Förderung ab Geburt: Zürcher Equity Präventionsprojekt Elternbeteiligung und Integration ZEPPELIN

2011 bis 2028

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Given the continuing strong link between family background and educational attainment in Switzerland, the fundamental problem of unequal educational opportunities must be addressed from the very start – that is, from the moment a child is born – and specifically within the family as the primary setting for learning. To this end, the longitudinal study ZEPPELIN (Zurich Equity Prevention Project on Parental Involvement and Integration) investigates whether support from birth increases the educational opportunities of children from socially disadvantaged families. With its interdisciplinary approach, this experimental, randomised controlled intervention study, which spans from birth to young adulthood, is unique in Europe. The SNSF has supported ZEPPELIN since 2011; since 2016, ZEPPELIN has been an SNSF-supported research infrastructure. The current focus of the third follow-up is on the transition to upper secondary education. Background: In no other European country apart from Germany are educational opportunities so closely linked to social and family background as in Switzerland (OECD, 2005). In no other country are school children from socially disadvantaged families so severely marginalised (European Agency, 2010). The educational measures taken in Switzerland to support children with unfavourable learning conditions have so far had little effect (Moser & Lanfranchi, 2008). The fundamental problem of educational disparities linked to background must therefore be addressed as early as the pre-school years. Our focus is therefore shifting towards the prevention of learning and performance difficulties at school resulting from unfavourable starting conditions. The focus is now on measures for early childhood education, care and upbringing (ECEC). For young children, this is achieved primarily by strengthening parents’ parenting skills. Objectives: ZEPPELIN is an intervention project run by the Teacher University of Special Education (HfH) in collaboration with the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich (Office for Youth and Career Guidance, AJB) in the field of selective primary prevention. The aim of the programme is to strengthen the ‘family as a place of learning’ through home visits (twice a month) and group sessions (monthly) during the first three years after the child’s birth. The first objective of the intervention is the interdisciplinary early identification of children whose development is at risk for psychosocial reasons and who are therefore at risk of disability. The second objective is the early support of these children through the ‘PAT – Learning with Parents’ programme, with a view to improving their educational prospects in the long term. The impact evaluation will assess the extent to which these two objectives are achieved. Research question: Drawing on the PPCT model developed by Bronfenbrenner and Morris (2006), in which development is understood as an interaction between the individual and the environment within the context of socio-spatial and temporal conditions, the central question is what effects early intervention measures have on the development of children from families in psychosocial risk situations, and through which mechanisms any such effects come to bear within the family as an educational setting. Intervention approach: Building on the findings of the ZEPPELIN/M feasibility study, an interdisciplinary network was established as part of the main ZEPPELIN 0-3 study for the early identification of families in psychosocial risk situations. This network comprises stakeholders from the medical and psychosocial care sectors. The PAT programme was selected for the early support of these families, as it meets the key criteria of effective early childhood education and care programmes: a) early start, b) continuity, c) opportunities for individualisation, d) professionalism of the staff, e) focus on language development, and f) low-threshold access through home visits. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) examines the long-term effectiveness of the ‘PAT – Learning with Parents’ support programme by comparing families in the intervention group (n = 132) with a control group not participating in PAT (n = 116) (Neuhauser et al. 2015). Following baseline data collection at three months of age, data were collected at annual assessment points around the child’s first, second and third birthdays, as well as during the nursery school years, in the first, second, 3rd, 5th and 6th years of primary school, and during the transition to lower secondary school, characteristics of the children, their parents, parent-child interactions and the school class were recorded. The longitudinal study is now continuing as planned with the third follow-up, supported by the SNSF, through to upper secondary school. Relevance: ZEPPELIN is relevant for two reasons: firstly, early support for disadvantaged children is a regular feature of the education and family policy agenda. Secondly, ZEPPELIN is relevant and innovative in Switzerland due to existing gaps in research, as this is the first time an early childhood education and care programme has been implemented specifically for a target group from birth and evaluated in an experimental field study. Funding for the initiative (4 years, 2011–2014 / CHF 2.7 million): Zurich Department of Education (AJB), Lottery Fund of the Canton of Zurich, Federal Office for Migration, Jacobs Foundation, Mercator Switzerland Foundation, Ernst Göhner Foundation, Teacher University of Special Education (HfH). Research funding (15 years, 2011–2028 / CHF 6.5 million): Swiss National Science Foundation; Jacobs Foundation; Paul Schiller Foundation; Teacher University of Special Education (HfH). Under the patronage of the Swiss National Commission for UNESCO.

Summary of findings from the implementation and impact evaluation (September 2009 to August 2011 – as at 26 April) 1) Recruitment and implementation of the intervention: a. Access to a hard-to-reach target group: Access to the target group was established as planned. Of the total of 159 families with births between 1 January and 30 June 2010, 131 (82.3%) were reached through the regular activities of the MVB Dietikon, and a further nine (5.7%) families were reached through additional efforts (via paediatricians, social counselling or unannounced home visits). b. Testing early detection methods for children in psychosocial risk situations: As part of the feasibility study, an interdisciplinary network for the early detection of such families was established. It comprises stakeholders from the medical and psychosocial care sectors. Using a short screening tool developed specifically for ZEPPELIN, the target population was identified and made aware of ZEPPELIN. In total, 18.6% (26 families) of the 140 families reached belong to the target group. From these families, the intervention group (10 families) and the control group (5 families) were formed. c. Selection, adaptation and trialling of home- and centre-based early years education and care programmes: Following a careful evaluation, ‘PAT – Learning with Parents’ was selected as a suitable programme for early childhood support. The mother counsellors were trained as PAT parent trainers in a one-week course and implemented the programme in Dietikon. Initial feedback showed that parents greatly appreciate the programme and are keen to participate. d. Initial evaluation or assessment of the impact of such programmes on children’s development and on their parents’ integration and parenting skills: The research tools used in Measurement 1 (video recording for the CARE Index, HBS interview and EMKK questionnaire) were successfully administered to all families studied to date as planned. e. Clarifying the interface with the services provided by the antenatal and parenting advice service: The role of the parent coach can be clearly distinguished from that of the antenatal and parenting advice counselor. It is important that the parent coach refers families to the antenatal advice service for matters falling within its remit. f. Assessing whether and how the long-term study can be carried out: The proposed setting for implementing the ZEPPELIN project and achieving its objectives is suitable. Above all, it has become clear that maternal health visitors with additional training as PAT parent coaches are the right people to deliver early intervention. The partnership with the local early years advisory service (AJB, Zurich Department of Education) has proved to be a stroke of luck, as it provides virtually seamless access to all families with newborns and is well connected with stakeholders in the psychosocial and medical care sectors. 2) Results are currently available on the effectiveness of the intervention for pre-school-age children, nursery-age children, and pupils in the first and third years of primary school. From this, we draw the following conclusions: Children in the intervention group receive greater stimulation and support in their everyday home life. Video analyses of play situations show that, after one year of the PAT intervention, carers interact with their children in a more sensitive manner. This has a positive effect on the children’s language development. It is crucial that the carer is able to correctly identify the child’s needs and respond appropriately. Greater stimulation in the intervention group is also associated with higher levels of self-regulation in the children (Neuhauser et al. 2018). In three-year-olds, biological stress levels were measured using saliva samples. The analyses suggest that children in the intervention group are more resilient to stressors than those in the control group. This, in turn, has a positive impact on their behaviour (Gardini et al. 2020). Overall, children in the intervention group demonstrate more favourable outcomes in terms of cognitive (language development, German, mathematics) and socio-emotional (self-regulation and behavioural problems) skills than children in the control group (Schaub et al., 2019, 2021). Although these effects diminish and become less pronounced as children reach school age, the analyses nevertheless show that children from highly disadvantaged families continue to benefit from early support with PAT well into their school years (unpublished results).