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| Enriching a Child's Literacy Environment (ECLE). A program of classroom and home instruction for teaching parents, teachers, and other care providers to develop oral language, thinking abilities, and motor skills in young children. |
Audience Parents, teachers, and care providers and their young children (ages 6 months to 3 years) from varying economic levels and different cultural groups.
Description ECLE is an educational program that instructs parents, teachers and other care providers how to model various activities with young children six months to three years of age in order to promote psychomotor and cognitive development. Modeling techniques are practiced by parents and care providers under the guidance of ECLE teachers. One ECLE session averages 15 classes usually over a three-month time period. Classes are attended twice a week for 75 minutes. In at least four sessions, child care is offered so that parents and care providers can participate in special classes without the children. ECLE classes can be attended for as many as four sessions during a 12-month period and can be continued from one year to the next during the child's first three years. Parents and care providers are taught to develop children's large and small muscle coordination; oral language through sensory stimulation, print and number awareness; appreciation of literature; sensitivity to music and rhythm; and basic concepts. ECLE addresses National Educational Goal 1.
Evidence of Effectiveness Claims of effectiveness were evaluated by using pre and post treatment group measures contrasted with those from equivalent comparison groups and with normative data provided by the test developer. The sample used included five separate groups of students enrolled in the ECLE program from 1988 to 1993. The subscales of the Mental Development Index (MDI) and the Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were the tools used to measure projected growth. Results showed statistically significant gains made on both the MDI and PDI indices between the ECLE and comparison groups. On average, for every one month in the program, ECLE children showed more than two months of growth relative to the normative group.
Requirements Education providers who adopt ECLE are required to have their staff trained and to purchase implementation materials. Some equipment may need to be purchased or located, such as a balance beam, chinning bar, ramps, and common household items such as salt shakers, tongs, and cotton balls.
Costs All costs are in the start-up period: a two day-training session ($950); one follow-up visit ($475); $45 for the ECLE manual for each educator who teaches parents/care providers; five videotapes ($175), plus travel expenses for the ECLE consultant.
Services A two-day ECLE seminar covers the aspects of the program, materials to be used, observation of videotapes, evaluation, and ways to find parents and/or care providers for the classes. After program implementation, follow-up visits by an experienced ECLE consultant provide opportunities for new teachers to observe demonstrations with parents and children in their classrooms.
Developmental Funding: U.S. ED FIRST Grant and Local Funds.
PEP No. 92-2R (3/1/94)
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[Family Intergenerational-Interaction Literacy Model (FILM)]