RELATIVE EFFICACY OF PARENT AND TEACHER INVOLVEMENT IN A SHARED-READING INTERVENTION FOR PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME BACKGROUNDS

The effects of an interactive shared-reading intervention were evaluat ed with 3- to 4-year-old children from low-income families who attende d subsidized child care. The children entered the program with oral la nguage skills that were significantly below age-level as measured by s tandardized tests. Children were pretested and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) no treatment control, (b) a school condition in w hich children were read to by their teachers ill small groups, (c) a h ome condition in which children were read to by their parents, and (d) a combined school plus home condition. Parents and teachers were trai ned in a specific form of interactive reading via an instructional vid eotape. The intervention was conducted for 6 weeks, after which childr en were posttested on standardized measures of oral language, and lang uage samples were obtained during a shared-reading assessment. Signifi cant effects of the reading intervention were obtained at posttest and were largest for children in conditions involving home reading.