Meta‐analysis examining the effects of electronic storybooks on language and literacy outcomes for children in grades Pre‐K to grade 2

The Pyjama Foundation is an Australian charity working to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes for children in foster care. The foundation delivers the Pyjama Foundation Love of Learning programme, a learning-based mentoring programme in which volunteer ‘Pyjama Angels’ visit children in care each week to read books, play games and engage in other learning-based activities.This study surveyed 121 Love of Learning mentors (‘Pyjama Angels’) to assess their perceptions of the relationships they had developed with the children they mentored and of the children's improvement in their literacy skills, a key aim of the programme.The statistical data analysis based on the structural equation modelling and multiple regression approach showed that several factors had a statistically significant impact on the mentors’ perceptions of the children's improvement in literacy skills: relationship with the child, child's engagement and tenure in the programme, and frequency of meetings. Age and gender of the mentors were not found to have a statistically significant impact on mentors’ perceptions of this improvement, while mentors’ perceptions of their relationship with the children was the most important factor influencing their perceptions of improvement in literacy skills. The study did not include objective measures of the children's literacy outcomes, so its results are limited to the mentors’ perceptions. However, this study offers valuable insights for mentoring programmes working with children living in foster care.

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Infant functional connectivity fingerprints predict long-term language and pre-literacy outcomes

10.1101/2020.10.29.360081 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xi Yu ◽

Silvina Ferradal ◽

Danielle D. Sliva ◽

Jade Dunstan ◽

Clarisa Carruthers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Functional Organization ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Language And Literacy ◽

Functional Connections ◽

Literacy Outcomes ◽

Functional Brain Networks ◽

Longitudinal Imaging

AbstractFunctional brain networks undergo extensive development within the first few years of life. Previous studies have linked infant functional connectivity to cognitive abilities in toddlerhood. However, little is known regarding the long-term relevance of functional connections established in infancy for the protracted development of higher-order abilities of language and literacy. Employing a five-year longitudinal imaging project starting in infancy, this study utilizes resting-state functional MRI to demonstrate prospective associations between infant functional connectivity fingerprints and subsequent language and foundational literacy skills at a mean age of 6.5. These longitudinal associations are preserved when key environmental influences are controlled for and are independent of emergent language abilities in infancy, suggesting early development of functional network characteristics in supporting the acquisition of high-order language and pre-literacy skills. Altogether, the current results highlight the importance of functional organization established in infancy as a neural scaffold underlying the learning process of complex cognitive functions.

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The effect of classroom acoustic conditions on literacy outcomes for children in primary school: A review

Building Acoustics ◽

10.1177/1351010x211057331 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1351010X2110573

Author(s):

Kiri Mealings

Keyword(s):

Literacy Skills ◽

Future Research ◽

Search Term ◽

Literacy Outcomes ◽

Conditions For Learning ◽

Online Databases ◽

Comprehensive Search ◽

Outcomes For Children ◽

Children's Literacy ◽

Acoustic Conditions

Literacy skills are essential for success in today’s society. However, classrooms often have suboptimal acoustic conditions for learning. The goal of this review was to synthesize research assessing the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children’s literacy. A comprehensive search of four online databases was conducted in August 2021. The search term was classroom AND (noise OR reverberation OR acoustics) AND (reading OR spelling OR writing OR literacy). Eighteen papers were deemed relevant for the review plus an additional seven from their references. The types of acoustic conditions that have been assessed, the types of measures used to assess literacy, and the effect of the acoustic conditions on children’s reading, writing, and spelling outcomes are discussed. Suggestions for the classroom acoustic conditions needed to ensure appropriate literacy development and areas for future research are also considered.

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The effects of bilingual education on the English language and literacy outcomes of Chinese-speaking children

Cross-linguistic Transfer in Reading in Multilingual Contexts - Benjamins Current Topics ◽

10.1075/bct.89.06hip ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 121-144

Author(s):

Kathleen Hipfner-Boucher ◽

Katie Lam ◽

Xi Chen

Keyword(s):

Bilingual Education ◽

English Language ◽

Language And Literacy ◽

Literacy Outcomes

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Assistive Hearing Technology for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Spoken Language Learners

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci9020153 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 153 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Frush Holt

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implants ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Hard Of Hearing ◽

Spoken Language ◽

School Age Children ◽

Future Research ◽

Language And Literacy ◽

Language Outcomes ◽

Related Factors ◽

Literacy Outcomes

Radical advancements in hearing technology in the last 30 years have offered some deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children the adequate auditory access necessary to acquire spoken language with high-quality early intervention. However, meaningful achievement gaps in reading and spoken language persist despite the engineering marvel of modern hearing aids and cochlear implants. Moreover, there is enormous unexplained variability in spoken language and literacy outcomes. Aspects of signal processing in both hearing aids and cochlear implants are discussed as they relate to spoken language outcomes in preschool and school-age children. In suggesting areas for future research, a case is made for not only expanding the search for mechanisms of influence on outcomes outside of traditional device- and child-related factors, but also for framing the search within Biopsychosocial systems theories. This theoretical approach incorporates systems of risk factors across many levels, as well as the bidirectional and complex ways in which factors influence each other. The combination of sophisticated hearing technology and a fuller understanding of the complex environmental and biological factors that shape development will help maximize spoken language outcomes in DHH children and contribute to laying the groundwork for successful literacy and academic development.

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Effects of Shared Reading on the Early Language and Literacy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review

Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1177/1088357619838276 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 205-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Susannah A. Boyle ◽

David McNaughton ◽

Shelley E. Chapin

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Shared Reading ◽

Language And Literacy ◽

Early Language ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Spectrum Disorders

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often demonstrate delays in early language and literacy skills. Shared reading, the practice of adults reading aloud to children while using behaviors (e.g., asking questions) that are meant to promote interaction between the adult and child, is an intervention that has had positive effects on those early skills for typically developing children. A meta-analysis of 11 shared reading interventions with children with ASD was conducted, and positive effects were found for listening comprehension, expressive communication, and other communicative and noncommunicative acts.

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