The Human Early Learning Partnership is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children through interdisciplinary research and mobilizing knowledge.
News and Events
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News
Scholar Profile: Barry Forer
Barry Forer is one of the leading researchers at HELP — he holds the title of Research Methodologist at the UBC-based centre, specializing in early childhood development and child care.
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Events
Full Moon Grandmother Zoom
Please join us for this month’s Full Moon Grandmother Zoom on Monday, November 27. Hosted by Kinwa Bluesky, this Moon’s teachings will be about the Whitefish Moon (Adikameg-kìzis).
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Data in Action
Cross-Sector Collaborations Create Early Years Programming to Support Rocky Mountain Transitions into Kindergarten
Learn about how Child Development Monitoring System data are useful sources of information to support cross-sector early learning discussions and partnerships.
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News
HELP Researchers Launch New Online Tool to Assist Teachers in Taking Their Classes Outdoors
BC Children’s Hospital is launching a new online Outdoor Play and Learning tool today, to help parents, caregivers and educators gain the skills and confidence to support outdoor play and learning in elementary schools from kindergarten through Grade 7.
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Indigenous
HELP Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Steering Committee
Over the past two decades, the Aboriginal Steering Committee (ASC) at HELP has continued to support a deeper understanding of the social, environmental, and cultural determinants of First Nation, Inuit, and Métis children’s health and wellbeing.
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Events
MDI Data Trends & Exploring the New Data Dashboard
Join Dr. Eva Oberle, scientific lead for the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), and others from the MDI team, as they share highlights from the latest MDI data collection (2022-23 school year) from over 47,000 children in grades 4 through 8 in BC.
HELP's unique approach
Relationships
Reciprocity, accountability and respect are at the foundation of HELP’s longstanding relationships with communities, organizations, institutions and governments across BC and Canada. These relationships, along with guidance from an Aboriginal Steering Committee (ASC), contribute to our research, data and knowledge mobilization initiatives. Learn more about the Aboriginal Steering Committee.
Data
The Child Development Monitoring System safely and reliably gathers population-level data about the developmental health and well-being of children and adolescents at multiple times between infancy and 18 years of age. It is the foundation for much of the leading-edge research and knowledge mobilization undertaken at HELP. Learn more about the Child Development Monitoring System.
Expertise
Faculty, researchers and affiliates at HELP hold scientific expertise across a wide range of disciplines, contributing to a unique and diverse program of research that situates HELP research at the forefront of important health and equity issues. Learn more about HELP research.
Impact
HELP leads collaborative and inclusive processes that transform data and research into action. Across both practice and policy, HELP is focused on supporting evidence-informed change across systems, institutions and in communities. Learn more about HELP’s knowledge mobilization and research impact.
Publications
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Risky Play
The role of play and objects in children’s deep-level learning in early childhood education
Education Sciences
Sando OJ, Sandseter EBH, Brussoni M.This study provides valuable insights into the positive relationship between children’s engagement in play, their use of objects, and their deep-level learning in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions.
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COVID-19
Anxiety symptoms, psychological distress, and optimism in school staff: Testing associations with stressors and coping during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemicJournal of Affective Disorders Reports
Hutchison SM, González OD-J, Watts A, Oberle E, Gadermann A, Goldfarb DM, et al.This is the first theory-driven empirical study, to our knowledge, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of factors associated with mental health outcomes in school staff who maintained in-person learning for the full academic school year during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Outdoor Play
“We do it anyway”: Professional identities of teachers who enact risky play as a framework for Education OutdoorsJournal of Outdoor and Environmental Education
Zeni M, Schnellert L, Brussoni M.This study offers insight into the funds of knowledge, dispositions, and professional identities of elementary school teachers who embrace risky play as a pedagogical practice and how they navigate systemic challenges unique to education outdoors.
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Middle Years
Connections matter: adolescent social connectedness profiles and mental well-being over time
2022 Journal of Adolescence
Oberle E, Ji XR, Alkawaja M, Molyneux TM, Kerai S, Thomson KC, et al.Experiencing connectedness with peers and adults is critical for the mental well-being in early adolescence. Providing opportunities to connect is important in the context of major societal challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Outdoor Play
Physical environment features that predict outdoor active play can be measured using Google Street View images
International Journal of Health Geographics
Boyes, R., Pickett, W., Janssen, I., Brussoni, M. et al.This method provides a potential automated data source for the development of prediction models for a variety of physical and social environment features using publicly accessible street view images.
Indigenous Initiatives at HELP