Enrich research leader and University of Otago psychology researcher Prof Elaine Reese. Photo: Linda Robertson A new educational programme aimed at building communication skills is turning toddlers into regular chatterboxes. University of Otago research analysed the outcomes of the Enhancing Rich Interactions (Enrich) programme, which essentially encourages early childhood educators to ask open-ended questions and weave conversations into everyday activities. The new research shows it helps to improve toddlers’ language, literacy and social skills. Enrich research leader and University of Otago psychologist Prof Elaine Reese said toddlerhood was a time of rapid language learning that relied on effective interactions with adults. ‘‘Toddlers are spending more time than ever in early childhood education [ECE] centres, so it is essential to make sure it is a high-quality language-learning environment,’’ she said. Enrich is part of Kia Tīmata Pai (KTP), an Otago-led randomised controlled trial in which 136 ECE centres were randomly assigned to receive either Enrich professional development training, or to be in the active control group. The programme encouraged educators to use ‘‘serve-and-return’’ techniques throughout the day, where they followed children’s cues and responded with open-ended questions, and confirmed the children’s responses, Prof Reese said. Parents and teachers rated the toddlers’ skills before the programme started, and then again every nine months, until they were 3, she said. More than 1400 toddlers in the trial showed broad benefits for oral language, self-regulation, early literacy and social skills by age 3. ‘‘These benefits occurred earlier for toddlers’ oral language skills if they were from families with lower socio-economic circumstances or whose mothers had lower educational qualifications.’’ Prof Reese believed the ‘‘serve-and-return’’ interactions throughout the day might be especially important for toddlers whose home lives were more stressful. Research lead author and University of Otago psychologist Dr Isabelle Swearingen said high-quality interactions occurred particularly during book reading and nappy changes/toileting. ‘‘Shared book reading and nappy change/toileting are both ideal times to weave in conversations about the child’s day or about the story they’re reading and how that connects to the child’s life. ‘‘When educators are encouraged to invite children into conversation and follow their cues/interests rather than simply directing their behaviour, children talk more, and those back-and-forth exchanges are important for children’s early development. ‘‘For families and early childhood educators, this is an encouraging reminder that the small, everyday moments add up and each one is an opportunity for learning.’’ Prof Reese said she was ‘‘pleasantly surprised’’ to find that it already helped in such a broad way by age 3 for children’s self-regulation, early literacy and social skills. ‘‘We believe that the serve-and-return interactions help children’s early attention skills as well as their oral language, which explains the broad effects.’’ The research would continue in the next phase of the project — the preschool phase of KTP — which began recently, she said. The findings of the research would help fine-tune the programme for the Ministry of Education, which aims to roll out the programme to more than 500 extra learning services across the country over the next four years. john.lewis@odt.co.nz
