A study of kindergarten students who live in the region that includes Penhold revealed 37.26 per cent of children analyzed experienced difficulty or great difficulty with language and thinking skills.
This was in stark contrast to the average of 29.13 per cent of children across Alberta experiencing difficulty or great difficulty in this area over the same time period.
“There's areas where we're doing really well,” said Jenna Ohrn, Neighbourhood Place Coordinator, presenting the Early Development Instrument (EDI) results for the West Red Deer County coalition region during a report to Penhold council March 25. “There's some areas where we're developing on par with Alberta and Canada and there's another area where we are experiencing more difficulty and that is the language and the thinking skills.”
The Government of Alberta is using the questionnaire, developed by researchers from the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University, as part of an Early Child Development Mapping Project.
Spruce View and Bowden fall into “Sub Community A” of the West Red Deer County region, while Penhold and Springbrook fall into “Sub Community B.”
Overall, 150 questionnaires filled out by kindergarten teachers between 2009 and 2012 for students within the entire coalition area were analyzed. In total, 16 per cent of children were found to experience difficulty or great difficulty with physical health and well-being compared with 25.48 per cent across Alberta. While 24.66 per cent of students in the West Red Deer County region experienced difficulty or great difficulty with social competence, 23.21 per cent of students experienced these issues provincewide.
In the area of emotional maturity, 27.34 per cent of local respondents experienced difficulty or great difficulty, though 24.83 per cent of kindergarten students experienced these development challenges across Alberta. In total, 21.34 per cent of analyzed responses locally showed difficulty or great difficulty with communication skills and general knowledge; this was ahead of the provincial average of 29.13 per cent.
While 34 per cent of children across the whole West Red Deer County region had difficulty or great difficulty with language and thinking skills, just 29.13 per cent of students at the provincial level exhibited these development problems.
Only 10.42 per cent of students in Sub Community A were found to experience difficulty or great difficulty in physical health and well-being. Results for Sub Community B came in at 18.62 per cent, which still beats the provincial norm of 25.48 per cent by a long shot.
Ohrn said this is likely due to rural residents getting a lot of exercise while living in the region's farm landscape.
“Because we're more of a rural area kids play outside more,” she said. “I think that is an exceptional result.”
But in language and thinking skills 27.08 per cent of children in Sub Community A experienced difficulty or great difficulty compared with 37.26 per cent in Sub Community B.
Town manager Rick Binnendyk asked about how much the survey revealed about the reasons for the poor showing in this area compared with just 22.23 per cent of Albertan children experiencing difficulty or great difficulty here.
“Was there any comments as to why?”
Often social and community factors play a role in results, Ohrn replied, referring to a study of kids in Manhattan who had trouble with physical health and well-being since many live in downtown accommodations with access to an elevator.
Ohrn said the local coalition is working on ideas to get developmental tools into the hands of parents with the help of a $50,000 grant, and a festival to promote children's healthy growth will be held in the fall.
Alberta's Early Child Development Mapping Initiative is part of a five-year cross-ministry action plan that began in 2009.
“The child's early experiences really set the foundation for success in life and in school,” said Tim Chamberlin, a spokesperson for Alberta Education. “By understanding the factors that influence healthy child development, government, along with families and communities can work together to ensure that our children have the kinds of experiences to support positive preschool development.”
The government plans to use the information compiled by local coalitions to choose what to do with funding dollars into the future, such as the importance of implementing full-day kindergarten.
“That's what's useful about this particular initiative,” he said. “It will help us identify gaps and where there needs to be additional help.”
