The Effectiveness of a Large‐Scale Language and Preliteracy Intervention: The SPELL Randomized Controlled Trial in Denmark

Bleses, Dorthe; Højen, Anders; Justice, Laura M.; Dale, Philip S.; Dybdal, Line; Piasta, Shayne B.; Markussen-Brown, Justin; Clausen, Marit Carolin; Haghish, E. F.

doi:10.1111/cdev.12859

Cited by 53 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…However, given the multiple barriers to effective implementation of parent intervention (see, e.g., Justice, Logan, & Damschroder, 2015), it is possible that a more effective way to support linguistic aspects of school readiness in immigrant children is to target and support L2 language and preliteracy development in childcare centers using a more comprehensive approach than is in place (at least in Danish childcare centers) today. This program would include implementation of effective language and pre-literacy activities (e.g., Bleses et al, 2017Bleses et al, , 2018Justice et al, 2010) as well as regular assessment to examine progress in L2 development (e.g., twice per year). For both family intervention and center-based intervention, the results of the present study suggest that it is important to identify and overcome cultural barriers to children's language and preliteracy development that may be related to regional immigration background.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The analyses for the present paper were based on pretest data from two randomized control trials of language intervention conducted in parallel (Bleses et al, 2017(Bleses et al, , 2018. The combined sample included a total of 13,044 children ("total sample") in 295 public childcare centers (770 classrooms) from 13 different representative (size and urban/rural) municipalities across Denmark.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patterns of educational achievement among groups of immigrant children in Denmark emerge already in preschool second-language and preliteracy skills

Højen

Bleses

Jensen

et al. 2019

Applied Psycholinguistics

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Immigrant children in Denmark differ greatly in educational outcomes. This study examined whether systematic differences in majority language (L2) and preliteracy skills are apparent already at ages 2–6 in immigrant children in Denmark across regional immigration background. Danish language and preliteracy skills in 1,211 immigrant children in four regional groups (based on maternal origin) and 11,259 native Danish nonimmigrant children, all enrolled in Danish childcare centers, were assessed using an age- and gender-normed language assessment instrument. Hierarchical linear models showed that all four immigrant groups scored significantly lower than the native Danish group; the negative coefficients diminished but remained significant when socioeconomic background and having a native Danish father were controlled for. In addition, even with these controls, significant differences existed between some of the immigrant groups, suggesting that factors relating to regional immigrant background were important sources of differences in L2 development. A greater immigrant disadvantage for language than preliteracy skills was found; two immigrant groups did not differ significantly from the nonimmigrant Danish group for preliteracy skills. The results suggest that measures to reduce inequalities in long-term educational achievement between immigrant groups should be taken already before school with a particular focus on L2 language skills.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of educational achievement among groups of immigrant children in Denmark emerge already in preschool second-language and preliteracy skills

Højen

Bleses

Jensen

et al. 2019

Applied Psycholinguistics

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“…However, a large Danish RCT providing a lower level of input (Bleses et al . ) did not result in significant changes in child language. The fact that the number of sessions delivered was a significant predictor suggests that better results may have been achieved with more intervention.…”

Section: Tier 1 Interventions (High Quality Teaching and Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Evidence‐based pathways to intervention for children with language disorders

Ebbels

McCartney

Slonims

et al. 2018

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

109

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SLTs have a contribution to make at all tiers, but where prioritization for clinical services is a necessity, we need to establish the relative benefits and cost-effectiveness at each tier. Good evidence exists for SLTs delivering direct individualized intervention and we should ensure that this is available to children with pervasive and/or complex language disorders. In cases where service models are being provided which lack evidence, we strongly recommend that SLTs investigate the effectiveness of their approaches.

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“…For a long time, intervention studies have been the main way to investigate the use and effectiveness of early education internationally [3, 4]. The skills most often targeted, since they have proven essential for later outcomes in children and adolescents [5, 6], are executive functions (including auditory selective attention, [4]), socioemotional skills, language and literacy, as well as math [7–11]. Evidence from intervention studies from different parts of the world indicate that all of these skills, together with IQ and self-regulation, can be enhanced through pedagogical training [12–14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adding to the confusion, a meta-analysis of the National Early Literacy Panel [35] reported the opposite results on pre-literacy, as low-SES children showed larger outcome effects than high-SES children. Bleses et al [7] suggest an interpretation where these mixed results could depend on different groups of children needing different forms of interventions, such as a higher intensity for children with particular risk factors. One potential cause of differing results is also the way SES is measured.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of two teaching methods on preschool children’s language and communication, executive functions, socioemotional comprehension, and early math skills

Gerholm¹,

Kallioinen²,

Tonér³

et al. 2019

BMC Psychol

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Background During the preschool years, children’s development of skills like language and communication, executive functions, and socioemotional comprehension undergo dramatic development. Still, our knowledge of how these skills are enhanced is limited. The preschool contexts constitute a well-suited arena for investigating these skills and hold the potential for giving children an equal opportunity preparing for the school years to come. The present study compared two pedagogical methods in the Swedish preschool context as to their effect on language and communication, executive functions, socioemotional comprehension, and early math. The study targeted children in the age span four-to-six-year-old, with an additional focus on these children’s backgrounds in terms of socioeconomic status, age, gender, number of languages, time spent at preschool, and preschool start. An additional goal of the study was to add to prior research by aiming at disentangling the relationship between the investigated variables. Method The study constitutes a randomized controlled trial including 18 preschools and 29 preschool units, with a total of 431 children, and 98 teachers. The interventions lasted for 6 weeks, preceded by pre-testing and followed by post-testing of the children. Randomization was conducted on the level of preschool unit, to either of the two interventions or to control. The interventions consisted of a socioemotional and material learning paradigm (SEMLA) and a digitally implemented attention and math training paradigm (DIL). The preschools were further evaluated with ECERS-3. The main analysis was a series of univariate mixed regression models, where the nested structure of individuals, preschool units and preschools were modeled using random variables. Results The result of the intervention shows that neither of the two intervention paradigms had measurable effects on the targeted skills. However, there were results as to the follow-up questions, such as executive functions predicting all other variables (language and communication, socioemotional comprehension, and math). Background variables were related to each other in patterns congruent with earlier findings, such as socioeconomic status predicting outcome measures across the board. The results are discussed in relation to intervention fidelity, length of intervention, preschool quality, and the impact of background variables on children’s developmental trajectories and life prospects. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40359-019-0325-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The Effectiveness of a Large‐Scale Language and Preliteracy Intervention: The SPELL Randomized Controlled Trial in Denmark

Cited by 53 publications

References 57 publications

Patterns of educational achievement among groups of immigrant children in Denmark emerge already in preschool second-language and preliteracy skills

Patterns of educational achievement among groups of immigrant children in Denmark emerge already in preschool second-language and preliteracy skills

Evidence‐based pathways to intervention for children with language disorders

A randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of two teaching methods on preschool children’s language and communication, executive functions, socioemotional comprehension, and early math skills

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