Parents as Teachers
Parents as Teachers trains and supports early-years professionals on how best to engage parents in their child’s development. They develop curricula for parent education based on the latest research in child development and neuroscience and train early-years professionals to deliver these. They also supply extensive support resources both for professionals and parents, follow-up training and mentorship and annual accreditation to maintain quality. Outcome measures validate the effectiveness of the approach.
"Those that wait until age 4 to start early childhood education are making a huge mistake...by starting at birth, Parents as Teachers starts at just the right time"
The organisation provides extensive support to these early-years professionals through
(1) a comprehensive set of resources for both the professionals and the parents they are supporting,
(2) follow-up training and mentorship and
(3) annual accreditation to ensure quality remains high.
Summary of main findings
Research studies, including randomized controlled trials, have been conducted and supported by state governments, independent school districts, private foundations, universities and research organizations, and outcome data have been collected from more than 16,000 children and parents. Key outcomes for Parents as Teachers (PaT) include:
PaT parents scored significantly higher than comparison parents on four of six parent knowledge scales (such as appropriate discipline, knowledge of child development)
PaT parents read more to their children, use more techniques to support book/print concepts and have more children’s books in the home
A multi-site randomized trial showed that for families with very low income, PaT parents were more likely to read aloud, tell stories, say nursery rhymes and sing with their child
PaT parents are more likely to initiate contact with teachers and take an active role in their child’s schooling (63% vs. 37%).
