Relative efficacy of parent and teacher involvement in a shared-reading intervention for preschool children from low-income backgrounds

• Published in: Early childhood research quarterly 1998, Vol.13 (2), p.263-290
• Main Authors: Lonigan, Christopher J, Whitehurst, Grover J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Comparative Analysis; Early Intervention; Language Skills; Low Income Groups; Oral Reading; Parent Participation; Parents as Teachers; Preschool Children; Reading Aloud to Others; Shared Book Experience; Shared Reading; Teacher Student Relationship
• ISSN: 0885-2006; 1873-7706
• DOI: 10.1016/S0885-2006(99)80038-6

The effects of an interactive shared-reading intervention were evaluated with 3-to 4-year-old children from low-income families who attended subsidized child care. The children entered the program with oral language skills that were significantly below age-level as measured by standardized tests. Children were pretested and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) no treatment control, (b) a school condition in which children were read to by their teachers in small groups, (c) a home condition in which children were read to by their parents, and (d) a combined school plus home condition. Parents and teachers were trained in a specific form of interactive reading via an instructional videotape. The intervention was conducted for 6 weeks, after which children were posttested on standardized measures of oral language, and language samples were obtained during a shared-reading assessment. Significant effects of the reading intervention were obtained at posttest and were largest for children in conditions involving home reading.