A few months ago, in front of a sold-out TEDxUNC conference crowd, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) told the amazing story of the children who were part of one of the most famous studies in early childhood—FPG’s Abecedarian Project. The video of this talk, “The Healthy Child: Assembly Required,” has quickly become the most watched TED Talk from UNC this year!
In her TED Talk, Dr. Gallagher explained the transformative power of high-quality early care and education. She extended the theme of this year’s TEDxUNC conference, “Assembly Required,” to what she called “the single most important feat of construction that our society undertakes…the assembly required to build physically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially healthy children.”
It is always exciting to see so much widespread interest in early childhood. With data-driven work as our foundation and community partners and thought-leaders like FPG as our neighbors, we can continue to serve children and families in Durham and raise awareness for the critical work being done in early childhood today.
The text and many of the illustrations from the TED Talk are available here.
Dr. Gallagher’s research and applied work focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based approaches that support the learning and well-being of young children, families, and early childhood professionals in the contexts of poverty and disability.
