Abstract

Dialogic reading, in which parents engage children in discussion of books, is associated with long-term literacy success. Social media is an emerging platform for promoting behavioral change, but it has yet to be tested as a platform for engaging parents in use of dialogic reading strategies with their young children. This exploratory study was intended to determine whether social media is an appropriate platform through which to promote parent–child literacy behaviors in families of preschool-aged children, thus supporting future intervention development. We examined parents’ use of dialogic reading strategies following a social media–delivered training program, using an A-B single case research design. Seven parents of preschool-aged children received 27 one-minute videos delivered via Twitter over a 9-week treatment period. These videos provided instruction on dialogic reading strategies including asking comprehension questions, referencing print, and discussing vocabulary. Parents demonstrated increased use of dialogic reading strategies while reading consistent with instruction throughout the study. Children demonstrated gains on measures of comprehension and oral language from pretest to posttest, although gains on print awareness measures were less robust. Results support further development and evaluation of a social media parent training program. Social media is free, accessed by millions of people every day, and provides an adaptable avenue to reach families and promote engagement. Although further research is required, social media seems like a viable option to explore for changing parent behaviors.

摘要

父母让孩子参与讨论书籍的对话式阅读与长期的识字成功有关。社交媒体是一个促进行为改变的新兴平台，但它作为一个让父母与幼儿一起使用对话式阅读策略的平台还有待测试。这项探索性研究旨在确定社交媒体是否是在学龄前儿童家庭中促进亲子识字行为的合适平台，从而支持未来的干预发展。我们使用 AB 单案例研究设计，在社交媒体提供的培训计划之后检查了父母对对话式阅读策略的使用。在 9 周的治疗期内，7 名学龄前儿童的家长通过 Twitter 收到了 27 个一分钟的视频。这些视频提供了对话式阅读策略的指导，包括提出理解问题、参考印刷品和讨论词汇。在整个研究过程中，家长在阅读与指导一致的同时，表现出更多地使用对话式阅读策略。从前测到后测，儿童在理解和口语测量方面表现出进步，尽管在印刷意识测量方面的进步不那么强劲。结果支持进一步开发和评估社交媒体家长培训计划。社交媒体是免费的，每天有数百万人访问，并提供了一种适应家庭和促进参与的途径。尽管需要进一步研究，但社交媒体似乎是探索改变父母行为的可行选择。