Effects of a joint book reading strategy on Even Start

Effects of teaching Spanish-speaking Even Start mothers to use dialogic reading strategies with their preschool children were examined in this experimental study. Thirty-four children and their mothers participated. Mothers in the treatment group were taught to use the strategy to engage their children in conversation while reading storybooks. Data gathered from the children at pretest and posttest were measures of receptive vocabulary (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised), expressive vocabulary by calculating mean length of utterance and concepts about print using a checklist. Use of the Adult/Child Interactive Reading Inventory (ACIRI) provided data about mother and child behaviors at pretest and posttest. An attitudinal measure assessed the trained mothers' self-efficacy as a literacy coach. Findings include direct effects on the mothers' ability to use the strategy as well as indirect effects on the children's emergent literacy behaviors. Statistically significant effects were found for concepts about print (p < .05) using an ANOVA. A strong positive correlation (r(12) = .85, p < .001) between the treatment group mother's and child's ACIRI score was found. Time spent in Even Start (p < .02) and the mother's ACIRI score (p < .01) were positively related to the child's mean length of utterance in a multiple linear regression analysis. A moderate positive correlation was found (r(12) = .54, p < .05) for the relation between the mother's ACIRI score and the self-efficacy measure at posttest. Implications include a promising reading strategy resulting in the growth of emergent literacy skills for bilingual children and changed reading behaviors for their mothers in workshop format that could be easily and inexpensively incorporated into existing curriculum in intergenerational literacy programs.