Description:
Shared reading interventions that target children at risk of developmental delays or those from low-income homes have been successful in improving children's emergent literacy skills. Interventions that are implemented in childcare or education settings have also been shown to improve children's emergent literacy; however, implementation of shared and dialogic reading programmes can be difficult in childcare environments where one-on-one time is limited. Hence, shared reading interventions that elicit the help of volunteers from the community are an ideal alternative. The current study examined the effects of a volunteer-implemented dialogic reading intervention on 75 children aged from three to five years, focusing on measures of vocabulary, oral comprehension, print awareness, social-emotional behaviour, communication skills, and book reading tendencies. Results showed significant improvements across all outcome variables, supporting the viability of volunteer-implemented reading interventions in childcare settings for improving children's emergent literacy, communication and social-emotional behaviour. (author abstract)
Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
Country:
Australia