Improving the basis: revision of an early childhood home intervention program. The Dutch version of the Portage program - revised

PhD ceremony: Ms. A.T. Hoekstra, 12.45 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Improving the basis: revision of an early childhood home intervention program. The Dutch version of the Portage program - revised

Promotor(s): prof. B.F. van der Meulen, prof. A.J.J.M. Ruijssenaars

Faculty: Behavioural- and Social Sciences

The Portage Program is an early childhood intervention program, which is designed as a home-based intervention program for families with children from 0 to 6 years of age with special educational needs. The aim of the program is to stimulate the development of the child, change the behavior of the child, and provide support for the parents. The Dutch version of the program is called the Portage Programma Nederland (PPN). This research project focuses on the revision of the PPN (PPN-R) and the effectiveness of the revised version as compared to the unrevised version. The three major revisions envisaged for the PPN were (a) the revision of the focus of the program (more family-centered), (b) revision of the manual, and (c) the revision of the Checklist and Cardfile. The comparison of the effects of the PPN and PPN-R was made by testing the hypothesis: “Intervention using the PPN-R leads to more positive results than intervention using the PPN.” Twenty-one families received intervention using the PPN; sixteen families received intervention using the PPN-R. Given the overall results, the hypothesis was rejected. The PPN-R yields only partially better results for the development of the children than the PPN. Because of this small difference in effectiveness in favor of the PPN-R and the positive changes that were carried out in the revision, use of the PPN-R is recommended over use of the PPN.