Jenkinson, Aoife; (2013) Eliciting the impact of continuous professional development training in speech and language development, on the knowledge, skills and practice of early years practitioners. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

Oral language skills of children entering nursery aged 3 years, have been identified as delayed in up to 50% of the population in deprived, urban areas. However, a wealth of research evidence indicates that language skills can be augmented by specific practices, activities and environmental resources provided by staff in nursery and childcare settings. With the aim of introducing evidence-based research into Early Years settings, the Every Child a Talker programme was delivered in ten training days over six months to volunteer settings in the United Kingdom. This mixed-methods research study sought to examine the impact of the programme on the language-supporting practices and knowledge of staff in Early Years settings. The sample consisted of two groups: nine Nursery settings where at least one staff member had received Every Child a Talker Training, and nine matched settings where no staff member had completed such lengthy professional development training in supporting language skills. Settings in both groups were matched based on similar characteristics of their pupil populations: socioeconomic needs, percentages of pupils speaking English as an Additional Language, and percentages with Special Educational and Language needs. A mixed-methods approach was used, with the first phase of the research design generating quantitative data. The Communication supporting Classrooms Observation Tool was used to create a "snap shot" of the practices, activities and environmental resources used to support language development in each setting. Concurrently, a questionnaire elicited data regarding staff's self-reported measures of confidence and knowledge in how to support oral language skill development. Observation and questionnaire data were first analysed separately and then together using non-parametric tests, the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Following completion of this first phase, the second phase of the project aimed to identify facilitating factors and/or barriers to implementing practices known to support children's oral language development. Interviews were carried out with participants from eight settings, and qualitative data collected and analysed using a Thematic Analysis approach. Results of this project indicated that increased training in oral language skill development resulted in greater levels of self-reported confidence for Nursery staff. Completing the Every Child a Talker programme did not result in significantly greater observed use of effective techniques to support oral language development. Factors facilitating the implementation of new practice included the support of management to disseminate training to colleagues, and to fund continuous professional development for staff. A barrier was the lack of external, professional support to address the needs of children with English as an Additional Language. The findings reported are likely to benefit both Early Years settings and those bodies delivering continuous professional development training.

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