Founder of The Basics, Harvard University, Boston

NetRonald F. Ferguson is an MIT-trained economist who focuses social science research on economic, social, and educational challenges. He has been on the faculty at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government since 1983. In the late 1980s, he began his study of education and youth development because the academic skill disparities were contributing to a growing wage disparity.

In 2007, Harvard Education Press published his book Toward Excellence with Equity: An Emerging Vision for Closing the Achievement Gap. A profile of Ron in the New York Times wrote, “there is no one in America who knows more about the gap than Ronald Ferguson.”

For the past several years, Ron’s focus has been on spreading The Basics to other cities in a Basics National work, collaborating with many partners to reach extended families with caregiving advice for infants and toddlers.

Co-Founder of The Basics Tasmania

As an experienced childhood educator, teacher of the deaf and literacy coach, it constantly amazes me that a million neural pathways are formed every second in the first 12 months of a baby's life.

In my professional life, I was curious and excited to discover what makes the most positive difference to a child's development and share that knowledge with others. The power of language and positive interactions between infants, parents, and carers, known as serve and return, is a message that needs to be shared. The question was, "How do we achieve this effectively to build greater knowledge and understanding of what contributes to optimal brain development?". The science is precise that positive interactions with young children and babies are critical for transforming developmental outcomes, mainly if everyone supports the essential key messages.

My journey began in 1985 with significant involvement in language development for young children, including working with deaf babies, children, and families. Over the past four decades, I have worked with families, schools, and communities to promote referential knowledge and ongoing inquiry into high-quality actions in the early years. My participation in a study at Harvard and visits to high-quality early years centres in the United States sparked my interest in bringing The Basics to Australia, as it was based solely in the US at this time. I joined forces with Kate, and since our community work began, we have observed that The Basics' compelling, simple messaging resonates with families, communities, and organizations. Our collaboration with Lady Gowrie Tasmania in 2023 has furthered our comprehension of how to achieve positive results for children to thrive and flourish in Tasmania.

As a mother of three boys and grandmother to three, I am constantly excited to see how the Basics' principles can positively affect a child's interactions with the world and their development. Sharing the science behind the Basics' principles with families and communities is a powerful opportunity to enable young children to thrive and, in turn, reap huge benefits for the community as a whole.

Co-Founder of The Basics Tasmania

I am an early childhood educator, experienced principal, support teacher, Academic Mentor and Principal Mentor. My experience leading and developing educational strategies and engaging communities in educational partnerships deepened my belief in the importance of the early years. The early years are a powerful window of opportunity to give children the best start possible in life, with significant consequences for schooling and beyond.

The opportunity to study high-leverage approaches to literacy and language in the US on a Hardie Fellowship in 2018 with my colleague Maree Thompson caused a complete re-think of my understanding of the importance of the early years and how we communicate the neural science behind optimal brain development for infants to parents and carers. What struck me was the enormity and importance of making tangible and ongoing changes in supporting young children and their families. Understanding The Basics premise provided an impetus for change and action after seeing how the messaging could significantly improve children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. I realized that time was of the essence, and The Basics messaging, which includes actions for families and communities, could be the missing piece that would help engage everyone working in the early years.

My life experience as a mother to two and grandmother of four has given me powerful opportunities to use the Basics through everyday experiences. They have greatly influenced the nature of my interactions with my grandchildren and enriched their lives in many ways, including my own. Sharing this evidence-based approach with families and communities can improve outcomes for all of society's children. We talk about how it takes a village to raise a child'…..our work is to ensure the village thrives …now and in the future.