Martine van der Pluijm

110 Chapter 4 TABLE 4.3: T-tests for differences in pretest and posttest observations of AHL behavior ( n =13) Pretest Posttest t p d M SD M SD Step 4: Arrange parent-child activities that stimulate interaction (using Steps 1 to 3) 1. adapting support to lower-educated parents 3.02 .69 4.14*** .96 -4.98 .000 1.34 2. structuring the delivery of the activity intentionally 2.31 .75 3.54*** 1.05 -4.38 .001 1.35 3. using reciprocal communication 3.04 .97 4.33** .70 -3.63 .003 1.53 Oral language support Step 5 : Stimulate parental role development 1.15 .43 1.96** 1.01 -3.23 .007 1.04 Step 6 : Prioritize the use of language 2.00 .61 3.52*** 1.18 -4.89 .000 1.62 Step 7 : Expand children’s language 1.00 .00 2.77** 1.83 -3.48 .005 1.62 Measured on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not observed) to 5 (observed with great frequency). * p = <0.05, ** p = <0.01, *** p = <0.001 Table 4.3 shows that the highest means are for implementing intervention activities [ Step 4: Arrange parent-child activities that stimulate interaction] . Teachers organized easier activities (i.e., fewer literacy skills needed) and those that were more related to everyday experiences (e.g., What do you do when it rains?What do you buy when you go shopping for groceries?). Teachers gave more background information about the parent-child activities, used more modeling, and evaluated more often at the end of the activity. The intervention was more targeted to stimulate interaction (talk or play activity, using a central question to guide parents). We observed that teachers used more reciprocal communication, for example, by asking questions about parents’ experiences at home. The strongest development was found for Oral language support [Steps 5 to 7]. At the posttest, teachers showed new behavior to stimulate parental role development [Step 5] and to expand language [Step 7] compared to the pretest, in which we observed no or minimal behavior on these steps. Teachers had more interaction with parents about their roles and how children’s initiatives can contribute to dialogues. Teachers used modeling strategies more often, such as asking open questions and scaffolding. We also observed more modeling to support parents to expand their vocabulary and to use decontextualized language. However, our results revealed differences between teachers in several aspects of their parent-directed behavior, which is illustrated by the higher standard deviations at posttest compared to pretest, except for reciprocal communication. This can be partly explained by different degrees of progress of teachers who participated partially in the professionalization activities compared to those who fully participated in these activities. Teachers who participated partially showed very little progress in implementing intervention activities [Step 4] and supporting oral language [Steps 5 to 7].