Evaluating the effectiveness of a parent training program on adolescent mothers and their communicative interactions with their children

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Tips About Talk” parent-training classes for increasing adolescent mothers’ knowledge about their children’s speech and language development and the quality of mothers’ interactions with their children. Seven mother-child dyads served as participants. All of the participating mothers were single, African American, and enrolled in a GED program. The mean age of the mothers was 20.57 years, and their mean educational level was 9.29 years. Their children were between the ages of 24 and 67 months. The experimental treatment involved four “Tips About Talk” parent-training workshops. The control treatment was four nutrition parent-training workshops. Both treatments were administered in a group setting. The dependent measures, a questionnaire and a mother-child language sample, were collected prior to the first workshop and following the final workshop. The 30-item questionnaire asked the mothers to rank their knowledge of child speech and language and their use of positive talking strategies on a six-point Likert scale. At post-test but not at pre, the mothers in the experimental group provided significantly higher ratings for the speech and language questions than those in the control group. At post-test, the experimental group also produced fewer word tokens and a reduced rate of prohibitions than did the control group. In addition, a trend of decreased MLU was noted at post-testing for the experimental group. No significant differences were found at post-test between the experimental and control groups for the use of behaviors that are known to facilitate children’s preliteracy skills. The results of the current study suggest that group-based parent-training can influence the knowledge and behaviors of teen mothers in a positive way

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationIn providing children at risk for reading difficulties with the necessary skills to be successful readers in school age programs, early childhood educators in high-quality preschool programs facilitate the development of emergent literacy and oral language abilities through language-rich environments. However, most teachers in preschool settings rarely use strategies necessary to build these skills in their students. Professional development efforts need to employ the most effective methods for providing early childhood educators with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to increase emergent literacy skills. Follow-up techniques that successfully support teachers in the transfer of new strategies to their classrooms are an important component of professional development training. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used in this study to examine the effects of an expert coaching model, which included teacher selfevaluation of videotaped observations and reflection on implementation of open-ended questions and expansions, on (a) implementation of strategies, (b) generalization of strategies to other settings, (c) teacher attitudes towards the coaching model, and (d) student outcomes. Data analysis showed that self-evaluation maintained or increased the use of teaching strategies, with the addition of modeling and guided practice bringing about continued improvement over baseline values. The use of open-ended questions generalized to other settings, increasing over baseline in the majority of participants. Teachers indicated the self-evaluation process was useful in improving their use of oral language development strategies. The majority of students increased the use of one-word and two or more-word utterances, which resulted in an overall increase in words per minute. Implications for professional development designers and recommendations for future research are discussed

What really happens during study abroad? : an in-depth analysis of learners’ interactions during a short-term sojourn in Spain

We often hear assumptions about students who study abroad: Students learn a foreign language faster, students interact more with native speakers, students are immersed in the target language, and host families provide endless target-language practice. Universities and private companies in the United States promote this scenario as the best way to learn a language, and this preference is reflected in the growing number of U.S. students studying abroad, with over 60 percent taking part in programs that last for eight or fewer weeks. The goal of this study is to investigate these assumptions by examining the interactional practices of study-abroad students using the target language. We posed three research questions: (1) What types of interactions do students have outside of the classroom?, (2) How do learners interact with the host families?, and (3) How does technology and social media affect students’ immersion experience? The results show that short-term study-abroad programs, as viable language-learning contexts, are in jeopardy. Students in this program had few meaningful interactions with people in the target community. Conversations with host families proved to be deficient in many areas (e.g., students’ erroneous utterances were not corrected). The output of students during mealtime conversations proved to be linguistically poor, as students used few communication strategies. Furthermore, students used their electronic devices to communicate with friends and family, and to keep up with television shows and music from the U.S. They did not use social media websites and mobile applications to communicate with people in the target community nor did they use them to interact with the target language. Based on the results of this study, we call for a revamping of study-abroad promotion. If 100 percent immersion no longer exists, study-abroad promoters should change the way in which short-term programs are marketed. Additionally, if we want short-term study abroad to actively foster language learning, foreign language acquisition researchers, study abroad-program designers, and language instructors need to design programs centered on meaningful student-native speaker interactions. Study abroad is a tool that, if used correctly, can be the catalyst that changes the trajectory of students’ language-learning lives.Foreign Language Educatio

Application of Photovoice with Focus Groups to Explore Dietary Behaviors of Older Filipino Adults with Cardiovascular Disease

Filipino Americans have high rates of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study explored the dietary behaviors, a modifiable risk factor, of Filipinos with CVD. Filipinos with CVD were recruited and trained to do Photovoice. Participants took photos to depict their “food experience,” defined as their daily dietary activities. Participants then shared their photos during focus groups. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using an iterative, grounded theory approach. Among 38 Filipino participants, the mean age was 70 years old and all were foreign-born. Major themes included efforts to retain connection to Filipino culture through food, and dietary habits shaped by cultural health beliefs. Many believed that traditional dietary practices increased CVD risk. Receiving a CVD diagnosis and clinician advice changed their dietary behaviors. Household members, the physical environment, and economic constraints also influenced dietary behaviors. Photovoice is feasible among older Filipinos and may enhance understanding of drivers of dietary behaviors

Investigating the Effects of a Parent-Mediated Intervention on Latino Parent-Child Verbal Interaction and Children\u27s Receptive Vocabulary

This study aimed to investigate parent-child verbal interactions in Spanish in a group of Latino preschoolers growing up in the United States through a parent-mediated program at home, and the effects of the program on their receptive vocabulary in Spanish. A single subject multiple baseline across participants design was used in the study. The participants were 3 Latino mothers and their sons, with low family income, living in the United States. The intervention taught the mothers strategies to enhance their children’s language through a sharing-book activity. The study lasted for 6 weeks during which baseline and intervention conditions data were collected through videotapes of the Dyads’ mealtimes. The results of the study showed that their verbal interactions were functional, brief, and typically not extended to children’s activities. The number of verbal interactions increased for 2 of the 3 Dyads from baseline to intervention condition and decreased for 1 of them. The children’s receptive vocabulary and school readiness skills increased after the intervention as showed by pre and post intervention assessments. The social validity survey suggested that Latina mothers found the project beneficial since, it not only increased their children’s interest in books, but also their own motivation to share books with them. Research and practical implications were discussed

Assessing the effects of parent-child interactions on child communication skills

This study examined the role maternal and child characteristics play in children\u27s subsequent communication development. The relationship between parent-child interactions and child communications skills was examined using the Indicator of Parent-Child Interactions (IPCI) and the Early Communication Indicator (ECI). Twenty-two mother-child dyads were assessed at three time points. Children ranged in age from 7 months to 30 months at the start of the study. Significant concurrent relationships were found between child engagement behaviors and total communication scores at time 1 and 3. A significant negative concurrent correlation existed between child reactivity behaviors and total communication scores at time 1. No significant predictive relationships were found. The IPCI total percentage scores at time 1 did not predict ECI total communication scores at time 2 or 3. The need for future research and implications for the field of parent-child interactions are discussed

ASYNCHRONOUS E-TRAINING AND COACHING TO INDONESIAN PARENTS: NATURALISTIC STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL-COMMUNICATION DELAYS

The study is about virtual training and coaching to Indonesian parents of preschool-age children with social-communication delays to implement naturalistic intervention. These intercontinental coaching sessions were delivered asynchronously because of the time difference between the coach and the participants and internet bandwidth barrier in some rural areas in Indonesia. Multiple-baseline design across behaviors was utilized to determine the effect of asynchronous training and coaching program to teach three Indonesian parents three naturalistic strategies (i.e., modeling, mand-model, and time delay) during natural routines. Parent-child dyads video-recorded their interaction before and after intervention. The intervention was started by learning the strategies, video-recorded the implementation, received performance-based feedback and reimplemented the strategy until reaching the criterion level in three consecutive sessions. The coach delivers feedback through chat, word documents, videos that was recorded on Zoom, enable the coach to embed parent’s performance to highlight their strengths and areas for growth. Parents can ask questions anytime using WhatsApp and messenger chat. The results indicate that the parents could learn the strategies and implement them with high fidelity. The effect of parents’ strategy implementation was observed in children’s increase of verbal responses and initiations. Social validity interviews and surveys indicate that parents found the intervention package to be socially valid

Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Conducting Research on the Effects of a Child Neglect Prevention-Focused Parent-Child Interaction Module (SafeCare PCI) on Home Language Environment and Toddler Expressive Language

The purpose of this capstone project was to generate recommendations for developing an informed research plan to examine the effects of the SafeCare PCI module on the language environment and expressive communication of toddlers in low socioeconomic homes. A summary of an applied research experience is presented as a foundation for highlighting challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations for future research on the effectiveness of child neglect prevention focused interventions for addressing the 30-million-word gap and improving child language outcomes. My applied research experience involved piloting research procedures for a case study of a child neglect prevention focused intervention, the SafeCare Parent Child Interaction (PCI) module. Research procedures included preassessment, implementation of the SafeCare PCI module, intervention related data collection and postassessment. A multi-method assessment approach was used, which included pre- and postmeasures of direct observation of child expressive language, and home-based recording of parent and child talk, and parent report of child language as well as chaos in the home. Eight lessons learned emerged from observed research challenges. These lessons summarize piloted procedures that did not work well, such as the lack of training and implementation fidelity, unrealistic demands on participants, and limited comparable data. Lessons learned also include procedures that worked well such as the utilization of a standardized toy and timed interaction for SafeCare PCI skills assessment. Recommendations for future research include: the establishment of standardized recording procedures, documentation of parent reported life changes, and procedures to send consistent reminders to participants

Children's expressions of pain and bodily sensation in family mealtimes

This study applied conversation analysis for the first time to episodes in which children express pain and bodily sensations in the everyday setting of family mealtimes. It focuses on the components of children s expressions, the character of parents responses, and how the sequence is resolved. Three families who had a child with a long term health condition were recruited through voluntary support groups and agreed to film 15-17 mealtimes. In total 47 mealtimes were recorded totalling 23 hours of data. Each family had two children aged 15 months to nine years and included a heterosexual married couple. This data was supplemented by archives in the Discourse and Rhetoric Group: a further nine hours of mealtime recordings by two families each with two children aged three to seven years. The analysis describes four key components of children s expressions of bodily sensation and pain: lexical formulations; prosodic features; pain cries and embodied actions, revealing the way in which they can be built together to display different aspects of the experience. The results highlight the nature of these expressions as initiating actions designed in and for interaction. An examination of the sequence that follows demonstrates the negotiated character of pain. Descriptions of the nature of the child s pain and its authenticity are produced, amended, resisted or accepted in the turns that follow. During these sequences participant orientations reveal the pervasive relevance of eating related tasks that characterises mealtime interaction. The discussion concludes by describing the unique insights into the negotiated rather than private nature of a child s pain demonstrated by this study, and the way in which pain can be understood as produced and dealt with as part of the colourful tapestry of everyday family life in which everyday tasks are achieved, knowledge and authority is claimed and participants are positioned in terms of their relationship to one another