This paper was accepted for the Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research in March 2020. Full citation details will follow soon. This OSF project page includes the manuscript and supplementary materials, including R code and data.
Abstract:
Purpose: Research has indicated that interactive shared book reading can support a wide range of early language skills and that children who are read to regularly in the early years learn language faster, enter school with a larger vocabulary and become more successful readers at school (Bus, van Ijzendoorn, & Pellegrini, 1995). Despite the large volume of research suggesting interactive shared reading is beneficial for language development, two fundamental issues remain outstanding: whether shared book reading interventions are equally effective 1) for children from all socio-economic backgrounds and 2) for a range of language skills.
Method: To address these issues, we conducted a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to investigate the effects of two six-week interactive shared reading interventions on a range of language skills in children across the socio-economic spectrum. One hundred and fifty children aged between 2;6 and 3;0 were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a pause reading, a dialogic reading or an active shared reading control condition.
Results: The findings indicated that the interventions were effective at changing caregiver reading behaviours. However, the interventions did not boost children’s language skills over and above the effect of an active reading control condition. There were also no effects of socio-economic status.
Conclusion: This randomised controlled trial showed that caregivers from all socio-economic backgrounds successfully adopted an interactive shared reading style. However, while the interventions were effective at increasing caregivers’ use of interactive shared book reading behaviours, this did not have a significant impact on the children’s language skills. The findings are discussed in terms of practical implications and future research.
