Purpose

The purpose of this study is to learn whether a combination of two research-proven programs, a responsive caregiving parenting program and a teacher training program, will have an effect on infants' and toddlers' language, cognitive, social-emotional, and self-regulation skills. The interventions are designed to specifically target parent use of a responsive, stimulating caregiving style in the home in combination with teacher instructional practices and the use of a responsive interactive style in the classroom.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 5 Months and 35 Months
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • Given that the target population includes EHS agencies, low-income children speaking English and/or Spanish will be eligible for participation. - In some cases, children with mild delays (e.g., receiving speech therapy services) can participate.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Children with significant developmental disabilities (e.g., intellectual disabilities, significant sensory impairments, and children diagnosed with moderately severe forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders) will not be consented for assessments as the interventions are not specialized to meet the needs of these children. - Children primarily speaking a language other than Spanish or English will be excluded due to the fact that appropriate assessment procedures are lacking. - In terms of exclusionary criteria for teachers, those that are participating in other research studies, or who have recently completed other similar studies, will not be recruited.

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Prevention
Masking
Single (Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
PALS and BEECH
Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) and Beginning Education: Early Childcare at Home (BEECH) include web-based parent and teacher training courses with remote coaching and in-person meetings that support the adults' developing a set of core behaviors that comprise a responsive interactive style including responses contingent to children's needs and interests with rich language input.
  • Behavioral: PALS and
    Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) include web-based parent training courses with remote coaching and in-person meetings that support the adults' developing a set of core behaviors that comprise a responsive interactive style including responses contingent to children's needs and interests with rich language input. Parents will begin their 11 week (infant) or 14 week (toddler) parenting program in October and complete it by April. There will be monthly Parent Meetings related to the content they are learning online. Post-assessments will occur in late April and May. Each weekly online parent session will take approximately 30 minutes to complete with a 40 - 60 minute weekly remote coach call.
  • Behavioral: BEECH
    Beginning Education: Early Childcare at Home (BEECH) includes web-based teacher training courses with remote coaching and in-person meetings that support the adults' developing a set of core behaviors that comprise a responsive interactive style including responses contingent to children's needs and interests with rich language input. Teachers will complete the 20 online sessions weekly, except for planned center closings due to holidays or agency-related events. The three in-person trainings will occur before Session 1 and after Sessions 8 and 14. Each weekly online teacher session will take approximately one-hour for a teacher to complete with a 30 minute weekly remote coach call. Each in-person teacher training will be 6-hours in duration.
Active Comparator
Control condition
Parents and teachers conduct business as usual in regards to care-giving in the school and at home.
  • Behavioral: Control condition
    Parents and teachers conduct business as usual in regards to care-giving in the school and at home.

More Details

Status
Completed
Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Study Contact

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.