Martine van der Pluijm

48 Chapter 2 write activities. Only one of these compared effects with a control condition. Four of the eleven studies that did not report positive effects used mainly read and write activities, which were the same for all parents (fixed). These studies used less oral language and fewer responsive communication strategies but more print and code awareness strategies than the previously mentioned group. All studies directed at lower-educated parents used several types of delivery activities, mostly coaching sessions with child involvement focusing on reciprocal relationships. Interventions that included fixed read and write activities and emphasized code and print awareness strategies showed fewer effects despite this intensive mode of delivery. Five of the seven studies with heterogeneous groups of parents reported positive effects. Five had a control condition, and three used randomization. Five of these studies usedmainly talking activities (sometimes combined with play), and one study used reading and writing activities. Similar to the studies directed at lower-educated parents, the read and write studies used print and code awareness strategies, whereas the talk and play studies used more oral language and responsive communication strategies. Two of the five (talk and play) studies that reported positive effects, used activities that were adapted to the families’ home environment. Both studies that did not report positive effects on oral language development used read and write, fixed activities and emphasized print and code awareness strategies. Five of the seven studies used several types of delivery activities, mostly coaching sessions with child involvement and some with emphasis on reciprocal relationships. Interventions that involved fixed read and write activities and emphasized code and print awareness strategies showed fewer effects despite this intensive mode of delivery. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION Analysis of the results and conclusions We now conclude by answering the two research questions of this article: What are effective activities and strategies to support lower-educated parents to promote their children’s oral language development?, and: What are effective modes of delivery of these activities and strategies, according to empirical studies? Table 2.4 compares the experimental groups and a control group with respect to types of activities. The results show that talk and play activities are the most effective to support lower- educated parents (see Table 2.4 left side). All five talk and play studies with lower-educated parents (of which three use randomized assignment to conditions) reported significant effects on oral language development. These five studies included 19 experimental comparisons, 12 of which showed positive effects of the intervention (63%).