An At-distance and Online Intervention to Promote Parental Involvement and Self-regulation: Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 进行中（未招募）
- 入组人数
- 150
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Parents - Sociodemographic questionnaire
研究概览
简要总结
Parents play a significant role in their children's development and learning. Parental involvement (PI) is characterized by behavioral profiles that are manifested in activities at home (e.g., helping with homework) and school (e.g., participating in meetings with teachers). Involved parents tend to create more opportunities for their children to develop different competencies. These competencies are relevant to children's academic success, namely, the knowledge and use of self-regulation (SR) strategies. SR strategies enable children to take control and responsibility for their behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, thereby achieving a goal (e.g., an academic goal), which in turn leads to higher academic performance and well-being.
Extensive research has identified PI and SR as strong predictors of children's academic success, underscoring the need to promote them actively. Thus, the main goal of this investigation - the Lupis program - is to develop and evaluate the efficacy of an at-distance and online intervention program for parents of 1st and 2nd grade elementary school students. The Lupis will be a narrative-based intervention, utilizing wise intervention techniques in its design. The Lupis program will aim to promote PI and, consequently, SR competencies in children.
In general, it is expected to develop an effective intervention program to promote PI and SR competencies in children. Additionally, Lupis is expected to help parents and children prevent and address the challenges of transitioning from preschool to elementary school with essential competencies for children's learning and academic success.
详细描述
Parents are primarily responsible for children's development and learning. The communication between parents and children about school, including the expectations and aspirations that parents have for their children, as well as the school's aspects, such as parents' attendance and participation in school activities, is commonly referred to as Parental Involvement (PI). Increased PI in children's lives seems to be positively associated with a positive impact on children's development, particularly in mastery of self-regulation (SR) competencies. SR competencies are a complex process in which individuals take control of and are responsible for their behaviors, cognitions, and emotions in achieving self-established goals. SR behaviors are highly related to inhibitory and attention control when individuals pursue goals. There is thus a relationship with executive functioning, as it is executive functions (EF) that enable the active process of SR to occur.
Parenting literature is unanimous in that the SR is a process influenced by the individual, and therefore, it can be taught and improved through effective parenting. Parental intervention programs emerge as a valuable tool to address and support parents' educational needs. Parents' engagement in these programs increases their competency to help their children's learning process. However, parents' enrollment in in-person programs is challenging (e.g., displacement difficulties, costs, and the availability of courses). To overcome these difficulties, researchers investigated the efficacy of at-distance and online programs. The investigators found that these interventions are effective and allow overcoming barriers, such as lower costs, time flexibility, and easy accessibility.
Typically, interventions for parents are designed to address problem-centered needs (e.g., in language development in children). These programs are usually focused on a particular topic, but they may lose peripheral awareness. It is necessary to develop programs for parents that are not focused on a specific educational problem, but rather preventive programs, addressing everyday problems such as social, emotional, and behavioral issues that parents have to cope with daily.
Thus, this investigation aims to help respond to this need highlighted in the literature, with the main purpose being to develop and evaluate the efficacy of an at-distance and online intervention program (Lupis program) to promote PI and, and influence the development the SR strategies in their children, delivered through Facebook® for parents of children in the 1st and 2nd grades. This purpose arises from the recognition of PI and SR as strong predictors of children's educational trajectory, as it is crucial to promote parents' competencies to help them intervene in the early stages of children's learning.
The Lupis program - Theoretical rationale Lupis is grounded on the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of the PI process, developed by Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler and updated over the years. The model is divided into five main levels, with the two levels referring to what motivates parents to become involved in their children's education (e.g., their perception of self-efficacy - level 1) and how the parents do so (e.g., by using learning mechanisms - level 1.5 and 2). The remaining levels concern how children perceive this PI (level 3) and its impact on their development, particularly in terms of knowledge and use of SR strategies, as well as academic success (levels 4 and 5).
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Prevention
- 盲法
- Single (Participant)
盲法说明
We will be conducting a single-blind study, as the nature of the interventions will not allow the implementers to be blinded. The schools and individual participants will, however, be blinded to the group to which they will belong.
入排标准
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Parents of children in the 1st and 2nd grades of elementary school with informed consent form;
- •Parents with access to a smartphone/computer equipped with a camera and speakers;
- •Parents with Internet access;
- •Children with verbal consent, and parental consent;
- •Teachers with informed consent.
排除标准
- •Parents, children, and teachers who lack informed consent;
- •Parents without access to the internet or an electronic device to access online content.
研究组 & 干预措施
Experimental Group - At-distance and online intervention across a private Facebook® group.
This group will participate in eight modules on self-regulation strategies delivered in an at-distance and online format, which aim to promote parental involvement and, consequently, self-regulation in children. Participants will be parents of students in the first and second years of elementary school.
干预措施: Lupis program: parental intervention to promote self-regulation in children (Behavioral)
Active Control Group - At-distance and online intervention across a private Facebook® group
This group will participate in eight modules on study methods delivered in an at-distance and online format, which aim to promote parental involvement and, consequently, self-regulation in children. Participants will be parents of students in the first and second years of elementary school.
干预措施: Parental intervention on study methods (Behavioral)
Passive Control Group
This group of parents will not benefit from intervention and will respond to assessment moments.
结局指标
主要结局
Parents - Sociodemographic questionnaire
时间窗: Baseline (pre-intervention)
These measures will include questions about the individuals (e.g., gender, age, level of education) and their families (e.g., number of children).
Parental Role Construction for Involvement in the Child's Education
时间窗: baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline)
This measure assesses parents' beliefs about their Involvement in the Child's Education and comprises 16 items split into two parts: (i) Part 1 (Role Activity Beliefs, ten items about parents' beliefs about what should be done in relation to their children's education, e.g., "I believe it is my responsibility to help my child with homework"). Parents will respond on a six-point Likert-like scale from 1 ("Disagree very strongly") to 6 ("Agree very strongly"); and (ii) Part 2 (Attitudes towards School, six items about parents' feelings of their school experiences when as students (e.g., "My school experience was…"). Parents will respond on a six-point Likert-like scale from 1 ("Bad") to 6 ("Good"). The Cronbach's alpha for the original was .80 and .85, respectively.
Parental Self-Efficacy for Helping the Child Succeed in School
时间窗: baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline)
This measure assesses parents' perceptions of their self-efficacy for helping the child succeed in school through seven items (e.g., "I feel successful about my efforts to help my child learn"). Parents will answer on a six-point Likert-like scale, ranging from 1 ("Disagree very strongly") to 6 ("Agree very strongly"). The Cronbach's alpha of the original study was .78.
Parents' Perceptions of Specific Invitations for Involvement from the Child
时间窗: baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline)
This measure (six items) assesses parents' perceptions of their involvement in response to their children's invitations (e.g., "My child asked me to attend a special event at school"). Parents will indicate the frequency of these invitations on a six-point Likert-like scale from 1 ("Never") to 6 ("Daily"). The Cronbach's alpha for the original study was .78.
Parents' Perceptions of Specific Invitations for Involvement from the Teacher
时间窗: baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline)
This measure (six items) assesses parents' perceptions of their involvement in response to their children's teacher invitations (e.g., "My child's teacher asked me to attend a special event at school"). Parents will indicate the frequency of these invitations on a six-point Likert-like scale from 1 ("Never") to 6 ("Daily"). The Cronbach's alpha for the original study was .81.
Parents' Perceived Life Context
时间窗: baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline)
This measure (15 items) assesses parents' perceptions of constraints (e.g., Time and Energy and Knowledge and Skills) to their involvement in the child's education. Parents will respond to the six statements about Time and Energy (e.g., "I have enough time and energy to communicate effectively with my child about the school day") and the nine statements about Knowledge and Skills (e.g., "I know enough about the subjects of my child's homework to help him or her) on a six-point Likert-like scale from 1 ("Disagree very strongly") to 6 ("Agree very strongly"). The Cronbach's alpha of the original study was .84 and .83, respectively.
Parental Involvement Mechanisms Measurement
时间窗: baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline)
This scale (51 items) assesses parents' involvement strategies and "mechanisms". Parents will respond on a six-point Likert-like scale from 1 ("Not at all true") to 6 ("Completely true") to: (i) 13 items on Encouragement (e.g., "We encourage this child to believe that he/she can learn new things"); (ii) ten items on Modeling (e.g., "We show this child that we like to learn new things"); (iii) 13 items on Reinforcement (e.g., "We show this child we like it when he or she wants to learn new things"), and (iv) 15 items on Instruction (e.g., "We teach this child to go at his or her own pace while doing schoolwork"). The Cronbach's alpha for the original study's four dimensions was .91, .88, .90, and .93, respectively.
Module assessment - engagement on platforms
时间窗: During the 5-week intervention period, from baseline (pre-intervention) through immediately after the intervention (week 6)
Parents' interactions on online platforms will be gathered as observational measures of parents' engagement in the program. The observational measures will include participants' answers to the content of the Edpuzzle® videos, comments to Facebook® posts, and the number of sessions attended on Zoom®.
Shape School
时间窗: baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline)
To assess SR strategies in children, the investigators will administer a neuropsychological test of executive functions. Shape School follows a storybook format that features cartoons with different geometric shapes (squares and circles) in various colors (red, blue, and yellow). The test consists of four experimental conditions (control, inhibition, switch, and both). The number of correctly identified stimuli and the response time are recorded for each condition, and the efficiency value is calculated by dividing the number of correct stimuli by the reaction time in each condition (Efficiency = #Correct/Total Time). The internal consistency values for Escola de Formas present an adequate result for conditions B (α = .89), C (α = .71), and D (α = .71). Except for two items, the children's answers were correct for condition A (α = 1).
次要结局
- Teachers - sociodemographic measures(baseline (pre-intervention))
- Inventory of Learning Self-regulation Processes(baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline))
- School-based engagement(baseline (pre-intervention); Immediately after the intervention (6 weeks after baseline); Follow-up (3 months after the intervention; 19 weeks after baseline))
研究者
Sandra Mesquita
Principal Investigator
University of Minho