A Randomized Efficacy Trial of the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) Program to Improve School Readiness of Children in Disadvantaged Communities
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 发起方
- 入组人数
- 265
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Change in early literacy skills from baseline to kindergarten fall
研究概览
简要总结
The purpose of this project to determine whether the KITS Program, an intervention to improve early literacy, prosocial and emotion and behavior regulation domains of school readiness, improves school readiness and school outcomes in children from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
详细描述
PURPOSE: This project is a randomized efficacy trial of the KITS Program, an intervention to improve early literacy, prosocial and emotion and behavior regulation domains of school readiness, with children from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The project will extend the evidence on the efficacy of the intervention from two previous randomized efficacy trials of the KITS Program with special needs populations to examine the impacts of the intervention on the broader population of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in general education.
SETTING: The intervention will be conducted in elementary school classrooms in high-poverty, high-crime neighborhoods in a medium-sized metropolitan area of the Pacific Northwest during the summer before and the first 2 months of kindergarten.
POPULATION: This study involves the recruitment of 240 children who will be entering kindergarten in the fall and their families in three yearly cohorts (n = 80). The children will be recruited from neighborhoods that have been selected as some of the most disadvantaged in the state in terms of income and school readiness indicators.
INTERVENTION: The KITS Program is a high-intensity, short-term program timed to occur during the transition to kindergarten-a critical developmental milestone with far-reaching effects on school outcomes. The curriculum focuses on the early literacy, social, and self-regulation skills critical for success in kindergarten and on contextual characteristics (i.e., parent involvement in early literacy and positive parenting). KITS features 24 curriculum-based therapeutic playgroups focused on early literacy, social, and self-regulatory skills and 12 psychoeducational parent workshops focused on parent involvement in early literacy and positive parenting practices.
CONTROL CONDITION: The children in the services-as-usual condition will receive any early childhood learning services that they would typically receive prior to school entry. Services received will be assessed at each data time point.
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 (Outcomes Assessor)
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 4 Years 至 6 Years（Child）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •Child is entering kindergarten in a disadvantaged neighborhood
- •Child is a bilingual or monolingual English speaker
排除标准
- •Child has a hearing or vision impairment that would limit participation in the intervention activities or assessment protocol
研究组 & 干预措施
KITS Program
The KITS Program consists of: (a) child school readiness play groups to facilitate the development of self-regulatory, social, and early literacy skills (2 times per week in summer, 1 time per week in the fall); and (b) a 12 session psychoeducational workshop to promote parent involvement in the child's early literacy and schooling and the use of effective parenting techniques (once per week in summer, bi-weekly in the fall).
干预措施: KITS Program (Behavioral)
Services as usual
These include any services that the child and family might already be receiving in the community.
结局指标
主要结局
Change in early literacy skills from baseline to kindergarten fall
时间窗: pre-intervention (baseline), pre-kindergarten (average of 2-3 months post baseline), kindergarten fall (average of 4-5 months post-baseline)
Standardized measures of early literacy skills including letter naming, phonological awareness and understanding of concepts about print
Change in prosocial skills from baseline to kindergarten fall
时间窗: pre-intervention (baseline), pre-kindergarten (average of 2-3 months post baseline), kindergarten fall (average of 4-5 months post-baseline)
Standardized direct assessments of the child's responses to social situations as well as parent and teacher responses to standardized questionnaires on children's social skills
Change in emotion and behavior regulation skills from baseline to kindergarten fall
时间窗: pre-intervention (baseline), pre-kindergarten (average of 2-3 months post baseline), kindergarten fall (average of 4-5 months post-baseline)
Standardized direct assessment of the children's executive function skills as well as parent and teacher report on standardized questionnaires used to assess emotion and behavior regulation
Change in parenting behavior (parent involvement and positive parenting practices) from baseline to kindergarten fall
时间窗: pre-intervention (baseline), pre-kindergarten (average of 2-3 months post baseline), kindergarten fall (average of 4-5 months post-baseline)
Caregiver reported involvement in early literacy activities and beliefs about the importance of various literacy skills for kindergarten as well as parenting practices
次要结局
- Longitudinal academic achievement across grade levels(post-kindergarten (average of 12 months post-baseline), post-first grade (average of 24 months post-baseline))
- Longitudinal social competence across grade levels(post-kindergarten (average of 12 months post-baseline), post-first grade (average of 24 months post-baseline))
- Longitudinal parenting behaviors (parental involvement and positive parenting)(post-kindergarten (average of 12 months post-baseline), post-first grade (average of 24 months post-baseline))
研究者
Katherine C. Pears
Senior Research Scientist
Oregon Social Learning Center