Children and Families
Research shows that the first few years of a child’s life are foundational in shaping their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. A child’s wellbeing is influenced by their environments, exposures, and experiences.
For over 25 years, CUP has used research and evidence to improve policies, programs, and practices that affect children and youth. Our work has led to better understanding of early childhood development (ECD) across Alberta, strengthened early childhood programs, and a more informed early learning and child care (ELCC) sector.
All our projects follow a community-engaged research approach, which means they are co-created in close collaboration with a range of community partners, nonprofits, frontline staff, governments, and funding agencies. The knowledge gained from our projects is mobilized to improve programs, practices, and policies.
Current Projects
Building a Foundational Understanding of Early Childhood Wellbeing in Edmonton
January 2026 - Present
CUP Research team
Safra Najeemudeen, Karen Edwards, Rebecca Gokiert, Sophie Wood, Lauren Lees
CUP is leading a 12-month initiative funded by the Edmonton Community Foundation to strengthen Edmonton’s ability to support young children and families. The initiative is designed to build a foundational understanding of early childhood wellbeing in the city by developing a clearer, more coordinated picture of how young children are faring and how the systems around them are working together.
While many organizations contribute to the wellbeing of young children, Edmonton currently lacks a comprehensive and integrated understanding of existing data, expertise, and system capacity. Without this shared evidence base, it is difficult to align investments, strengthen collaboration, and make informed decisions that improve outcomes for children. This initiative responds directly to that gap.
Over the course of the project, CUP will map existing data sources, research, and expertise across sectors that influence early childhood wellbeing. The initiative will explore opportunities to link data across systems to create a more holistic understanding of children’s experiences and outcomes. It will identify critical gaps in available data and knowledge while highlighting opportunities for systems building, coordination, and future research that can better support young children and their families.
Learn more in ECF’s press release
Edmonton Head Start
2020 - Present
CUP Research team
The Edmonton Head Start Project (EHSP) is a collaboration between ABC Head Start Society, Alder Academy, and e4c. As a comprehensive preschool program, Head Start nurtures the development of vulnerable children and families.
Initially, the EHSP partnered with CUP on a multi-year project to understand and find solutions for the observed increase in complex behaviours in the classroom. The goal of phase one of the study was to identify the root causes of this complexity. CUP analyzed critical incident reports, conducted an anonymous online survey with frontline staff, and reviewed existing literature to understand how early learning environments and workforce factors influence child behaviour.
Building on these insights, the second phase of the study explored solutions. From 2022-2023, CUP collaborated with ABC Head Start Society to design and implement an evaluation plan for a pilot project based on the SCERTS® model, which is specifically designed to support children with significant challenges in social communication and emotional regulation. This evaluation informed important changes to practice and programming. CUP evaluators also helped EHSP mobilize learnings from this initial study through conference presentations and infographics.
Read a report based on the second phase of the study:
In 2024, our partnership expanded to include two new research projects:
1) Exploring the prevalence of externalizing behaviours in Canadian children under six years of age
Staff across all three EHSP organizations have observed that challenging behaviours are becoming more common in their classrooms and report ongoing difficulties in managing them. The project’s Steering Committee expressed interest in understanding whether these behaviours have been escalating over time (especially since the COVID-19 pandemic), which can support future program and resource planning. It was determined that the most significant concerns involve externalizing behaviours, such as aggression, elopement, or hyperactivity. As a result, CUP researchers will undertake a systematic review of the literature to explore the prevalence of externalizing behaviours among Canadian children, identify the types of behaviours most frequently reported, and assess whether the prevalence rates have changed over time.
2) Factors that influence parent attendance at parenting groups
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, staff across the three EHSP organizations have observed shifts in parent attendance at both in-person and online parenting group sessions. In response, EHSP has partnered with CUP to explore what factors act as facilitators or barriers to parent attendance at parenting groups, events, or workshops. This study will use a mixed-methods approach, incorporating a parent survey and a series of focus group discussions at each organization. The findings will be used to inform the future planning and delivery of EHSP parenting programs.
Council for Early Learning and Care (CELC)
2017 - Present
CUP Research team
The Council for Early Learning and Care (CELC) is a group of over 30 volunteer members across Alberta dedicated to assembling evidence and networks to support a high-quality, inclusive early learning and child care (ELCC) system. Together with CELC partners, CUP conducts original research and fosters dialogue across the sector through workshops, presentations, and publicly accessible reports and briefs.
Publications
CUP has contributed to numerous CELC publications, with the most recent being:
- Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Initiative Primer (2025)
- Early Learning and Child Care Knowledge-to-Action Workshop: Calls to Action (2025)
- Parents’ Views About the Flexibility of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta (2024)
- Parents’ Views About Cultural Relevance in Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta (2024)
- Parents’ Views About the Accessibility of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta (2024)
- Parents’ Views About the Quality of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta (2024)
- Parents’ Views About the Affordability of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta (2024)
Webinars
CUP has also presented at multiple Child Care Now Alberta webinars including:
- What About Quality in Early Learning and Child Care? (2025)
- Parents’ Views About Cultural Relevance and Flexibility in Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta (2024)
- Parents’ Views on the Affordability and Accessibility of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta (2024)
Currently, CUP is working alongside the CELC on two research studies
1) Exploring families’ experiences of inclusion and exclusion from ELCC programs across Alberta
This study explores whether families in Alberta feel that ELCC programs are inclusive to children with additional support needs and, if not, what kinds of exclusion they may be facing. Research shows that it can be challenging to find ELCC that welcomes and properly supports children who require additional support. This research is timely as Alberta negotiates a new Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) agreement with the federal government. Findings will be shared publicly to help families, educators, and policymakers build a more inclusive and accessible ELCC system where all children can belong and thrive.
2) Early childhood educators’ perspectives on Government of Alberta policy changes
The Government of Alberta implemented significant changes to its child care funding approach on April 1, 2025. These changes include the removal of child care subsidies, a new flat-rate fee of $15 per day per child, and addition of supplemental fees for optional services. The goal of this project is to determine whether these new policies have impacted early childhood educators’ work environments and the quality of ELCC in Alberta.
All in For Youth
2016 - Present
CUP Research team
All in For Youth (AIFY) is a collaborative school-based partnership among 11 Edmonton schools and agencies that provide wraparound support to vulnerable children and families. AIFY supports focus on family and children’s health and wellbeing, school success and engagement, and high school completion in order to disrupt the cycle of poverty.
CUP has supported the annual evaluation of AIFY since 2016, employing a developmental and community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. The evaluation is a mixed-methods study (interviews, surveys, arts based, secondary data) that actively involves AIFY partners in planning, design, and interpretation to assess the model's effectiveness and impact on students and families.
All in For Youth partners include United Way, e4C, Edmonton Community Foundation, Edmonton Public Schools, BGCBigs, Reach Edmonton, City of Edmonton, Edmonton Catholic Schools, The Family Centre, and Concordia University of Edmonton.
AIFY evaluation reports
- AIFY Year 9 Evaluation (infographic)
- AIFY Year 9 Evaluation (one-pager)
- AIFY Year 8 Evaluation
- AIFY Year 7 Evaluation
- AIFY Year 6 Evaluation
- AIFY Year 5 Evaluation
- AIFY Year 4 Evaluation
- AIFY Year 3 Evaluation
CUP researchers have produced multiple articles based on our work with AIFY
- Daniels, J., Edwards, K., Haight, J., Malin, A., Mejia, T., & Quintanilha, M. July 2025. Wraparound in Practice: A Program Description of a School-Based Wraparound Model of Support for Children and Their Families in Canada. Children & Schools, Volume 47, Issue 3, https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdaf015
- Haight, J., Daniels, J., Gokiert, R., Quintanilha, M., Edwards, K., Mellon, P., Skoye, M, & Mailin, A. August 2024. Essential Conditions for Partnership Collaboration within a School-Community Model of Wraparound Support. Journal of Child and Family Studies, Volume 33, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02903-1
- Haight, J., Gokiert, R., & Daniels, J. December 2023. A collaborative, school-based wraparound support intervention for fostering children and youth's mental health. Frontiers, Volume 8, https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1289408
Recently Completed Projects
January 2025 - October 2025
Research team: Lauren Lees, Mackenzie Martin
Kids Included partnered with CUP to evaluate the Connecting Canada project. The project launched in 2022 with the goal of strengthening inclusive practices in early learning and child care programs across Canada through the Pyramid Model. It also intended to build the knowledge, skills, and confidence of early childhood educators and support leadership development within partner organizations.
Using a mixed-methods approach guided by the RE-AIM framework, CUP evaluated the project’s implementation, outcomes, and sustained value. The evaluation included a review of project documents, participant observation, interviews with staff and partner organizations, and surveys with staff and participants.
The findings demonstrated the project’s broad national reach and positive impact on participating organizations. CUP identified varying levels of adoption and engagement across partners and an overall effectiveness in strengthening inclusive practices, leadership development, and building the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators. We also highlighted key facilitators and barriers that shaped the project’s implementation and identified ways in which the project could be sustained and continue its impact within Canada’s early learning and child care sector. CUP’s findings were summarized in an evaluation report and infographics for Kids Included.
2021-2024
The ECE Wage Grid Project was a collaborative initiative between CUP, the Evaluation Capacity Network (ECN), the Council for Early Learning and Care (CELC), and the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta (AECEA). A post-graduate research team and their partners conducted a community-engaged, qualitative study on a compensation framework for ECEs in Alberta.
Learn more about this project on the AECEA’s website:
2009-2015
The Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap) was a five-year initiative funded by Alberta Education, designed to strengthen Alberta's ability to make positive early childhood development a reality for every child in the province. The project helped communities understand how young children are doing and work together to support their healthy development.
During the course of the project, ECMap analyzed Early Development Instrument (EDI) data on more than 70,200 kindergarten-aged children, creating the first baseline early development results for Alberta. ECMap community development coordinators mobilized community coalitions across the province to work with the data and support positive outcomes. One hundred coalitions throughout Alberta raised public awareness about the importance of the early years and contributed to discussions of how policies, programs, and other supports can be improved to promote the well-being of young children and families.
Read the final ECMap report here:
2007-2019
Research team: Rebecca Georgis, Rebecca Gokiert, Anna Kirova
The Multicultural Early Childhood Assessment and Learning (MECAL) project was a knowledge synthesis and mobilization initiative aimed at creating educational resources to increase awareness of optimal development for immigrant and refugee children. In partnership with the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (MCHB) and a Knowledge Exchange Advisory comprised of representatives from government, school boards, and community organizations, MECAL created knowledge and tools to facilitate a deeper understanding of the cultural, pre-migration, and post-migration realities of immigrant and refugee families with young children.
As part of MECAL, CUP collated learnings from past early childhood development (ECD) projects with a multicultural lens to create a series of handbooks and resources for newly settled families and ECD practitioners. One of these resources is the “RAISED Between Cultures” guidebook and video to promote intercultural practice when working with culturally diverse children and families.
Access the RAISED between Cultures guidebook and video here: