Peer-reviewed article

Making developmental science accessible, usable, and a catalyst for innovation

Jack P. Shonkoff · 16 Feb 2018

Abstract

The rapidly moving frontiers of neuroscience, molecular biology, and epigenetics—combined with extensive research in the behavioral and social sciences—are dramatically expanding our understanding of how children develop, how that process can be disrupted, how to get it back on track when it does get derailed, and how to keep it from going off track in the first place. The challenge for educators, other practitioners, policymakers, and change agents across sectors lies in our collective ability to transform cutting-edge knowledge into design principles and concepts that can inform an actionable game plan. The first step in addressing this challenge is the need to identify the most important factors that affect individual variation in learning and behavior—a task that demands recognition of the inextricable interaction between environmental influences and genetic predispositions. Building on this foundational understanding, progress toward substantially better life outcomes for all children will require attention to three objectives: (1) making complex science understandable and accessible for strategically targeted audiences; (2) making credible knowledge usable for educators, other practitioners, parents, policymakers, and civic leaders; and (3) leveraging continuing advances in science to build an R&D platform that drives innovation across multiple sectors within a dynamic ecosystem. The opportunities to leverage scientific insights to catalyze fresh thinking and test new ideas in practice and in policy are plentiful and growing, while the barriers to progress remain formidable. The time to seize the opportunities and overcome the barriers is now.