As part of the project's development, a randomised controlled trial, involving more than 800 parents was conducted over a period of 6 months to evaluate KidzGrow Online in 2 areas:
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Whether KidzGrow Online is effective in empowering parents and increasing their parenting confidence
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Whether KidzGrow Online is useful in assisting parents to better identify children who may need additional special help earlier on in their lives
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Results show that parents using KGOL(as compared to others not using the programme) were:
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More CONFIDENT of themselves
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More KNOWLEDGEABLE in their children's development in Speech & Language, Intellectual & Social Skills Development
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Feel BETTER SUPPORTED as a parent just after ONLY 3 months of using KidzGrow Online!
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In summary, the results of the trial indicated that KidzGrow Online has met both its objectives in heightening parenting confidence as well as serving as a useful tool to assist parents in becoming more able in identifying children who may need additional developmental assistance. The study has been published by the Computers and Education Journal and an abstract can be found here.
TRIAL METHODOLOGY
A public invitation for parents to participate in the trial was initiated and a total of 946 parents signed up as trial participants for the program.
Online registration was accepted and user manuals were posted to the trial participants and the trial lasted 6 months.
The parents were randomly divided into 2 equal groups with the first group accessing and using KidzGrow Online (KGOL). The second group served as the Control group and these parents commenced their access and use of KGOL only 3 months later than the first group.
Three separate online parent surveys were conducted to determine the effects, if any, on parents using KGOL. A validity trial was conducted in the months of where parents were invited to bring their children for a developmental screen conducted by a professional child development therapist.
RESULTS OF TRIAL
The results showed that KidzGrow Online is a useful tool in helping parents gain more knowledge about their children and hence empowering them to be more confident parents.
Enhanced parental confidence has been demonstrated to contribute to improved parental mental health as well as emotional / behavioural adjustments of young children. Research has also shown that parents' direct involvement in their children's development brings significant positive effects in the well development of their children. The other benefit of KidzGrow Online is its easy accessibility via the Internet and affordability for many parents.
The following graphs give an idea of some aspects we focused on during the trial.
How to Read the Graphs
Light Blue Boxes: The results of Survey 1 (Before parents access KidzGrow Online)
Light Orange Boxes: The results of Survey 2 (3 months after Survey 1)
KGOL Group: Parents using KidzGrow Online
Control Group: Parents NOT using KidzGrow Online
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I have enough knowledge of my child concerning his intellectual development.
(% agree: +13.1% vs +1.4%; statistically significant p<0.05) |
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I have enough knowledge of my child concerning his speech and communication skills.
(% agree: +13.1% vs +3%; statistically significant p<0.05) |
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I have enough knowledge of my child concerning his social skills.
(% agree: +8.2% vs +1.1%; statistically significant p<0.05) |
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I feel well supported as a parent.
(% agree: +9% vs -1.1%; statistically significant p<0.05 |
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I feel I am doing well to achieve my goals in being a successful parent.
(% agree: +11% vs -0.7%; statistically significant p<0.05) |
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On a scale of 1-10, how will you rate your current level of confidence in your role as a parent.
(% who rates >5: +14.5% vs +1.1%; statistically significant p<0.01) |
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