Do socio-demographic and parenting factors moderate the impact of the HIPPY program on children’s school readiness?

The purpose of this project is to assess the impact of a home-based education program for preschool-aged children called the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). This program aims to increase school readiness of children deemed educationally “at-risk” by reason of family poverty, parent education levels, family isolation, settlement issues, and/or English language skills. 13% of HIPPY participants are refugees, 70% are newcomers to Canada, and 12% are Indigenous. A data set on school readiness will be analyzed, as measured by The Bracken Basic Concept Scale (2006), a well-known standardized school readiness instrument. Bracken data were collected at two time points one year apart on 311 preschool children at 6 HIPPY sites across Canada, serving a diverse population of families. Analyses of the data will address change over time in children’s age-adjusted Bracken standard scores. Bracken scores will also be examined in relation to a variety of socio-demographic (e.g., child sex, immigration status, place of birth, and mothers’ English language competency) and parent (e.g., frequency of reading to child, engagement in HIPPY) factors.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lucy Le Mare

Student:

Camilla Enns

Partner:

Mothers Matter Center

Discipline:

Education

Sector:

Education

University:

Simon Fraser University