Preliminary evaluation of the What You Do Matters curriculum in community-based settings

•Parent Education led to large improvements in knowledge of child development.•Caregivers also reported large improvements in parenting and parental self-efficacy.•Program impacts varied by organization, indicating exciting future directions.•New measures of caregivers’ knowledge of child development are published herein. Preventive parent education programs are an increasingly popular means to increase parents’ knowledge of child development, improve parenting practices, and foster better social, emotional, and educational outcomes for children. This study examined the extent to which participation in What You Do Matters (WYDM; Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc., 2018) is associated with increases in caregivers' knowledge, improved parenting, and enhanced parental self-efficacy. Naturally occurring site-related differences in implementation were also examined as potential moderators of impact. Ninety-four families attended up to six classes that comprise WYDM. Participants completed caregiver knowledge surveys before and after each class and they completed a caregiver behavior change and self-efficacy survey after completion of the program. Participants demonstrated large increases in knowledge about children’s brain development (t = 8.86, p