Structured Abstract
Setting
The evaluation was conducted in 10 public elementary schools with pre-kindergarten programs in poor, high-crime neighborhoods in New York City.
Sample
The participants were pre-kindergarten children (N = 1050), their families, and the school staff who delivered the intervention.
ParentCorps is a universal preventive intervention that combines (1) services for parents and children provided after school by pre-kindergarten teachers, paraprofessionals, and mental health professionals with (2) training for pre-kindergarten school staff. The program aims to prevent behavior problems and academic underachievement in kindergarten through the promotion of effective parenting and teaching practices, parent-school involvement, and social, emotional, and behavioral competence during the preschool period. In each intervention school, a six-member team of pre-kindergarten teachers, paraprofessionals, and school-based mental health professionals received training by NYU clinicians. Training included 5 days (30 hours) in the fall of the school year. This team, in collaboration with NYU clinicians, delivered the after-school program to families in the spring of the school year (13 two-hour sessions).
Research design and methods
The study was a randomized controlled trial conducted in three successive waves in five treatment schools and five control schools. The 15 schools in the treatment group provided the ParentCorps intervention to children, families, and school staff. All of the children in the pre-kindergarten classes in the treatment and control schools were recruited for the study.
Control condition
The 15 control schools provided their usual pre-kindergarten program.
Key measures
The research team assessed child behavior and achievement by parent and teacher reports, child interviews, and face-to-face assessments. They assessed children pre- and post-intervention, and during the fall and spring of their kindergarten year.
The researchers measured parenting practices and parent-school involvement by parent reports and teacher reports (of parent-school involvement only). They assessed teacher practices by teacher report and observations.
Data analytic strategy
The analysis used HLM and other appropriate multi-level models to estimate growth curves for student outcomes including behavior problems and academic outcomes. In addition, the study examined whether effects were mediated or moderated by teaching practices, parent-school involvement, intervention dose, integrity of implementation, parent satisfaction, or child characteristics such as gender, early conduct problems, and school readiness skills. Secondary analyses focused on the long-term impact of the program on teaching practices, parenting practices, and parent-school involvement.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this study are as follows:
- The results show that ParentCorps enhanced academic achievement. Relative to children in control schools, children in ParentCorps schools had higher kindergarten achievement test scores and higher teacher-rated academic performance (Brotman, et al., 2013).
- ParentCorps improved parenting knowledge, positive behavior support, and teacher-rated parent involvement (Dawson-McClure, et al., 2015). For the highest risk families, ParentCorps also increased parent-rated involvement in early learning and decreased harsh and inconsistent behavior management. Among boys at high risk for behavior problems, ParentCorps led to lower rates of conduct problems at age 6.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
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Journal articles
Brotman, L. M., Dawson–McClure, S., Calzada, E. J., Huang, K. Y., Kamboukos, D., Palamar, J. J., & Petkova, E. (2013). Cluster (school) RCT of ParentCorps: Impact on kindergarten academic achievement. Pediatrics, 131(5): e1521–e1529.
Dawson–McClure, S., Calzada, E. J., & Brotman, L. M. (2017). Engaging parents in preventive interventions for young children: Working with cultural diversity within low–income, urban neighborhoods. Prevention Science, 18(6), 660-670.
Dawson-McClure, S., Calzada, E., Huang, K., Kamboukos, D., Rhule, D., Kolawole, B., Petkova, E., & Brotman, L.M. (2015). A population-level approach to promoting healthy child development and school success in low-income, urban neighborhoods: Impact on parenting and child conduct problems. Prevention Science, 16,279-290.
Ursache, A., Kiely, K. G., Dawson-McClure, S., Barajas-Gonzalez, R. G., Calzada, E. J., Goldfeld, K. S., & Brotman, L. M. (2020). Early emotion knowledge and later academic achievement among children of color in historically disinvested neighborhoods. Child Development, 91(6), e1249-e1266.
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