Family-school Partnership Intervention for Early Childhood Education

NCT ID: NCT06506097

Last Updated: 2025-07-10

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 110 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-07-01
• Study Completion Date: 2027-04-30

Brief Summary

Strategies for creating and maintaining reciprocal partnerships between teachers and parents are considered essential elements of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education (ECE). Particularly for children who are high-risk for behavioral, developmental, or mental health problems, effective partnerships between family and preschool are essential for promoting optimal classroom participation and learning outcomes. The current study is an uncontrolled (pre-post) feasibility trial of Family-School Partnership Intervention (FPSI). FSPI was developed using stakeholder input, is delivered by existing preschool staff, and aims to promote development and reduce barriers to learning among children with pre-clinical social-communication delays. FSPI integrates evidence-based practices (EBPs) from education (7 EBPs; National Association for the Education of Young Children) with clinical interventions for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (12 EBPs at the educator-parent level and 8 EBPs at the parent-child level; Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions). Data will be collected across 10 ECE programs. At each participating ECE program, research procedures will be completed during a single school year. Selected ECE programs will include public school, Head Start, and private preschool programs. Participants include 20 non-teaching support staff (1-2 per program; e.g., director, principal, education-coordinator), 30 lead teachers (2-4 per program), and 60 children with social-communication deficits (two per teacher). Data collection will focus on feasibility data (enrollment, attendance, attrition, data completion), observational measures of implementation fidelity (at the educator-parent and parent-child level), and mixed methods to evaluate educator and parent acceptability and satisfaction and identify implementation drivers/barriers. This research will prepare a large, multi-site hybrid trial to evaluate the effectiveness of FSPI for promoting social-communication skills and kindergarten readiness, in addition to factors that mediate the relation between FSPI delivery and fidelity (implementation drivers/barriers).

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI)

Participants include 20 non-teaching support staff (1-2 per program), 30 lead teachers (2-4 per program), and 60 children with social-communication deficits (two per teacher). FSPI creates new opportunities for teachers to partner with families, particularly parents of children with social-communication vulnerabilities. Specifically, teachers will be provided with a curriculum, training, and resources to engage two families from their classroom in three FSPI Playgroup meetings, scheduled over the course of the current school year. During each playgroup, teaches will help parents practice simple strategies for promoting communication during familiar routines such as play, book reading, preparing a snack, or completing a simple chore.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

FSPI includes implementation activities across multiple levels.

FSPI Planning Team Meetings will be held monthly to plan project activities, practice staff and parent coaching strategies, and troubleshoot implementation challenges.

FSPI Staff Training (3 hours) will be provided during a single professional development day (3 hours), and attended by members of the FSPI Planning Team and teachers.

FSPI Playgroups. Over the course of the school year, each parent-child dyad will be invited to participate in three FSPI Playgroup events. Typically, teachers from two classrooms will collaborate in hosting playgroup events, and each playgroup will be attended by four parent-child dyads (i.e., two per classroom). Teachers will be provided with a curriculum and learning outcomes to target.

FSPI Debrief Meetings are held after each FSPI Playgroup to debrief, reflect, and improve FSPI implementation.

Interventions

Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI)

FSPI includes implementation activities across multiple levels.

FSPI Planning Team Meetings will be held monthly to plan project activities, practice staff and parent coaching strategies, and troubleshoot implementation challenges.

FSPI Staff Training (3 hours) will be provided during a single professional development day (3 hours), and attended by members of the FSPI Planning Team and teachers.

FSPI Playgroups. Over the course of the school year, each parent-child dyad will be invited to participate in three FSPI Playgroup events. Typically, teachers from two classrooms will collaborate in hosting playgroup events, and each playgroup will be attended by four parent-child dyads (i.e., two per classroom). Teachers will be provided with a curriculum and learning outcomes to target.

FSPI Debrief Meetings are held after each FSPI Playgroup to debrief, reflect, and improve FSPI implementation.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• currently attending classroom of participating preschool teacher.
• nominated by teacher as child with elevated levels of social-communication challenges

Exclusion Criteria

• n/a

• Minimum Eligible Age: 2 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of North Texas, Denton, TX

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Michael Siller

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

UNT

Denton, Texas, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Michael Siller, PhD

Role: CONTACT

michael.siller@unt.edu

8505677474

Facility Contacts

Michael Siller, PhD

Role: primary

Megan.Lukanuski@unt.edu

9405654596

Other Identifiers

7R21HD105168-02

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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