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Purpose

Strategies for creating and maintaining reciprocal partnerships between teachers and parents are considered essential elements of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education (ECE). Particularly for children who are high-risk for behavioral, developmental, or mental health problems, effective partnerships between family and preschool are essential for promoting optimal classroom participation and learning outcomes. The current study is an uncontrolled (pre-post) feasibility trial of Family-School Partnership Intervention (FPSI). FSPI was developed using stakeholder input, is delivered by existing preschool staff, and aims to promote development and reduce barriers to learning among children with pre-clinical social-communication delays. FSPI integrates evidence-based practices (EBPs) from education (7 EBPs; National Association for the Education of Young Children) with clinical interventions for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (12 EBPs at the educator-parent level and 8 EBPs at the parent-child level; Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions). Data will be collected across 10 ECE programs. At each participating ECE program, research procedures will be completed during a single school year. Selected ECE programs will include public school, Head Start, and private preschool programs. Participants include 20 non-teaching support staff (1-2 per program; e.g., director, principal, education-coordinator), 30 lead teachers (2-4 per program), and 60 children with social-communication deficits (two per teacher). Data collection will focus on feasibility data (enrollment, attendance, attrition, data completion), observational measures of implementation fidelity (at the educator-parent and parent-child level), and mixed methods to evaluate educator and parent acceptability and satisfaction and identify implementation drivers/barriers. This research will prepare a large, multi-site hybrid trial to evaluate the effectiveness of FSPI for promoting social-communication skills and kindergarten readiness, in addition to factors that mediate the relation between FSPI delivery and fidelity (implementation drivers/barriers).

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 2 Years and 6 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • currently attending classroom of participating preschool teacher. - nominated by teacher as child with elevated levels of social-communication challenges

Exclusion Criteria

  • n/a

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
N/A
Intervention Model
Single Group Assignment
Intervention Model Description
Uncontrolled (pre-post) clinical trial
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI) 		Participants include 20 non-teaching support staff (1-2 per program), 30 lead teachers (2-4 per program), and 60 children with social-communication deficits (two per teacher). FSPI creates new opportunities for teachers to partner with families, particularly parents of children with social-communication vulnerabilities. Specifically, teachers will be provided with a curriculum, training, and resources to engage two families from their classroom in three FSPI Playgroup meetings, scheduled over the course of the current school year. During each playgroup, teaches will help parents practice simple strategies for promoting communication during familiar routines such as play, book reading, preparing a snack, or completing a simple chore.
  • Behavioral: Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI)
    FSPI includes implementation activities across multiple levels. FSPI Planning Team Meetings will be held monthly to plan project activities, practice staff and parent coaching strategies, and troubleshoot implementation challenges. FSPI Staff Training (3 hours) will be provided during a single professional development day (3 hours), and attended by members of the FSPI Planning Team and teachers. FSPI Playgroups. Over the course of the school year, each parent-child dyad will be invited to participate in three FSPI Playgroup events. Typically, teachers from two classrooms will collaborate in hosting playgroup events, and each playgroup will be attended by four parent-child dyads (i.e., two per classroom). Teachers will be provided with a curriculum and learning outcomes to target. FSPI Debrief Meetings are held after each FSPI Playgroup to debrief, reflect, and improve FSPI implementation.

Recruiting Locations

UNT
Denton, Texas 76203
Contact:
Michael Siller, PhD
9405654596
Megan.Lukanuski@unt.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
University of North Texas, Denton, TX

Study Contact

Michael Siller, PhD
8505677474
michael.siller@unt.edu

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.