This study investigated the effect of teaching parents/caregivers to read alphabet books using dialogic techniques, on preschool children's alphabet skills, phonological awareness, and oral language skills. The independent variable was a one hour scripted information session where parents/caregivers viewed a parent training video Read Together, Talk Together Parent Training Video (Pearson Early Learning, 2004) and learned how to use dialogic reading techniques which they then applied at home during an eight week intervention. Thirty-one parent/caregiver-child dyads were recruited from four East Tennessee preschools designated to serve high need populations. The study utilized a Pre-Post Test Control Group Design. Primary research questions for this study were: (1) Does dialogic reading using alphabet books, between parents and 4–5 year old preschool children have an effect on children's letter identification skills? (2) Does dialogic reading using alphabet books between parents and 4–5 year old preschool children have an effect on children's phonological awareness? (3) Does dialogic reading using alphabet books between parents and 4–5 year old preschool children have an effect on children's expressive language development? (4) Do parents/caregivers who participate in videotape training and implementation of dialogic reading with 4–5 year old children apply the strategies to focus on letters, letter sounds, or initial sounds when they read alphabet books? (5) To what degree are parents able to follow a schedule of reading books at least three times per week using dialogic reading strategies during the eight-week intervention? Results indicated that the intervention had a significant effect (U=63.5, p<.05) related to child skills only on the Picture Naming Fluency measure for expressive language. Other effects were not statistically significant. A significant difference between the treatment group and control group parents was found for asking dialogic questions about letters (U=13.00, P=.004) and general dialogic questions (U=7.5, P=.000) but not for dialogic questions about sounds. Most parents read to their children at least three times per week. Parents were highly satisfied with the initial training, the eight-week program, the materials provided, and the child outcomes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-5128 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Creators | Halsey, Heather Noel |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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