The Early Development Instrument (EDI) comprises about 100 questions related to five domains of child development, as well as certain characteristics of children and schools (sex, age, mother tongue, immersion class, professional services at school, etc.).
The five domains of development measured are:
- Physical health and well-being
- Social competence
- Emotional maturity
- Language and cognitive development
- Communication skills and general knowledge
The EDI, a proven tool
The EDI is a questionnaire that was developed in 1999 by Dan Offord and Magdalena Janus of the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario (© McMaster University, Ontario), in collaboration with child development experts, teachers and childcare educators.
The EDI is intended for kindergarten teachers. It is designed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of groups of children living in a given community or region in each of the five domains of development and overall.
Studies have shown that the EDI is a good indicator of the state of development of children and their capacity to achieve the objectives of the elementary school program. It is also recognized as a reliable population-based measure.
The EDI is used in other Canadian provinces and elsewhere in the world, such as Australia and the United States.
The EDI does not provide an individual measure of development, a diagnosis, or an assessment of the performance of a teacher or school.
