Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a home visiting intervention for families living in disadvantaged communities with a child aged 3 to 5 years. HIPPY is delivered through two components: 1) 15 one-hour home visits over the two-year transition from preschool to primary school by a home visiting paraprofessional; and 2) 15 group sessions delivered by a programme coordinator to groups of up to 20 HIPPY parents. During home visits and group sessions, parents learn strategies aimed at supporting their child’s school readiness by enhancing the home learning environment.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
3 to 5 years old
Home visiting, Group
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a home visiting intervention for families living in disadvantaged communities with a child aged 3 to 5 years. HIPPY aims to increase school readiness by enhancing the home learning environment and parents’ ability to help their children learn.
HIPPY is delivered through two components that take place over the school term: 1) 15 one-hour home visits delivered by a home visiting paraprofessional over the two-year transition from preschool to primary school; and 2) 15 group sessions delivered by a programme coordinator to groups of up to 20 HIPPY parents.
During the home visits, practitioners use a structured lesson approach to help parents create a more enriching home learning environment. Parents learn through role-play how to use storybooks and other educational activities, which are provided by HIPPY. They are asked to read and engage with these activities with their child every day, with the activities reinforcing language and critical thinking skills.
In the group sessions, parents are introduced to the activity pack for the coming week, as well as having time with other parents, sharing concerns and questions, receiving information about parenting and school, and taking part in enrichment activities, such as arts and crafts projects.
3 to 5 years
Families living in disadvantaged communities
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
Preliteracy and communication skills are critical for school readiness and are predictive of success in primary school.
Science-based assumption
The quality of the home learning environment, including parents’ ability to interact positively with their child and scaffold early literacy, predicts children’s early literacy by the time they enter school.
Science-based assumption
Low family income or education level negatively impacts parents’ ability to provide an enriching home environment.
Intervention
Parents learn strategies for promoting early literacy through daily book sharing and educational activities
Parents are provided with books and other educational materials to improve the home learning environment
Parents attend group sessions aimed at providing more support for using literacy materials, as well as parenting information.
Short-term
Parents provide their child with a more enriching home learning environment
Parents actively support their children’s early literacy
Parents are better able to support their child’s school readiness.
Medium-term
Improved parental efficacy
Improved school readiness skills.
Long-term
Improved child academic achievement in primary school.
Families with a child aged 3 to 5 years, living in disadvantaged communities, with low income or limited parental formal education.
HIPPY is delivered in 15 sessions of home-visiting of one hour’s duration each by one practitioner, to individual families, and in 15 sessions of two to three hours’ duration each by one practitioner to groups of approximately 20 families, over two years.
The practitioner who delivers this intervention is a home-visitor para-professional (home visits), and a programme coordinator (group sessions).
The practitioners have one week of intervention training. Booster training of practitioners is recommended.
It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one host-agency supervisor, with one week of intervention training.
Intervention fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
Organisation: HIPPY International
Email address: info@hippy-international.org
Website: www.hippy-international.org
*Please note that this information may not be up to date. In this case, please visit the listed intervention website for up to date contact details.
HIPPY’s most rigorous evidence comes from two studies conducted in the United States consistent with Foundations’ Level 2+ evidence strength criteria.
The first study observed statistically significant improvements in HIPPY children’s performance on a standardised achievement test and classroom adaptation compared to children not receiving the intervention.
The second study observed statistically significant improvements in HIPPY children’s performance on a maths achievement test four years post-intervention in comparison to children not receiving the intervention. Additionally, HIPPY mothers reported more involvement in their children’s learning and were observed to provide greater stimulation, modelling, and variety in the home learning environment immediately after the intervention in comparison to families who did not receive the intervention. Interestingly, however, the second study observed that mothers in the comparison were significantly more likely to provide a more physically enriching home learning environment in comparison to the mothers receiving the intervention.
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome, but we cannot be confident that the intervention caused the improvement.
| Identified in search | 26 |
| Studies reviewed | 5 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 1 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 0 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 2 |
| Study design | RCT and QED |
| Country | United States |
| Sample characteristics | 247 families with children in kindergarten in the RCT study, and 226 in the QED study, including at-risk families with low parental education |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | In the RCT:
In the QED:
|
| Population risk factors |
|
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes |
|
| Other outcomes | None |
| Study rating | 2+ |
| Citations | Baker, A. J., Piotrkowski, C. S. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1999) The home instruction program for preschool youngsters (HIPPY). Future Child. 9 (1), 116–33. |
| Study design | QED |
| Country | United States |
| Sample characteristics |
|
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | Latino – 100% of the sample |
| Population risk factors |
|
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes | Improved maths achievement |
| Other outcomes |
|
| Study rating | 2+ |
| Citations | Nievar, M. A., Jacobson, A., Chen, Q., Johnson, U. & Dier, S. (2011) Impact |
The following studies were identified for this intervention but did not count towards the intervention’s overall evidence rating. An intervention receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Barhava-Monteith, G., Harre, N. & Field, J. (1999).A promising start: An evaluation of the HIPPY program in New Zealand. Early Child Development and Care. 159 (1), 145–157.
Barnett, T., Roost, F. D. & McEachran, J. (2012) Evaluating the effectiveness of the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY). Family Matters. 91 (1), 27–37.
Bradley, R. H. & Gilkey, B. (2002) The impact of the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) on school performance in 3rd and 6th grades. Early Education and Development. 13 (3), 301–312.
Brown, A. L. (2013) The impact of early intervention on the school readiness of children born to teenage mothers. Journal of Early Childhood Research. 13 (2), 181–195.
Brown, A. L. (n.d.). The effects of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program on school performance in 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th grades. 17th International Roundtable on School, Family, and Community Partnerships, Vancouver, Canada.
Brown, A. L. & Lee, J. (2014) School performance in elementary, middle, and high school: A comparison of children based on HIPPY participation during the preschool years. School Community Journal. 24 (2), 83–106.
Brown, A. L. & Lee, J. (2015) Evaluating the efficacy of children participating in Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters and Head Start. Journal of Early Childhood Research. 15 (1).
Chatterji, S. (2014) The long-term effect of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program on academic achievement: Evidence from a school district in Texas. Honors Thesis, Stanford University.
Dosmukhambetova, D. & Ridling, J. (2016) HIPPY: Literacy and numeracy outcomes for NZ children. Great Potentials. (Prior to submission).
Eldering, L. & Vedder, P. (1999) The Dutch experience with the Home Intervention Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). In Effective early education: Cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 259–285). Routledge.
Gilley, T. (2003) Early days, much promise: An evaluation of the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) in Australia. Victoria University.
Godfrey, C. (2006. Responses to an early childhood educational intervention with disadvantaged families: An exploratory study. Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University.
Goldstein, K. & Karasik, S. (2015) Support for parents with preschool children: Effects of program participation on education and involvement. The NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Green, J. (2008) Challenging disadvantage: The social outcomes of an early educational intervention within the family. Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University.
Gumpel, T. P. (1999) Use of item response theory to develop a measure of first-grade readiness. Psychology in the Schools. 36 (4), 285–293.
Johnson, U. Y., Martinez-Cantu, V., Jacobson, A. L. & Weir, C.-M. (2012) The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters Program’s relationship with mother and school outcomes. Early Education & Development. 23 (5), 713–727.
Kagitcibasi, C., Sunar, D. & Bekman, S. (2001) Long-term effects of early intervention: Turkish low-income mothers and children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 22 (4), 333–361.
Kagitcibasi, C., Sunar, D., Bekman, S., Baydar, N. & Cemalcilar, Z. (2009) Continuing effects of early enrichment in adult life: The Turkish Early Enrichment Project 22 years later. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 30 (6), 764–779.
Liddell, M., Barnett, T., Hughes, J. & Diallo Roost, F. (2009) The home learning environment and readiness for school: A 12-month evaluation of the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) in Victoria and Tasmania. Brotherhood of St Laurence.
Liddell, M., Barnett, T., Roost, F. D. & McEachran, J. (2011) Investing in our future: An evaluation of the national rollout of the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY). Final report to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Mani-Aiken, I. (2004) הפעלת תכנית האתגר ותפוקותיה מזרח ירושלים תשסב-תשסג. NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, School of Education.
Palladino, D. K. (n.d.) Evaluation of the 2015-16 Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) Program. Department of Evaluation and Assessment, Dallas Independent School District.
Prairie Research Associates (PRA) Inc. (2015) Evaluation of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) Program. HIPPY Canada.
Van Tuijl, C. & Leseman, P. P. M. (2004) Improving mother-child interaction in low-income Turkish-Dutch families: A study of mechanisms mediating improvements resulting from participating in a home-based preschool intervention program. Infant and Child Development. 13 (4), 323–340.
Van Tuijl, P. P. M. & Leseman, J. C. (2001) Efficacy of an intensive home-based educational intervention programme for 4- to 6-year-old ethnic minority children in the Netherlands. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 25 (2), 148–159.
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation's terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.
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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
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Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.
Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.
Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.
Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.
Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.
Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.
Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.
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