Evaluation of a program to educate disadvantaged parents to enhance child learning

This study reported a pilot trial of the Hands-On Parent Empowerment (HOPE) program, a 30-session program designed to instruct parents from disadvantaged backgrounds how to teach learning skills to their preschool children. The participants included 13 parents who newly migrated into Hong Kong from mainland China. The parents were required to complete questionnaires on child behavior problems, parental stress, social support, and self-efficacy before, during, and after intervention. The children were assessed on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test before and after intervention. The results indicated a significant decrease in parent-reported child behavior problems and parental stress, an increase in Performance IQ and vocabulary knowledge among the children. These improvements were also observed by preschool principals. The pilot experience provides insights for social work practice in terms of inter-sectoral collaboration, program content, duration, and intensity in early support for challenged families.