Implementing toddler interventions at scale: The case of “We learn together.

The purpose of the study is to expand and test the intervention We Learn Together in kindergarten, where the goal is to prepare kindergarten children for school. The researchers wanted to see how the intervention worked on a larger scale and in real teaching situations.

The research questions are:

1. What are the main effects of We Learn Together on children's language, mathematics and social skills?
2. To what extent do the characteristics of children and parents influence the effects of We Learn Together?
3. How faithful are the kindergartens to We Learn Together when they put the intervention into practice, and how is faithfulness affected by the characteristics of children, kindergarten teachers and the kindergarten itself?
4. How does exposure to the intervention affect children's outcomes?
5. Does the use of implementation teams help ensure that the methods of the intervention are used correctly?

The results indicate that the intervention helps kindergarten teachers interact better with the children to improve the children's language and mathematics skills. The researchers claim that the study confirms that the We Learn Together programme can easily be implemented in kindergartens and has positive effects on targeted language and mathematics skills, and that it is therefore ready to be used in more kindergartens.

The data material was collected in a cluster-randomised control study over two periods (each lasting 20 weeks over several years), with measurements both before and after the intervention. The trial involved 255 kindergartens from 13 Danish municipalities. These kindergartens were randomly allocated to either an intervention group, where the intervention was implemented, or a control group that continued as usual. The results are based on data from the first period. All children in the included kindergartens participated in the intervention, but the main analysis only included children who were 18 months or older at the pre-test. Information on the background of the children and families was obtained through the Central Person Register (CPR) and Statistics Denmark. In the participating kindergartens, the researchers collected data on kindergarten teachers through a questionnaire (N = 696).

Bleses, D., Jensen, P., Højen, A., Slot, P. & Justice, L. (2021). "Implementing toddler interventions at scale: The case of “We learn together”". Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 57:12-26.