​The Science of Early Child Development (SECD) is a knowledge mobilization initiative designed to make current research accessible to anyone interested in learning more about the profound impact of early life (from conception to about age eight) on lifelong health and wellbeing. It is a tool to help share the emerging science about early brain development and overview of cross-disciplinary developmental health research and links to practice. It is media-rich resource that brings the voices of researchers’ right into the classroom with concepts enhanced by examples of innovative programs for children and families from around the world. 

SECD has been developed at Red River College (RRC) in Canada, in partnership with the University of Toronto and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Since 2009, RRC has been working with AKDN to create SECD resources for international audiences, contextualized for the majority world. In addition to the International edition of the online living textbook and online courses, offline resources have recently been created to provide more diverse learning opportunities in different contexts. The intention of the courses is to develop a common base of relevant, evidence-based knowledge across the region in order to provide a strong foundation for programs and policies aimed at building a promising future for children. 

Both the SECD Seminars and the SECD online course are organized around these 5 modules comprising of

1. Brain Development
2. Coping and Competence
3. Ecology of Childhood
4. Communicating and Learning
5. Developmental Health​

E: secd.ihd@aku.edu​​