Martine van der Pluijm

79 Creating partnerships – a formative evaluation TABLE 3.6: Percentages of parental participation during parent-child activities and duration Teacher % of parent participation* Duration of participation** before after result before after result 1 92% 77% -15% 12.31 18.11 +5.8 2 10% 75% +65% 4.51 22.02 +17,51 3 40% 90% +50% 3.37 22.10 +18,73 4 10% 80% +70% 5.22 25.51 +20.29 5 No data 6 No data 7 12% 95% +83% 2.31 33.18 +30.87 8 0 50% +50% 0 11.36 +11.36 9 30% 85% +55% 8.49 16.18 +7.69 10 0 40% +40% 0 12.27 +12.27 *Numbers of participating parents are calculated as a percentage of the total number of children in each classroom. **Duration of participation is measured in minutes from the start of the teacher’s explanation until the first parent leaves the classroom. Informal observations during parent-child activities We observed parent-child activities in the classrooms of the eight teachers that implemented design principle four [Arrange regular interactive parent-child activities] , and in the seven classrooms where design principle five [Stimulate language strategies] , was implemented. The observation protocol focused on dyads’ moments of joint attention, their turn taking behavior, the amount of child initiative versus directive parent behavior, and parents’ use of strategies to support their children’s language development (e.g., asking open questions, expanding the number of words). During the implementation of the fourth design principle , there was a gradual increase in the moments of joint attention and a decrease of children that walked away, leaving the parent alone with the task.When parents and their child played a game for several weeks (e.g., Memory), parents became more confident, the activity was more fun, and there was more turn-taking. This was observed particularly in younger children (preschool and kindergarten) and when parents were lower educated. We observed more interaction when teachers increased their stepwise explanations to dyads about how the activity could be conducted and how parents could follow the child’s lead, assuring them that their children were very capable of leading. Parent-child interactions increased when teachers started modeling. Some lower-educated parents repeated the gestures used by the teacher (e.g., pointing to the picture, to their eyes, etc.). During the implementation of the fifth principle, parents’ interactive behavior increased. When teachers modeled asking questions, parents would repeat these questions. Gradually, we also observed that parents imitated the behavior of other parents.