Actively Recruiting
Can a Scalable Parenting Program Improve Children's Readiness for School? An Evaluation of the LENA Start Program
Led by William Marsh Rice University · Updated on 2026-04-24
600
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
8 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
Sponsors
W
William Marsh Rice University
Lead Sponsor
A
Alief Independent School District
Collaborating Sponsor
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
This research aims to evaluate how maternal expectations about language development influence their child's language skills and to assess how much mothers believe they can impact their child's language growth. The study focuses on children aged 16 to 30 months within the Alief Independent School District, serving as a model that other school districts might replicate to improve children's readiness for school. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a control group receiving usual care or a treatment group participating in the LENA Start Program. The LENA Start Program involves ten weekly one-hour sessions where parents learn and discuss ways to enhance their child's language environment. Sessions can be attended in person or online. Parents use the LENA recording device to capture their child’s language environment, with recordings analyzed to provide feedback on language exposure and development. Parents will attend two meetings before and after the program for baseline and endline data collection, completing surveys and language development assessments. The study uses multiple tools including the Language Development Snapshot, StimQ, and MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories, alongside 16-hour LENA recordings. Researchers monitor program fidelity and measure outcomes such as the quality of the language environment and parental beliefs, with participation lasting about one year.
CONDITIONS
Brief Title
Can the Language Environment Analysis Start Program Improve Children's Readiness for School? LENA Program Evaluation
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Adult participants must be 18 years old or older
- Adult participants must have a child between 16 and 30 months old as of September 1, 2022
- Adult participants must speak English or Spanish as their native language
- Adult participants must live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District
- Children must be between 16 and 30 months old as of September 1, 2022
- Children must speak English or Spanish as their native language
- Children must live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District
You will not qualify if you...
- Adults under 18 years old are not eligible
- Adults without a child aged 16 to 30 months as of September 1, 2022 are not eligible
- Adults who do not speak English or Spanish as their native language are not eligible
- Adults who do not live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District are not eligible
- Children under 16 months or over 30 months as of September 1, 2022 are not eligible
- Children who do not speak English or Spanish as their native language are not eligible
- Children who do not live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District are not eligible
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility
Your Study Journey
Duration - 2 to 4 weeks
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial.
1 visit (in-person or virtual)
Duration - 10 weeks
Participants randomly assigned to the LENA Start program will attend ten weekly, 1-hour sessions to learn and practice strategies to improve their child's language development. Participants will record their child's language environment using a LENA device after each session.
Weekly sessions plus weekly LENA recordings
Duration - 10 weeks
Participants assigned to usual care serve as the control group and will attend their usual Alief group sessions without additional intervention.
As per usual care schedule
Duration - Up to 2 visits spanning the study period
Participants will complete baseline and endline data collection visits before and after the program, including surveys and LENA recordings to assess the child's language environment and development.
2 visits (baseline and post-program, in-person or virtual)
Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
Alief ISD
Houston, Texas, United States, 77072
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
S
Snejana Nihtianova, PhD
F
Flavio Cunha, PhD
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Model
PARALLEL
Primary Purpose
TREATMENT
Number of Arms
2
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