Does thrive by three, a quality-building intervention in childcare centres, strengthen children’s language skills?

Figures & data

Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the intervention and control group, mean and SD.

Variables	Intervention group	Control group
Number of children in toddler classroom	11.6 (2.66)	10.89 (2.84)
Number of childcare professionals with a bachelor’s degree	1.64 (1.60)	1.59 (1.66)
Staff stability (scale 1–5)	4.04 (0.93)	4.08 (0.69)
Children’s language skills	88.7 (98.0)	91.8 (97.1)
Children’s age	21.5 (6.3)	21.3 (6.2)

Table 2. Effects of thrive by three on children’s language development, controlling for child age and gender.

Time		Intervention group	Control group	Difference (group*time)	P- value
		Mean (SE)	Mean (SE)	Estimate (95% CI)
Baseline	LDS	86.58 (2.84)	91.57 (2.67)
Post int.	LDS	189.66 (2.87)	187.23 (2.66)	7.37 (−.78–15.53)	.076

*Children’s language skills measured with the Language Development Survey (LDS).

Table 3. Linear mixed model analyses of the effects of thrive by three on language development, separately for boys and girls, and controlling for child age.

		Intervention group	Control group	Difference (group*time)	P- value
		Mean (SE)	Mean (SE)	Estimate (95% CI)
Boys
Baseline	LDS	81.76 (3.99)	83.34 (3.84)
Post int.	LDS	174.31 (4.01)	177.49 (3.81)	−1.59 (−12.82–9.64)	.781
Girls
Baseline	LDS	91.10 (4.02)	99.86 (3.71)
Post int.	LDS	205.74 (4.10)	197.08 (3.72)	17.42 (5.63–29.22)	.004

*Children’s language outcomes measured with the Language Development Survey (LDS).