Abstract
This text is the report of the Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development. The committee was established by the National Research Council, itself established in 1916 by the US National Academy of Sciences, to advise the US government on issues associating science and technology. Input was also received from the Institute of Medicine, another Academy of Sciences body asked to advise government on public health policy. The mandate of the committee was to update knowledge of early child development, ‘disentangle such knowledge from erroneous popular belief’ (p.3) and to discuss the policy, practice and research implications of such knowledge.
The project was funded from government, nongovernment and philanthropic sources allowing the 17 individuals of the ‘eminent persons’ committee to examine in detail the scientific literature. The activities of the core committee were augmented by direct input from leaders in the field and workshops with stakeholders. The latter included a workshop on the Science of Developmental Promotion and Early Childhood Intervention (June 1999), on Home Visiting Interventions and The Precursors of Antisocial Behaviour. Other input included consultants and invited presenters to committee meetings, written submissions and interviews with individuals involved in early childhood practice, research and policy.
Following an executive summary, the text is structured into preliminary chapters that overview the current state of the nature-nurture debate, the importance of integrating culture and the science of deriving causal connections. Section 2 considers three domains of mastery essential for the infant to progress towards mental health: self-regulation, the capabilities that underpin communication and learning, and the ability to relate to others and make friends. A fourth domain, research on the developing brain, highlights the explosion of research in this area and the desire to integrate behavioural and neuroscience research. Issues include the move from parents as ‘extensions of their (the child's) internal regulatory systems’, points of biobehavioural shifts in development, the development of regulation of sleep, crying and self-soothing, emotion and attention.
Section 3 reviews the context of early development. While the focus is more on nurture and environment rather than nature, consistent with contemporary behavioural genetics a dichotomous nature-nurture divide is no longer sustainable as a useful construct. The section on nurturing relationships examines research on what is gained from early relationships, security, self-efficacy, self-esteem, cooperative endeavour and social reciprocity. Attachment and the effect of attachment type on later life are discussed. The family resource section discusses income inequity, poverty, single parent families, parent employment patterns and parent psychological distress. The section neighbourhood and community considers the community ecology in more depth; growing up in impoverished neighbourhoods, minority group membership, and community hazards such as violence, crime and environmental health hazards. A separate section reviews the literature on out of home childcare. The text concludes with 11 recommendations relating to policy and practice, early environments, the needs of children during societal change and the interaction of early childhood science, policy, and practice.
It is with some pleasure that I highly recommend this text. It is unusual for a text to so thoroughly cover information from such a diverse group of areas. The text achieves this without the style changes seen in many multi-author texts and with a clarity and ease of reading often not seen in committee reports. The most contemporary research is cited and the recommendations should provide direction to the field over the next decade. This text should be prescribed reading for those in the child and adolescent mental health field. Many practitioners in the adult field will appreciate Neurones to Neighbourhoods as an excellent update and reference.