So was it worth it? A commentary on Fricke et al. and Hagen et al. (2017)

Citation

McCartney E (2017) So was it worth it? A commentary on Fricke et al. and Hagen et al. (2017). Commentary on: Fricke, S. et al. (2017) The efficacy of early language intervention in mainstream school settings: a randomized controlled trial. J Child Psychol Psychiatr, 58: 1141–1151 and Hagen, Å. M., et al. (2017) Improving language comprehension in preschool children with language difficulties: a cluster randomized trial. J Child Psychol Psychiatr, 58: 1132–1140. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58 (10), pp. 1152-1154. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12796

Abstract
Abstract Fricke et al. and Hagen et al. (2017) each report on large-scale pragmatic randomised controlled trials delivered in schools or nurseries, investigating language interventions for vulnerable children and showing moderate positive effect sizes. Such research is part of a recent development of 'what works' research in England, and the number of 'what works' trials continues to increase, largely through funding from the Sutton Trust, who are concerned with disadvantaged children, to the Educational Endowment Foundation (EEF). 'What works' research is not firmly accepted by all educationalists, however results of trials are now available quickly and presented in a manner intended to be accessible to practitioners. This development may facilitate principled decisions on the adoption of interventions by schools, as trials and their outcomes my be interrogated to support decisions on whether the anticipated impact is worth the cost of implementation.

Keywords
language intervention research, education, disadvantaged children, Theory and practice of education, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Education, Speech and Hearing

Journal
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry: Volume 58, Issue 10

People

Professor Elspeth McCartney

Honorary Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences