A research & demonstration project focusing community
resources on early child development.

The ecological model on which the School Readiness Project is built posits that children’s healthy physical, mental, social, and emotional development during the early years depends upon the quality of their surroundings and interactions with others. Children’s development and learning cannot be considered separately from the world in which they live. The University of Wisconsin-Extension School Readiness Project helps communities promote healthy development and learning by considering conditions that nurture and support young children and their families at three levels of the child’s world: the child, the family, and the community. In order to put this theoretical ecological model into action, communities need to collect information that can help answer questions related to three different factors: 1) the building blocks of development, 2) developmental considerations, and 3) demographic considerations.

The Building Blocks of Development: Essential Relationships, Resources, and Experiences. All young children need to experience certain relationships, resources, and activities to develop their full potential. The School Readiness Project model was initiated by examining the research literature for these universal building blocks underlying children’s development and school success at each level of the ecological model: the child, the family, and the community. In the School Readiness Project, the University of Wisconsin-Extension teams up with community members to assess which of these experiences are available to young children in the community and to plan how missing or weak ones might be added or strengthened.

For optimal development, all young children need each of the following building blocks:

The major focus of community School Readiness Projects is these developmental building blocks, which are amenable to change. Two other aspects of an ecological model, developmental and demographic considerations, are more fixed, but are also important for communities to consider in their strategic planning process.

Developmental Considerations: How the Building Blocks Children Need Vary by Age. Although all young children need all of the building blocks listed above, certain of them are more crucial for children at different ages. In general the younger the child, the more important the experiences at the child and family levels. Community resources such as playgrounds and libraries become more important for somewhat older children. And in general, programs that are preventive in orientation and begun at younger ages are more likely to be effective and less costly in the long run. Thus, community planners will want to consider whether the building blocks that children need are being provided to them at the best times.

Demographic Considerations: How the Building Blocks Children Need Vary by the Contexts within Children and Their Families Live. A third important aspect to consider when putting the ecological model into action is the contexts within which children live. Demographic factors like the family’s socioeconomic status or the number of adults living with the child can make it more or less likely that a child will receive the needed building blocks for optimal development and learning. Research has shown that the following contextual factors put a child at risk of having fewer or lower quality of the necessary developmental building blocks.

The more of these risk factors that are present, the more likely it is that children will have developmental or learning problems. And the more of these risk factors present, the more important community level programs may become (for example, high quality and comprehensive programs like Head Start are more important for children who have several risk factors).

While having more of these demographic risk factors does raise the probability that children will experience problems in school or with other aspects of their development, it’s important to note that these risk factors make it only more likely, not inevitable, that children will have fewer positive experiences and more problems. For example, about half of children from low socioeconomic status families will experience problems in school. While that is more than children from families with more resources, it means that half of children from low SES families will be successful in school.

Demographic factors are important for communities to take into account in carrying out needs assessments and planning. In and of themselves, they are not very useful, since they usually cannot be changed. But considering contextual factors along with experiential factors, as an ecological model does, can help a community address important questions. For example, community planners can pose such questions as “What is it about living in a certain situation that makes it likely that children have fewer positive experiences before kindergarten?” or “Are there certain groups of children who are missing out on experiences and do we therefore need to plan or strengthen programming targeted at these groups?” While the focus remains on the positive experiences that all children need, considering the context may provide light on where and exactly how to target community resources.

The School Readiness Project that is initiated and facilitated by communities is designed to be child-centered and family-focused. The foundation is the building blocks that all children need for optimal development. Communities consider and help provide the supports families would like to help their children grow and develop.

Thus, the way to put an ecological model into action is for a community School Readiness committee to consider all three levels (Child, Family, Community) that impact young children’s development and learning, and to pose three types of questions:

1. Are the building blocks all children need available in this community?
   
   
2. Are the building blocks available to children when they need them?
   
   
3. Are the building blocks available to all children?