Martine van der Pluijm

18 Chapter 1 So far, meta-studies have shown effects on child language and literacy outcomes of programs targeting the home environment, dual programs that target both children and parents at schools and at home, and programs directed at partnerships between school and families. No effects have been reported for the single focus of the center approach (as adopted in the Netherlands) that does not target the home environment by structural parent engagement. This implies that Dutch ECEC programs could benefit from a connection to the home environment (Fukkink et al., 2017). Furthermore, it is not clear whether existing programs directed at children’s language and literacy development are effective for young children with lower-educated parents, or what activities and delivery modes can be used to support these parents to stimulate their children’s language development. Several studies suggest that programs for low-SES groups (i.e., lower-educated) could gain in ecological validity by connecting to specific practices and funds of knowledge of families (e.g., Manz et al., 2010; Jeynes, 2010). Van Steensel et al. (2012) plead for programs that provide ‘more than one size’ (p. 145) and propose tailoring programs to the needs of diverse groups of parents. Finally, programs can only be successful if teachers have the skills to transfer the content to parents as intended (Manz et al., 2010; Naoom, Van Dyke, Fixsen, Blasé, & Villagomez, 2012; Van Steensel et al., 2011). This is often referred to as delivery quality (De la Rie, Van Steensel, & Van Gelderen, 2016; Powell & Carey, 2012). Studies have shown that the subtle process of working with parents with lower education levels and diverse backgrounds can be difficult for teachers (Bakker, Denessen, Dennissen, & Oolbekkink-Marchand, 2013; Evans, 2013; Jeynes, 2010; Lusse, Notten, & Engbersen, 2019a). An urgent question that arises from this perspective is how teachers can improve their abilities in involving lower-educated parents, connecting to the home environment, and recognizing families’ backgrounds and abilities. Therefore, this thesis addresses the professional development of teachers to optimize their support to lower- educated parents. Designing the At Home in Language program This thesis addresses the need for ecologically valid approaches for teachers to support lower- educatedparents to stimulate young children’s languagedevelopment by connecting the school and home environments. To contribute to this aim, we need to improve our understanding of existing SFP and FLP programs and their effects. We also need to investigate how teachers can develop skills to support parents, to strengthen links between school and home, and acquire the abilities to reliably convey the content of the program as intended. Therefore, we need to design an approach that improves teacher guidance in their work with children and parents in preschool, kindergarten and grades 1-2. The central research question is: What approach can teachers of young children use to build partnerships with lower-educated parents in support of their young children’s language development ?