Home reading environment, maternal shared book reading styles, and dialogic reading intervention in China

Xiao, Su (2016) Home reading environment, maternal shared book reading styles, and dialogic reading intervention in China. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In the present study, three hundred and seventy-five middle class families with 3- to 6-year-olds attending a public kindergarten in Wuhan, China participated in a survey assessing demographic and shared reading related information. Ninety-six of these families were selected for the purpose of identifying maternal shared reading styles and evaluating the effectiveness of the dialogic intervention developed by Whitehurst and colleagues (1988). Many of the results are similar to the data reported in Western studies. First, the majority of mothers indicated that shared reading was a common and longstanding practice. Second, two maternal reading styles were identified: story telling and story collaborating. Middle-class Chinese mothers in the current study were more likely to adopt the story-telling style compared to their middle-class Western counterparts. Third, the behavioral changes in Chinese mothers that occurred after being trained in dialogic techniques, coupled with the greater language gains demonstrated by children in the intervention group as compared to the control group at both post- and follow-up-tests, suggest that the Dialogic Reading intervention is effective. Fourth, the current results are consistent with a model of shared reading that highlights reciprocal maternal and child influences. Whereas mothers contribute to children’s language development by establishing adequate home literacy practices and support, children are active agents within that context as evidenced by different levels of interest, which influences language achievement.

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