The Healthy Child Manitoba Office (HCMO) has commissioned SRDC to conduct a telephone survey of parents of kindergarten students in Manitoba later this year. It will be the second time SRDC has conducted this successful survey. HCMO shared results from the first survey, completed in 2004, with professionals on the front line, school divisions, and parents in order to improve outcomes for children and families.
SRDC with help from POLLARA Inc., the largest Canadian public opinion and marketing research firm, will contact parents in 36 school divisions in May and June 2006. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) developed by researchers at the Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, is administered by teachers of kindergarten students in Manitoba. The EDI results will help Manitoba to know how well its children are prepared to begin their school lives ready to learn and to enjoy the experience. The telephone survey will collect detailed information from parents about the experiences of the children and their families. Parents will be asked for their permission to allow SRDC to combine their child’s EDI results with the survey information, which will allow the analysis to reveal more about the relationship between current kindergarten students’ readiness to learn and their family background and experiences.
SRDC looks forward to being part of this collaborative process to strengthen the use of research evidence to improve outcomes for children and families.
