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An exploratory study of joint book reading with young children and caregivers
Author
Quek, Evelyn Ee Ling
Supervisor
Silver, Rita
Abstract
The caregiver-child interactions in joint book reading sessions are fondly remembered by many parents and children as enjoyable and beneficial times. In what ways are these sessions beneficial to children? This exploratory research specifically examines the contributions of three caregivers when they read storybooks with their children in the Singapore context. The aim of this study is to identify: i) a set of most frequently used verbal and non-verbal strategies that caregivers used when reading familiar and non-familiar storybooks, and ii) the reasons that the caregivers gave for the use of these strategies.
In this study, two sets of frequently used strategies were identified and the caregivers' reasons for the use of the sets of strategies were analysed. Caregivers' strategies to engage their children in the reading context are important because the employment of such strategies is found to stimulate cognitive development in young children. Joint book reading strategies are seen as "social events" which activate children's cognitive processes in varying forms of mental representation. These are also known as distancing strategies following Sigel's (1982) 'Distancing Theory', which forms the theoretical basis for the framework of analysis.
An observational methodology was used to obtain data of the interactions of three caregiver-child dyads during joint book reading. Six observations were carried out of which three observations were based on the reading of a familiar storybook and the other three observations were based on a non-familiar storybook. The observation data were coded and a summary of the frequency of occurrences of different strategies was derived. These data were used as a basis of discussion in the subsequent interviews with the caregivers. The interview data were then coded as individual explanations for the use of different frequently-used strategies. The observation data showed that all the caregivers were inclined to use the same set of verbal and non-verbal strategies in both the readings of familiar and non-familiar storybooks. Interviews with the caregivers revealed that these strategies were used in specific ways to facilitate and assess the children's cognitive development.
The findings of the study show that caregivers in this sample espoused certain beliefs about joint book reading. These beliefs were already couched in emergent literacy concepts. In particular, it was found that the caregivers frequently used complex distancing strategies such as question-asking to help their children make important learning connections between the knowledge in the storybooks and their familiar experiences. This is a strong indication of the caregivers' awareness of developing their children's representational thinking (a form of cognitive processing). A combination of both low-distancing strategies and high-distancing strategies was found to be consistently used in the observations. Based on this analysis, it was posited that low-distancing strategies serve as effective discourse devices. These help the child-reader anticipate the caregiver's introduction of informational content via the complementary use of high-distancing strategies. In addition, the caregivers were adept at modifying their strategies to match with their children's individual learning needs and styles rather than implementing structured phonemic awareness strategies. It was found that this child-centric approach was adopted by the caregivers to reinforce cognitive engagement with the representational knowledge of the joint book reading discussions and to preserve the positive affect their children associated with joint book reading.
In this study, two sets of frequently used strategies were identified and the caregivers' reasons for the use of the sets of strategies were analysed. Caregivers' strategies to engage their children in the reading context are important because the employment of such strategies is found to stimulate cognitive development in young children. Joint book reading strategies are seen as "social events" which activate children's cognitive processes in varying forms of mental representation. These are also known as distancing strategies following Sigel's (1982) 'Distancing Theory', which forms the theoretical basis for the framework of analysis.
An observational methodology was used to obtain data of the interactions of three caregiver-child dyads during joint book reading. Six observations were carried out of which three observations were based on the reading of a familiar storybook and the other three observations were based on a non-familiar storybook. The observation data were coded and a summary of the frequency of occurrences of different strategies was derived. These data were used as a basis of discussion in the subsequent interviews with the caregivers. The interview data were then coded as individual explanations for the use of different frequently-used strategies. The observation data showed that all the caregivers were inclined to use the same set of verbal and non-verbal strategies in both the readings of familiar and non-familiar storybooks. Interviews with the caregivers revealed that these strategies were used in specific ways to facilitate and assess the children's cognitive development.
The findings of the study show that caregivers in this sample espoused certain beliefs about joint book reading. These beliefs were already couched in emergent literacy concepts. In particular, it was found that the caregivers frequently used complex distancing strategies such as question-asking to help their children make important learning connections between the knowledge in the storybooks and their familiar experiences. This is a strong indication of the caregivers' awareness of developing their children's representational thinking (a form of cognitive processing). A combination of both low-distancing strategies and high-distancing strategies was found to be consistently used in the observations. Based on this analysis, it was posited that low-distancing strategies serve as effective discourse devices. These help the child-reader anticipate the caregiver's introduction of informational content via the complementary use of high-distancing strategies. In addition, the caregivers were adept at modifying their strategies to match with their children's individual learning needs and styles rather than implementing structured phonemic awareness strategies. It was found that this child-centric approach was adopted by the caregivers to reinforce cognitive engagement with the representational knowledge of the joint book reading discussions and to preserve the positive affect their children associated with joint book reading.
Date Issued
2006
Call Number
LB1139.5.R43 Que
Date Submitted
2006