Overcoming the streetlight effect: Qualitative examination of community experts’ perceptions of foundations of learning and development (FOLD) skills

Developmental science has a long history of studying skills that children need to thrive. However, there has been a primary focus on academic skills, with little attention to the breadth and diversity of other skills that young children need to thrive. Furthermore, little is known about the extent to which community experts involved in early childhood care and education (ECCE) value different early developmental skills. This qualitative study examined how community experts (parents, preschool educators, clinicians, and ECCE leaders) defined and conceptualized six foundations of learning and development (FOLD) skills of child development (curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, self-regulation and executive function, perspective taking, and internal representations of self). We conducted 60 virtual in-depth interviews with a socioeconomically, racially, and geographically diverse sample of parents (n = 26), educators (n = 17), clinicians (n = 11), and ECCE leaders (n = 6) living in rural and urban areas across the United States. Participants universally acknowledged the importance of FOLD skills as central to development and well-being in the early childhood period, while also recognizing their interrelatedness with one another. Most participants highlighted self-regulation and executive function as a core skill. Findings affirm the value of these FOLD skills and highlight the importance of including them as target outcomes of ECCE interventions.