Early Development Instrument
The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a questionnaire completed by kindergarten educators for students in Year 2/ SK. It was developed by Dr. Dan Offord and Dr. Magdalena Janus at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, with the help of experts on child development, kindergarten and school administrators. Originally created as a whole child measure of school readiness beyond just academic skills, the EDI gathers information about five core areas of early childhood development:
- Physical Health & Well-being;
- Social Competence;
- Emotional Maturity;
- Language & Cognitive Development; and
- Communication Skills & General Knowledge.
The EDI is an essential tool used to measure the developmental health of children in their early years. By evaluating various aspects of early childhood development, the EDI helps identify strengths and areas for improvement, guiding interventions and support for children as they enter school.
Although it is completed for individual children, the EDI is a population-based measure and is not a diagnostic tool nor is it an indication of a school’s performance. The results of the EDI, in combination with other local data, are meant to help inform communities about the development of their young children so that they may provide the supports necessary for healthy child development.