ECD 2.0
An Expanded Science of Early Childhood Development: ECD 2.0
A Framework for Action
The rapidly increasing scientific understanding of how early experiences affect the foundations of health and development has led to what we are now calling ECD 2.0— a promising framework for rethinking how we can generate larger returns on investments in the origins of human potential. This new mindset calls for: (1) considering the impacts of a broader range of early experiences and exposures on the building blocks of educational achievement and the roots of lifelong physical and mental health; (2) including and going beyond direct services alone to address a range of place-based influences on well-being; and (3) designing for, measuring, and responding to variation in the effects of all policies and programs.
Building on more than two decades of raising public understanding about early brain development in an environment of relationships (unofficially the science of ECD 1.0), this expanded science framework focuses on connecting the brain to the rest of the body, and the whole child to a wider range of influences (which we are now calling ECD 2.0). The recognition that ECD 2.0 builds on the enduring features of ECD 1.0 is reflected in the following three themes:
1. Educational Achievement and Lifelong Health
Productive investment in the early childhood period is still about enriching developing minds (ECD 1.0) and it’s also about protecting developing brains and other biological systems from the disruptive effects of adversity on the foundations of both early learning and a lifetime of physical and mental well-being (ECD 2.0).
2. Responsive Relationships and Healthy Communities
It’s still about the importance of “serve and return” interactions (ECD 1.0) and it’s also about recognizing that the burdens of inter-generational poverty, systemic racism, and other structural inequities cannot be addressed solely by responsive relationships—and that all children and the adults who care for them deserve to live in communities that support thriving at all ages (ECD 2.0).
3. Universal Needs and Individual Variation
It’s still about investing in evidence-based programs (ECD 1.0) and it’s also about expecting variation in their effectiveness, moving beyond one-size-fits-all thinking, and having the capacity for tailored implementation to achieve larger impacts for all children (ECD 2.0).
Barriers to Progress
Sole focus on individualized services cannot overcome the hardships of structural inequities.
Insufficient capacity for flexible implementation cannot address variation in effectiveness.
Not starting early enough ignores the significant impact of experiences and exposures from the prenatal period to age two.
Guided by the concepts of ECD 2.0, we can overcome these barriers. We can better align our investments with the science that tells us that the foundations of “whole child” development and lifelong health are inextricably intertwined. We can better support programs and care providers of all kinds to be able to identify and address the inevitable variation in how children respond to interventions. We can measure the impacts of programs in a way that allows us to better understand not just what works, but what works for whom, in what context, and why—which can then inform more flexible implementation that produces better outcomes for all children. We can increase investment in health and well-being during pregnancy and the first 2-3 years after birth, knowing how sensitive these periods are to both positive and negative influences. And we can better understand that investing in a community’s infrastructure, reducing threats to adult well-being, and increasing access to opportunity for all its residents are all wise investments in the future of the community’s youngest children.