUREEN DOCKENDORF Superintendent of the Early Years, Provincial Office for the Early Years & Ministry of Education, British Columbia
- To view the presentation by Wenda Dickens (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Carolyn Simpson (pdf)
- To view the presentation by Marueen Dockendorf (pdf) ~ coming soon
Do Neighbourhoods Impact the Quality of Early Childhood Programs?
What impact does social and economic status have on interactions that take place between child care staff and children? A study of 586 licensed preschool programs in 140 Toronto neighbourhoods found a 35% difference in quality depending on program location. This represents the difference between mediocre and good quality care. Results were mitigated by auspice and organizational type with implications for public policy, systems planning and management.
PETR VARMUZA PhD Candidate, OISE, University of Toronto
Child Care Rules: New Regulations for Ontario
Child care is changing in Ontario. New rules effect private schools, recreation programs and both licensed and unlicensed providers. The first suite of rules took effect in September 2015. Changes to centre care, including new staffing qualifications and changes to group size and child to staff ratios, are under discussion for 2017. This workshop helps operators and practitioners understand the changes.
SHANNON FULLER Director, Early Years Policy and Program Branch, Ministry of Education, Ontario
The Movement for Decent Work: Advocacy & Actions to Influence Policy
Engaging the early childhood workforce in the movement for decent work and how building professionalism and leadership equips educators to influence public policy.
SUSAN GARROW-OLIVER Associate Professor, Department of Child Studies & Social Work, Mount Royal University
LYNDSAY MACDONALD Coordinator, Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario
CAROLYN FERNS Public Policy and Government Relations Coordinator, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
NICKI DUBLENKO Chair, Alberta Child Care Association
MARYANN FAREBROTHER Mount Royal University Pilot Project Coordinator, Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, Alberta
Themes of Social Justice for Young Children in Applied Research
The Science of Early Child Development (SECD) is a knowledge translation and mobilization initiative developed in partnership between Red River College, the University of Toronto and the Aga Khan Development Network. SECD provides training to groups in subSaharan Africa working with children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to provide an evidence-based background which will in turn, improve early childhood program implementation. This session will focus on how a Canadian resource, through close, trusting relationship with partners, can help support social equity for young children by contributing to and building upon existing programs in international contexts. There will also be a discussion about how SECD has been used to support ECD programs for children in marginalized communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
JANET JAMIESON Research Chair, School of Health Sciences and Community Services, Red River College
DR. SUSAN WAMITHI-GITAU, Paediatrician, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
RABEYA HOSSAIN, Early Child Development Consultant
ECE AWARD RECIPIENT
This year's ECE Award recipient is Colleen Russell-Rawlins, Executive Director, Early Years Learning & Child Care Leadership Development, Training & Professional Learning, Toronto District School Board.
Colleen Russell-Rawlins currently leads a dynamic team of early years professionals as the Executive Superintendent of Early Years Learning & Care and Leadership Development in the Toronto District School Board. Colleen is committed to leading change in the early years by engaging practitioners in co-constructing new strategies, pedagogical approaches and ways of working together. She believes that by building partnerships we are better positioned to champion change, advance the implementation of policies and improve access to and the quality of programs available to all children and families. Over the past 25 years, Colleen has served in various capacities such as an Elementary Teacher, Consultant, Student Achievement Officer, Principal and Superintendent. Throughout her career, Colleen has always been advocate for systemic approaches and classroom practices that enable young children to realize their potential, beginning in the early years. Her accomplishment as an educator has been teaching young children to read.
Enormous THANK YOUS to the many tireless organizers, volunteers, sponsors, speakers, and participants for making our Summer Institute such an amazing event year after year! See you in 2017 at OISE, University of Toronto!
This event is presented by George Brown College, School of Early Childhood, and University of Toronto, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education.
