The charge of the Early and Family Literacy committee is to collect current research in early and family Literacy and disseminate it to our peers. During my research gathering and collecting I came across these studies of note:
In Joint Book Reading, Library Visits and Letter Teaching in Families: Relations to Parent Education and Children’s Reading Behavior by Maximilian Prost and Et Al. This study looked into the family literacy activities in preschoolers and how that correlates to the amount of independent reading a child does and their reading comprehension.The findings of the study supported that literacy activities at home, library visits, library programs and book giveaway programs have proven to be beneficial to early reading skills of children as early as preschool age.
In Effectiveness of Parent Coaching on The Literacy Skills of Hong Kong Chinese Children with and without Dyslexia by Yijun and Et Al. This research looks into the effects of training parents in early literacy skills and the impact of that training on Chinese children with and without dyslexia.Though this study focuses on school age children there is great deal of support within the research of the effects of developing readers as well. The results of the study found that children with dyslexia improved their word reading skills and that parent coaching can be a great strategy in fostering literacy skills in both children with dyslexia and without.
In The Role of Early Literacy Skills in Begining to Read in Turkish: Longitudial Findings from First Graders by Tevhide Kargin and ET AL. The aim of this study was to assess the role of early literacy skills in early stages of reading in a fully transparent orthography such as Turkish. A group of 84 children were observed from preschool to first grade. The results found that phonological awareness and early literacy skills that serve as an oral comprehension greatly effects reading capabilities and comprehension.
In Talking Together: The Effects of Traditional Māori Pedaogy on Children’s Early Literacy Development by Melissa Derby. The research focused on the effects of a home based literacy intervention on bilingual ( English and Te Teo Māori ) preschool early literacy skills. The intervention included traditional Māori teaching and learning techniques such as storytelling, singing and games for supporting early learning. The results from the study indicated that traditional Māori pedagogical practices aided greatly in the early literacy development of the children who took part in the study.
The studies presented all support the work that we librarians do. The story times, the early literacy workshops and the library class visits all help create and foster readers of tomorrow.
Today’s blog post was written by Ruth Guerrier-Pierre , Senior Children’s Librarian at Kips Bay Branch Library /The New York Public Library in New York , on behalf of the ALSC Early and Family Literacy Committee. She can be reached at Ruthguerrierierre@nypl.org and @theliterarybug
This blog relates to ALSC Core
I. Commitment to Client Group
- Demonstrates respect for diversity and inclusion of cultural values, and continually develops cultural awareness and works to address implicit bias in order to provide inclusive and equitable service to diverse populations.
- Understands current educational practices, especially those related to literacy and inquiry.
III. Programming Skills
- Acknowledges the importance of physical space to engage and foster learning and establishes appropriate environments for programs that respond to developmental needs and abilities of children and families.
- Acknowledges the importance of the caregiver-child bond to early learning and establishes appropriate and effective environments for programs that respond to the social and emotional needs of children and create opportunities for families to engage in programming together.