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Early Childhood Development in Global Contexts
EDU A827

Course Information

Description

Global estimates suggest that 250 million children under the age of five are at risk of failing to meet their developmental potential. Nevertheless, culturally sensitive interventions to promote early childhood development (ECD) are not widely integrated or prioritized in health and education platforms. This interdisciplinary course introduces students to core concepts in ECD, cross-cultural theory, contexts of risk and protection, and early intervention and policy. Course meetings will combine lectures, interviews with global experts, and small-group activities/discussions to equip students with the knowledge and skills to appropriately design, plan, evaluate, and appraise sensitive and specific ECD programming in a post-COVID world. In particular, the course will introduce students to foundational topics in education and public health – including theories of change, implementation research methods, and the ethics of intervention and cross-cultural work – while supporting the application of these topics to real-world interventions for young children. 
This course is designed for both master’s and doctoral students and will bring together a multi-disciplinary teaching team from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 4
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Student Option (Letter Graded, Sat/Unsat)
Learning Goals Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to: Describe and differentiate between the core domains and skills of early childhood development (ECD), including physical, motor, language, cognitive, and socio-emotional development. Analyze complex conversations surrounding the logistics and ethics of cross-cultural ECD research and intervention. Identify the primary risks and protective factors associated with ECD. Describe and evaluate the environments of care in early childhood (including family, home, daycare, school, community, technology, society and culture). Compare, implement, and critique measures of ECD, including their psychometric properties and issues of adaptation. Compare, implement, and critique current approaches to ECD intervention design and identify what makes interventions effective. Describe and evaluate the policy environment for ECD, including issues of advocacy, governance and financing. Develop, apply, and evaluate an ECD intervention using a theory of change.
Career Focus

This course is appropriate for students from all programs and backgrounds who are interested in development during the early childhood period (prenatal through age 8). This course is intentionally multidisciplinary, and educates students in tools, ideas, and information central to education, public health, psychology, government, and policy. This course will help to prepare students to conduct research and applied work (e.g., program design, implementation, and evaluation; policy-making) across fields and sectors, as well as in a diversity of global contexts. The course has a heavy focus on collaboration, teamwork, and communication.