OTTAWA - Ontario's decision to increase investment in early childhood education will provide a big boost to the provincial economy, according to a new study released Monday, however the extent to which the economy will benefit depends on how much the government is willing to spend.
The study was conducted by the private research firm, the Centre for Spatial Economics, on behalf of the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development at the University of Toronto. The firm was charged with studying the economic impacts of a 2009 report authored by Dr. Charles E. Pascal for the Dalton McGuinty government, and offers 20 recommendations on how to improve education for children up to 12 years old.
Pascal's plan is multi-layered: a school-board delivered full-day/full-year learning program for four- and five-year-olds; extended day and year-round programming for 6-12-year-olds; and expanded access to community programs for children up to three years old.
The study found that should the Ontario government implement all of Pascal's recommendations, it will do more to create jobs and increase the province's economic output than investments in any other economic sector.
Investing in full-day schooling for four- and five-year-olds will deliver an immediate return of $2.02 for every $1 invested in operations and $1.47 for every $1 invested in capital infrastructure, the study says. Every $1 million spent on early learning and child care creates 29 jobs - a third more than investing a similar amount in the construction industry. Moreover, every $1 million invested for new and renovated classrooms produces 20 jobs.
Pascal's report was released during the recession and due to economic constraints, Ontario's government has stalled on fully implementing it. If all the key elements of Pascal's plan are not in place, the benefits are reduced, says Robert Fairholm, a partner at the Centre for Spatial Economics and lead author of the study.
"(The recession) made the government cautious," he said. "The question then remains whether this is the first step of many in the implementation of the full system, or whether this is one step and that's it."
Aside from economic benefits, investment in child care and learning is associated with improved academic achievement and higher future employment earnings for students - providing the government with a higher tax base. The study says increased childcare spending results in fewer grade repetitions, less need for special education and lower high school drop out rates, resulting in more students entering university.
Children are also less likely to smoke as teenagers and as adults if enrolled in what the study says are "quality early childhood programs."
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