What is the Early Development Instrument?

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a questionnaire developed by Dr. Dan Offord and Dr. Magdalena Janus at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University.  

The questionnaire has 103 questions and measures five core areas of early child development (Physical Health and Well-Being, Language and Cognitive Development, Social Competence, Emotional Maturity, Communication Skills and General Knowledge) that are known to be predictors of adult health, education and social outcomes.

EDI questionnaires are completed by kindergarten teachers from across British Columbia for all children in their classes. They are filled out in February, after teachers have had the chance to get to know their students. This ensures that teachers are able to answer the questions knowledgeably. 

This short video provides an overview of the EDI and you can view the SD6 Reports here. Results from the EDI are discussed with school teams to identify areas of vulnerability in order to target interventions and supports. Early Years partners also benefit from this information as they can look at ways to adapt or add programming to address the areas of vulnerability prior to students entering Kindergarten.