A Case Study of Family-Centered Early Intervention Literacy ...

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
A Case Study of Family-Centered Early
Intervention Literacy Initiative:
The Parent Child Mother Goose Program
Presented by
Hanan Sukkar
Olivia Watchman
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Rationale
• To trial the program in the North West focusing on
children with developmental needs.
• To provide an option for families who are waiting to
commence a specific early intervention service.
• From a research point of view, the interest was in
learning about prevention and intervention in early
childhood programs.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Principles of the PCMG
•
A group program involving parents and children.
•
Teaching is directed to parents, children join in as appropriate.
•
Interactive rhymes, stories and songs are presented orally. No toys or
props are used.
•
Story telling is an important part of the program.
•
The pace is slow and relaxed with plenty of time for repetition of
material.
•
The atmosphere is accepting and supportive, with the intention of
building the confidence of all participants.
•
The Program is aimed at families in need of support for any of a variety
of reasons. There is no cost to the parents who participate.
•
For further information visit the website on
http://www.nald.ca/mothergooseprogram/About.htm#2
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The North & West PCMG
• PCMG was held at the Visy Cares Learning
Centre in Meadow Heights
• PCMG was run in partnership between
Specialist Children’s Services and Hume City
Council
• Selected families from the central waiting list
were invited
• The group ran for two 10 week cycles
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Program Aims to…
• Encourage positive interaction between
parents and children.
• Improve preverbal and early language
skills of children.
• Provide an opportunity for parents to
support each other.
• Have fun!
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Research Aims to
•
Look at the effectiveness of the North-West early childhood program as
a preventative intervention for children with additional needs through
action research.
•
Uncover the characteristics of the Mother Goose Program; the role of
the professional; and the effects of the intervention on parents and
children.
•
Outline some of the most important concepts in early childhood
education which include: Parent-Focused Programs, Family-Centred
Practice, Inclusive Practice, and Retention in Early Intervention.
•
Examine the gaps in the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program and
discusses issues such as: Concept Clarity, Cultural Competence,
Access and Participation, Follow ups and Feedback, Fathers in the
Early Years and Evaluation in Early Childhood.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The research intended to address
the following questions…
• What is early intervention?
• What constitutes a preventative intervention?
• Is the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program an
effective preventative intervention?
• Does the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program
empower parents and facilitators to meet the needs
of children with developmental delay?
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Study Design
The study uses interactive evaluation as a framework
• Interactive Evaluation:
1.
Focuses on program improvement and helps staff to
understand why a program operates in a certain way
(Lienert, 2002).
2.
Emphasises the connection between what programs are
trying to achieve, how services are being delivered and
whether the services work in favour of the program.
3.
Concentrates on finding more effective service delivery
strategies to enhance the service outcomes.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Data Collection
• Participants in the study include parents,
program facilitators and children (including
infants, toddlers and preschoolers).
• Data collected include...
1. A parent questionnaire,
2. A one hour interview with the facilitators,
3. Field observations.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Research Limitations
• Small Population
With a typically small population and a small playgroup, it
was hard to generalise the outcomes of the research and
use it beyond the children enrolled in the current
playgroup.
• Accuracy of Parental Satisfaction
Measures of parental satisfaction including questionnaires
and interviews indicated generally high satisfaction levels.
However, parents only had experience with the services
they received; they were unable to compare the current
experience with anything else.
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