Evaluation of a parent-delivered early language enrichment programme: Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial
<h4>Background</h4> <p>It is widely believed that increasing parental involvement can improve children’s educational outcomes though we lack good evidence for such claims. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a parent-delivered early language enrichment programme.</...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Wiley
2017
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| Summary: | <h4>Background</h4> <p>It is widely believed that increasing parental involvement can improve children’s educational outcomes though we lack good evidence for such claims. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a parent-delivered early language enrichment programme.</p> <h4>Methods</h4> <p>We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 208 pre-school children and their parents living in socially diverse areas in the UK. Families were allocated to an oral language programme (N=103) or an active control programme targeting motor skills (N=105). Parents delivered the programmes to their child at home in daily 20-minute sessions over 30 weeks of teaching.</p> <h4>Results</h4> <p>Children receiving the language programme made significantly larger gains in language (d=.21) and narrative skills (d=.36) than children receiving the motor skills programme at immediate posttest. Effects on language were maintained 6 months later (d=.34), and at this point the language group also scored higher on tests of early literacy (d’s=.35 and .42). There was no evidence that the movement programme improved motor skills.</p> <h4>Conclusions</h4> <p>This study provides evidence for the effectiveness of a parent-delivered language enrichment programme. Further large-scale evaluations of the programme are needed to confirm and extend these findings.</p> |
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