Lack of effect of a parent-delivered early language intervention: Evidence from a randomised controlled trial completed during COVID-19

Abstract

Background

Parents play a key role in their child's early development but evidence that parental engagement strategies are effective is unclear. The current study evaluated a parent-delivered early language teaching programme that aimed to support children's early language and literacy skills.

Methods

A multisite, pupil-level randomised controlled trial was conducted with 450 3–4-year-old children and their families, recruited from 47 nurseries across Greater Manchester and Lancashire (UK). Families were randomly allocated to either the programme group (N = 225) who delivered an early language teaching programme for 20-min a day, 5 days a week, for 30-weeks or to a control group (N = 225) who received a box of children's books at the end of nursery. A language latent variable formed the primary outcome, which was used to assess whether the programme improved children's language and literacy skills.

Results

COVID-19 disrupted the trial, including delivery of the intervention and post-test data collection. Data from assessments completed 10-months after intervention showed no evidence that the children receiving language intervention had greater language skills than the control group. Similarly, no group differences were found on measures of the Home Learning Environment or school readiness.

Conclusions

Whilst disruptions caused by COVID-19 are likely to have impacted on the findings, this study nonetheless adds to the literature which suggests that parent-delivered interventions alone may not necessarily lead to changes in home learning or to gains in children's language skills.