Evaluation of a parent-delivered early language enrichment programme: evidence from a randomised controlled trial.

Background: It is widely believed that increasing parental involvement can improve children's educational outcomes although we lack good evidence for such claims. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a parent-delivered early language enrichment programme.

Methods: We conducted a randomised controlled trial (RCT) with 208 preschool children and their parents living in socially diverse areas in the United Kingdom. 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-min sessions over 30 weeks of teaching.

Results: 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 values=.35 and .42). There was no evidence that the movement programme improved motor skills.

Conclusions: 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.