An Analysis of Ethnicity in Treatment Response of Parents in the National Classroom Literacy Interventions and Outcomes in Even Start Study

This study investigates the treatment effects of a family literacy parent education program, Partners for Literacy (PfL), and whether treatment effects of PfL vary by ethnicity. Results from hierarchical linear modeling revealed that parents in PfL significantly outperformed their counterparts in a control group on a measure of interactive book reading skills with their child but treatment effects were not found to be a function of ethnicity. This study shows the promise of PfL to train a diverse group of parents to promote their child's language and literacy through interactive book reading. Additionally, baseline ethnic differences on parent outcomes underscore the importance of carefully considering ethnic differences in the development of parent education interventions.