Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
University of Plymouth
Early Childhood Studies
BA (Hons)
Year 3
Is the Bookstart Programme an
effective way to encourage shared
reading experiences between parents
and children?
Catherine Hunn
Email: ahunn@kankucho.freeserve.co.uk
1
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Acknowledgements
Firstly I would like to thank my brother Christopher Whyley. He gave me the
initial encouragement and helped me to establish self belief. My gratitude
also goes to Claire Brown - student and friend - who gave me endless support
and advice. Thank you also to the tutors and support staff at Plymouth
University. Lastly, my biggest appreciation is for my husband Andrew and my
three daughters Ellie, Abi and Chloe, this is a family achievement.
2
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Abstract:
Bookstart, a joint initiative, is funded by multiple charities, and includes
Government support through the Sure Start programme. Free children’s
books are gifted to families with children less than 5 years of age. The
Bookstart mission is to encourage shared reading experiences between
parents and children with the vision of embedding a positive approach
towards books and reading. This small scale research study focuses on the
Bookstart Programme.
My research shows that shared reading experiences with babies as young as
6 months old will help to expand early language, literacy, and emotional
development and additionally offers parents opportunities to spend quality
time with their children.
Findings from my participant families indicate that all the parents appreciate
how important books and shared reading experiences are for children’s
development and I have confirmed that the Bookstart Programme is effective
in offering such valuable opportunities for families.
3
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Is the Bookstart Programme an effective way to encourage shared
reading experiences between parents and children?
Introduction
The Bookstart Programme is an initiative that began in the early 1990’s which
offers free books to families with pre-school age children in order to
encourage shared reading experiences at home.
This dissertation outlines the origin and concept of the Bookstart Programme
and examines how effective the Bookstart Programme is in encouraging
shared reading experiences between parents and pre-school children. I
compare opinions and data collected from Bookstart and non-Bookstart
families and from one professional Bookstart co-ordinator.
My literature review includes current findings and theories from key books and
journal articles which outline the significance of the early introduction of books
to pre-school children.
My research in this area was driven by my desire to understand why some
young children seemed to dislike reading. I have worked for several years as
a teaching assistant and have supported many children with severe reading
difficulties who were unmotivated or uninterested in books. I have often
questioned why these difficulties and negative attitudes occur, especially
when it is clear that the children have no underlying learning disability such as
dyslexia. My own children are all avid readers, to the point where I have on
4
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
occasions had to take their books away from them so that they could get
some sleep. I always read stories to my children from a very early age and
encouraged them to share their stories and ideas. But why do some children
enjoy reading, whilst others dislike it so much? Do early experiences in the
home affect children’s attitudes toward books?
Owing to the proposed research being short term, I am not aiming to establish
whether the Bookstart Programme has long term beneficial results. However,
I am hoping that the data collected will expand the debate on the value of
shared book experiences. Is the Bookstart Programme effective in expanding
children’s literacy, language and enhancing their social and emotional
development?
For the purpose of this dissertation, data has been collected from children,
parents and one Bookstart Co-ordinator. The methodology used was a
combined approach of semi-structured questionnaires and non-direct
participant observations of children during shared reading sessions.
Literature Review
The Bookstart programme was initiated in Birmingham in 1992 by a national
independent charity called Booktrust. Designed as an intervention
programme, it offered free books for babies. Central to the aims of the
Bookstart Programme was the desire to encourage shared reading
experiences between parents and pre-school children.
5
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
The concept of Bookstart was to provide a universal gift to every child:
a love of books, which would become a gift for life, and would benefit
every child, culturally, educationally, socially and emotionally.
(Collins et al 2005: 4)
The Bookstart Programme, delivered by health visitors, librarians and project
co-ordinators, sought to enable parents and children to share the pleasures
and satisfaction that books offer, enabling parents to help build the
foundations of their children’s literacy.
Booktrust commissioned Moore and Wade (1993) to research the effects of
early book sharing between children and parents and how this impacted upon
child development. In Moore and Wade’s view, children’s interest in books
and their literacy development is very much influenced by family members.
They suggest that, in families where books and reading are promoted as an
activity of fun and enjoyment, there is a higher chance that these children will
adopt similar attachments and inquisitiveness about books. Moore and Wade
emphasise in their Bookstart Programme evaluation that structured
intervention and training in a pre-school home teaching programme - where
parents felt supported and encouraged - would foster feelings of confidence in
parental abilities to support children’s reading.
…where access to books is difficult or attitudes to reading are not
positive or where reading with very young children is not considered
important, children may experience difficulties in beginning reading
because they lack the ability to view a text as a focus of interest.
(Moore & Wade 2003: 5)
To overcome the problematic area of family access to books, the Bookstart
Programme carefully selected and delivered books into communities via
6
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
libraries, health visitors and early childhood settings such as Sure Start - a
Government aided programme which aims to achieve better outcomes for
children, parents and communities. One of the ways to help achieve these
aims was to introduce Bookstart
In order to assess the potential effectiveness of the proposed Bookstart
Programme, Moore and Wade undertook an empirical study of 300 children
aged 2-3 years and observed family reading practices and its impact upon
childhood development. The cohort families were represented by a culturally
ethnic mix and included a cross section of professional and manual workers
and unemployed groups. The families were given free children’s books. After
an initial six month period, results from questionnaires indicated that ‘71% of
parents bought more books for their children, 28% spent more time sharing
books with their children, 57% of parents had book club membership and 29%
had enrolled as library members for themselves and for their babies’ (Moore
and Wade 1993 cited in Moore and Wade 2003: 5). Furthermore, in a followup study, which matched a select group from the original 300 families against
a non-Bookstart cohort, analysis showed that the Bookstart children were
more likely to look at books compared to the non-Bookstart children; parents
gave a higher priority to purchasing books as presents; visited the library
more frequently; more parents shared books with their children and there was
increased frequency of parents sharing the whole text, talking about the story
and encouraging language development by linking reading with other
experiences. Also, the children were observed focusing on books, turning the
pages, making comments about the text, pointing to text and illustrations,
7
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
making predictions and joining in with the reading, asking and answering
questions.
All results from the study showed that Bookstart families were advantaged
over non-Bookstart families by a statistically significant level of between 5%
and 0.1% levels (Moore and Wade 1993 cited in Moore and Wade 2003: 6).
Moore and Wade summarized their findings by observing that Bookstart
children were ‘consistently superior in all observed elements at pre-school’
(Moore and Wade 1993 cited in Moore and Wade 2003: 8).
Roehampton University was commissioned to evaluate the Bookstart
Programme between 1993 and 1994. Researchers, Collins, Svenson and
Mahoney interviewed families, health visitors, librarians and Bookstart Coordinators. Their findings showed conclusively that all professionals were
supportive of the programme. However, organisation of the Bookstart
scheme and partnerships between professionals varied across the three
regions. Recommendations include further training of some professionals
was necessary for the effective delivery of Bookstart.
Findings indicated that parents showed positive responses to the Bookstart
scheme and agreed that the books had had a positive effect on their young
children’s literacy development. Furthermore, the evaluation indicated that
where children had accelerated reading skills, they ‘engaged in a diverse
range of reading related activities’ (Collins et al 2005: 2). A further positive
outcome of the study also concluded that, where parents highly valued books,
this had a ‘positive impact on children’s reading’ (Collins et al 2005: 2). The
8
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
evaluation showed however that in some cases, for reading to be embedded
within the family, parents would need more than the gift of free books before
appreciating the significance of shared book experiences. Additionally, the
Roehampton evaluation observed some negative feedback from families who
did not have English as their first language. Despite the translation of the
Bookstart literature into some community languages, the supporting leaflets
from the packs were not always readily available to these parents in their
relevant languages. Consequently some families did not understand the
importance of the Bookstart packs and the Bookstart philosophy (Collins et al
2005).
The Bookstart evaluation by Roehampton University (Collins et al 2005)
concluded that shared reading experiences did have a multiple purpose.
Language acquisition and early literacy skills increased when shared reading
took place regularly. Parents too, benefited from having such close and often
treasured moments with their children.
Moore and Wades’ (1993) research on early literacy confirms that there are
considerable documented links between language development and book
sharing.
For example, the frequency of reading aloud in the pre-school period is
positively correlated with concurrent language skill and reading
readiness and with later language and reading abilities in the infant
school.
(Wells 1985 cited in Moore and Wade 2003: 4)
9
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Wells (1985) observes that parents modify their speech when they are talking
to young children; their pitch, exaggeration of tone and rising intonation all
succeed in attracting the attention of the child listener. This can be seen to an
even greater degree when parents read books to or with their children. Wells
emphasises the close connection between talking and learning. And stresses
‘the most important feature of a child’s language experience is that it is
conversational in nature’ (Wells 1985: 1) Moreover, Wells believes that when
children listen to stories, before they are able to read, they gain experience
and organisational structures of language -‘…the child is beginning to come to
grips with the symbolic potential of language’ (Wells 1985: 134). Wells
suggests that stories have a fundamental role in helping children to attach
meaning to other events and experiences and that when children want to
make sense of an experience, they need to construct a story out of it. The
adult helps to make links and bring shape to the child’s experiences through
narratives and ordering of events - ‘storying is one of the most fundamental
means whereby human beings gain control over the world around them’
(Wells 1987: 197).
Stories provide a real purpose for extending control over language, all
the more effective because they also tap one of the child’s most
powerful ways of understanding, enlarging, and working on experience
(Wells 1987: 203)
Evans (1997) reinforces the suggestion that reading to children assists in the
development and refinement of language and communication skills. When
adults model the correct use of language and surround children with
10
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
opportunities to speak and listen, such as story time and nursery rhymes, they
should also respond readily to children’s attempts at words. In this way their
emerging communication skills will be consolidated.
Create an environment which promotes active listening and productive
talking
(Evans, 1997: 29).
As children experiment with sounds and rhythms, the words and structures of
their native language will develop into recognisable communicative
sentences. Children will begin to recognise that language can be used as a
useful tool for social interaction and become increasingly more confident in
their use of words.
A common view is that, in the first instance, it is the attitude of parents or
significant others in encouraging inquisitiveness, enjoyment and sharing
books that may inevitably lead the child to becoming an able reader. Using
Bruner’s Scaffolding Theory (cited in Smith et al 2003: 503l) as a framework
to develop reading through informal experiences, we can observe how
Bruner’s ideas are consistent with the development of reading skills.
…scaffolding does not imply a rigid structure or didactic teaching
method but rather a flexible and child-centred strategy, which supports
the child in learning new things and which enables the child to have a
sounding board for action.
(Smith et al, 2003: 503)
11
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
The Bookstart Programme can be said to support a scaffolding approach to
learning. Through the resultant social interaction - the pleasure and intimacy the child is motivated by the relationship and thereby encouraged to develop
an interest in books. As the parent acts as an enabler - pointing out initial
sounds, letting the child fill in the missing words, encouraging discussion such as “what do you think will happen next?” - and reinforcing the sequential
patterns of the story, the child begins to recognise that stories have a
beginning, middle and an ending. As the adult gradually withdraws, the child
becomes increasingly more independent and capable, will have a positive
disposition and will be at a point of reading readiness.
In this way considerable meaningful ‘tuition’ takes place, but without
formal teaching
(Miller 1996: 34).
Children’s interest in their environment is motivated by the engaging
experiences and enjoyment that they have at home with family members.
There appears to be little doubt that babies and young children can be
introduced to books and their interest further developed by encouragement
from parents or caregivers.
This can take many forms: contributing to
shopping lists, looking through television guides, pointing at road signs on car
journeys and looking at recipes in cookery books.
Young children ‘play’
literacy games such as putting magnetic letters on fridge doors and activities
like these sow the seeds of communication through the written word.
12
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Williams and Lewis (1999:1) point out that ‘Young children may not have
made the connection that the little squiggles on the page actually mean
something, but they watch us engaging in this mysterious activity called
reading on a daily basis’. They also note that ‘You will be able to tell when a
child is interested’ (Williams & Lewis 1999: 5) by the fact that children will
point at books, turn the pages over and make noises about the pictures,
listening intently to the words being read to them even if they do not have the
cognitive ability to understand the meanings of the words.
The baby will love hearing your voice…
They will probably be curious about the activity and notice your
interest. You will be sharing your confidence in, and your enjoyment
of, written materials with them. This is an important experience for any
young child.
(Williams and Lewis 1999: 4)
Miller (1996), in a study of children’s reading development describes the
home environment as being the place where literacy development in young
children is nurtured. She emphasises that the key to children acquiring
successful literacy development is primarily down to:
Parents who enjoy interacting with their children in ways which foster
literacy development
Children who either initiate or are responsive to parental interactions
An environment in which such experiences are part of every day
life
(Miller 1996: 39).
13
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Miller (1992) conducted a study of 31 children between 3 and 4 years of age
who attended a playgroup. She aimed to encourage parents and children to
regularly share books together. What surprised Miller from the outset
however was the knowledge of books that children had already gained before
they started their pre-school settings. She observed that many of the children
could orientate a book correctly. Of the studied children, 28 could correctly
identify pictures in the books and 22 of the children were able to identify
writing. Whilst Miller was encouraged by her findings, she did acknowledge
that all the children in her study were from families where most parents had
professional jobs and none of the parents were unemployed. Miller added
that in her study group the parents involved had already established regular
reading patterns with their children and were members of libraries. Miller
pointed out, that due to the keen interest that the parents displayed about
reading themselves, some excellent attitudes towards books were already
present.
What these children knew about written language and books had been
learned from their experiences at home with their parents and other
significant adults.
(Miller 1996: 11)
This highlights the unsurprising results from her study. The children were
from predominantly “middle class” families where parents are perhaps more
likely to have higher expectations and aspirations for their children and model
good attitudes towards books. However, this is not to say that “working class”
parents do not establish successful reading patterns with their children.
14
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Furthermore, children with parents that have unreasonably high expectations
of their children and promote premature reading development may encounter
some reluctance from their children. Whitehead (1999) issues a warning
when she discusses the potential dangers of inappropriate pressure put upon
children to become literate, suggesting that unreasonable amounts of
coercion may ‘make reading and writing narrow and pointless. This will
undermine our children’s true literacy interests and strategies’ (Whitehead
1999: 49). Whitehead emphasises that early book reading should be a
shared experience where both participants are active, the child pointing at
pictures, choosing books, joining in the patterns and rhythms of the stories.
Early reading is most successful when children and adults share the
pleasures of looking at books, reading them together and talking about
them on many occasions.
(Whitehead 1999: 60)
Whitehead (1999), cautions against parents using books solely for the
purpose of making their children more able readers. Whitehead suggests that
a parent who exerts excessive pressure on a young child to learn to read may
create negative feelings in the child which in time may interfere with
establishing successful reading skills.
Opinion is divided about the right time to start formally teaching children.
‘Parents [in Scandinavian countries] are actively discouraged from engaging
their pre-school children in early reading acquisition’ (McGuiness1998: 335).
In a study concerning the appropriate time to start formal education with
regard to the relevance of compulsory school starting age (NFER, 2002), over
15
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
half of 33 European countries have starting ages of 6 years. In 8 of the
countries school starting age is 7 years. England is only 1 of 5 countries
where obligatory schooling starts at 5 years. The study focused primarily on
the advantages and disadvantages of school starting ages and how this
impacted upon academic development suggesting that, whilst the teaching of
more formal skills at an earlier age had initial academic advantages, such
advantages were not sustained. The report concluded that children exposed
to books at home, amongst adults who enjoy reading, tend to read earlier, but
formal teaching of reading skills at an early age does not appear to give
children a lasting advantage (Sharp, NFER, 2002: 20).
This view echoes the Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925) approach to child
development, the philosophy of which taught that formal learning is
inadvisable if undertaken prematurely, before the age of 6 or 7 years.
Before this age a child is still at a formative stage of physical growth and
development, with structures in the brain still being refined and elaborated.
A young child's primary mode of learning should be through physical
experiences and focussed on play and language maturity.
A Word-rich Experience as a Foundation for Literacy
Every person or group of persons who move into literacy build a
foundation for reading and writing in the world of orality. Orality
supports literacy, provides the impetus for shaping it. The skills one
learns in orality are crucial because literacy is more than a series of
words on paper.
(Oldfield 2001: 114)
16
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Steiner emphasises the whole development of the child, which should
concentrate on the spiritual, moral and physical growth of the young child. It
views education as a journey not a race.
Whilst the Steiner approach endorses a ‘free to learn’ attitude, (Oldfield 2001),
it does not disparage the use of books for children under the age of 7 years
but suggests careful judgement when selecting appropriate reading material
for this age group. Illustrations should be emphasised rather than the text and
books aimed at ‘educating’ children should be avoided - books that
ask questions such as “What shape is it?” have no reality for the
child (Salter 1987: 101).
They neither fire his imagination nor engage his fantasy. For the child
they present what is only deadly dull meaningless information
(Salter 1987: 101).
Steiner philosophy also suggests that quality books should be beautifully
illustrated and hold true representations of the characters in the stories animals should look realistic, Kings should look regal and ‘a man be a true
representation of humanity’ (Salter 1987: 100). Furthermore, it is the telling of
a story by the parent to the child rather than ‘reading the story’ that will herald
a meaningful experience. Traditional tales, nursery rhymes and songs will
appeal to a child’s sense of imagery and rhythm and are the exact opposite of
educational books, they ‘speak not to the head but to the knowing heart, and
as such they are the birthright of every child’ (Salter 1987: 105).
To conclude this literature review, it is quite clear from the work of Salter
(1987), Wells (1987) Miller (1996), Whitehead (1999) Oldfield (2001) and
17
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Moore and Wade (2003) that shared reading experiences are multi purpose.
Children benefit not only from extended reading and social skills but, most
significantly, their language development improves. These milestones do not
stand alone as one being more important than the other. Story-telling to
children helps children to make sense of their world. It brings sequence and
order to their lives and gives context to their experiences. Parents and
children can enjoy treasured moments from these shared experiences and will
develop a lifelong relationship with books.
Methods of Enquiry
I collected qualitative data from 3 sources (triangulation).
This qualitative method of data collection was a combined approach of (1)
observed shared reading activities between parents and children.
(2) semi-structured questionnaires with parents and (3) a semi-structured
interview with the County Bookstart Co-ordinator.
I chose to use unstructured interviews and questionnaires since my research
is in people’s opinions not in statistic collection. Bell (2005), points out that
the advantages of this type of data collection are its adaptability. Ideas can
be expanded and followed up and participant’s feelings, motivations and ideas
can be developed. ‘Questionnaire responses have to be taken at face value,
but a response in an interview can be developed and clarified (Bell 2005:
157). However, Bell points out that interviews can be time consuming and
their analysis problematic as they can be liable to misinterpretation. For this
18
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
reason the number of participants in this type of data collection is usually
significantly fewer than those involved in quantitative questionnaires.
I used the Collins, Svenson, and Mahony (2005) ‘Individual Parent
Questionnaire’ and the ‘Librarian/Health Visitor conversation/Questionnaire’
as a framework for my own data collection, adapting its format as appropriate
for my specific investigation.
In my non-participant observations I examined parent and child shared
reading experience. Roberts-Holmes (2005) suggests that researchers use
such methods frequently: ‘Researchers are always looking and listening for
information and behaviour which will help them to answer their research
questions’ (2005: 92). However Roberts-Holmes does caution that this can
be widely interpreted or misinterpreted. It is for that reason that I tried to
maintain a non-judgemental attitude and cautioned myself against any preconceived ideas that I previously held about families and their attitudes to
children’s reading. This was particularly pertinent to me when I met with a
family who have adopted a Steiner approach to child development. Before
my research I possibly had some judgemental attitudes towards child
development practices that challenge normal convention.
It is about being open as to why children, practitioners and parents are
doing things in a different way from that which you might expect
(Roberts-Holmes 2005: 95).
19
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
I used the Moore and Wade ‘Home Activities Survey and Observational Study’
(1996) as a framework for my observations and all my observations were
conducted in the child’s home so that the child and parent could be as natural
as possible, hopefully adding validation to the data. I made some preobservation visits to the families discussing the purpose of my research with
them and making myself familiar to the children.
Ecological validity can be enhanced by doing more naturalistic
research, in natural settings such as homes, schools, playgrounds…
…and using familiar people such as parents, peers and professional in
the research design
(Greig & Taylor 1999: 74).
There have been weaknesses to my methodology. My pilot study (family 1)
showed my observation chart and questionnaires to be lacking. This became
apparent when I noticed discrepancies in the data collected. One of my
questions (appendix I, 4.f) asked parents whether their child points to words
and letters during shared reading, to which the parents answered “no”.
However, when I subsequently observed the shared reading, the child
regularly pointed to the pictures - a significant contribution, particularly in the
light of the Steiner approach to books - acknowledging this as an oversight on
my part, I subsequently changed the wording on both observation charts and
questionnaires to ’points to words, letters and pictures’.
A pilot study is crucial at the beginning of your study because it will
alert you as to whether or not your research questions, approaches
and proposed research methods are specific, ethical and actually
doable.
(Roberts-Holmes 2005: 35).
20
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
When I reflect upon my methodology it is possible that quantitative data
collection may have produced more conclusive results.
Methods of research can be divided into two main categories: primary
research and secondary research.
(Green 2000: 2)
Primary research is the process of carrying out one’s own research project
and producing your own findings. Secondary research is when the researcher
is using material gathered by somebody else or has been written by another
person. My small scale project whilst not original by nature is nevertheless
called primary research as data gathered and analysed was undertaken by
me.
Research data is usually collected by using either qualitative or quantitative
methods.
Quantitative research produced results which can be expressed using
numbers or statistics.
(Green, 2000: 3).
Qualitative data is not so concerned with statistics. Qualitative data can also
be described as an interpretive approach. ‘Qualitative research obtains
viewpoints and personal feelings from its participants…’(Green 2000: 3). It is
important therefore to take into account the opinions of all persons involved in
the topic area. In this instance this included parents and the Bookstart
21
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Co-ordinator. This method of combined data collection is referred to as
triangulation. Triangulation is a way of comparing and validating evidence.
The authenticity of the research participants’ responses can be
demonstrated by cross-checking or triangulating their responses with
other people. Through this process of data triangulation it is possible
to see if the participants’ responses are consistent.
(Roberts-Holmes 2005: 40)
…validity can be enhanced by the use of triangulation. Broadly
speaking this can be defined as supporting your findings in more than
one way.
(Green 2000: 83)
By using the triangulation method of enquiry I believe that my findings have
shown a range of opinions and ideas, but are not conclusive.
Findings and Discussion
My findings on the value of the Bookstart Programme are based on four
observations of parent-and-child shared reading experiences, six semistructured questionnaires from parents and one semi-structured interview with
the County Bookstart Co-ordinator.
I have presented my findings of parent questionnaires and observations of
shared reading experiences first. Secondly, I have presented a discussion
outlining key aspects of my interview with the Bookstart Co-ordinator including
several transcriptions from the taped conversation. I have also demonstrated
how the Bookstart Programme has expanded into the wider community –
linking with family learning. Lastly I have summarised my key findings.
22
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Family 1:
Family 1 have a boy who is just over 3 ½ years old. Both parents are British
and professionally employed. They received the baby Bookstart Pack but
were disappointed not to have received the Bookstart + set, although their son
does attend a pre-school setting. Due to this distribution difficulty the chosen
book was not from the Bookstart range.
Shared reading happens every night as part of the child’s bed time routine
and both mother and father read a book to their child. The marks on the chart
indicate how often the child performed the task.
Non participant observations of family 1 (recording 1)
Child
Parent
Location
Boy
Age: 3:8
Mother, story 1
Child’s
bedroom
Length of
activity
Date
18:33
27.3.07
Father, story 2
Story1: ‘Dig, dig Digging’
by Margaret Mayo
Asks parent
questions
about the story
Joins in with
telling the story
Makes
conversations
about the
pictures
Turns the
pages
Makes
predictions
about the story
Points to the
pictures, words
or letters
Story 2: ‘Emergency’
by Margaret Mayo
/ / / / / / / / (8)
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / (17)
(0)
(0)
/ / / / (4)
/ / / / / / / / / (9)
/ / (2)
(0)
(0)
(0)
/ / / / / / (6)
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / (14)
23
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Discussion:
Consistent with the parent questionnaire (appendix i), child 1 often asked
questions about the story, often made conversations about the story and on
two occasions turned the pages. There was a discrepancy however between
the parent answers (4.f) and my observations during the shared reading
session. This issue I addressed for subsequent observations (see
methodology (pg: 18).
I did not observe the child joining in with the story telling, whereas the parent
questionnaire suggested that occasionally this happened. There may be a
variety of reasons for this, perhaps due to the book choice or because I was in
the room making the situation unusual, perhaps inhibiting his normal
responses. I found it interesting that the child participated and contributed
more to the shared reading experience with his father than with his mother.
This could be a gender issue i.e. the books were ‘male orientated’ and
perhaps brought about a father and son union. This could make an alternative
interesting research study – looking at the difference between mother and
fathers reading to their children, their relationships and male/female
stereotypical books.
Answers 1-5 of the parent questionnaire indicated that this family had already
established good reading practices prior to Bookstart and, whilst they felt the
programme did not encourage them to do anything new or different, they still
very much valued its worth.
24
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
They are a vital part of his language development. By listening to
stories he is gaining an understanding of story/non-fiction features and
this will prepare him to become a writer
(Mother of 3:8 year old).
This response to the parent questionnaire (answer 6) echoes the recognised
link between story telling and language development, Evans (1997), Wells
(1985).
An additional comment of ‘very useful bag’ was made and, perhaps whilst not
meant to be taken too seriously, I think it is worth commenting on. The
Bookstart baby pack, Bookstart + and the treasure chest box are all made to a
very high standard, with good quality materials. I think that this suggests to
parents that Bookstart, the supporting charitable agencies and the
government are giving a very clear message to parents, that is to say, parents
and children are highly valued and reading is regarded as an essential life
acquisition. The books are of excellent of quality, carefully chosen by a select
committee of professionals and the books include established children’s
authors including; Jill Murphy, Helen Oxenbury, Quentin Blake and Allan
Ahlberg (appendix ii).
…We valued the opportunity to receive books and know that they are
valued enough to send out to all parents.
(Mother of 3:8 year old).
25
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Family 2:
Family 2 have a daughter who is 2 years and 3 months old. Her mother is
English and her father is Danish. Their daughter speaks both English and
Danish. Her father is a business developer and her mother, an ex primary
school teacher, is now a full time parent.
The family shared books prior to being gifted books from Bookstart and say
that Bookstart did not initiate anything new. The child has only received the
Baby Bookstart pack. The book chosen from the observation was not from
the Bookstart range.
Non participant observations of family 2 (recording 2)
Child
Parent
Girl
Age: 2:3
Mother
Location
Length of
activity
Family sitting 6:09
room
Book: Each Peach Pear Plum
By Allan & Janet Ahlberg
Asks parent
questions
about the story
Joins in with
telling the story
Makes
conversations
about the
pictures
Turns the
pages
Makes
predictions
about the story
Points to the
pictures, words
or letters
(0)
/ (1)
/ / / / / / / / / / / / (12)
(0)
(0)
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / (17)
26
Date
4.4.07
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Discussion:
My observations of this book sharing experience are that the child did not
respond consistently with the answers given in her mother’s questionnaire
(appendix iii). In the parental questionnaire ‘often’ was ticked as a response
to ‘Asks questions about the story’ and ‘joins in with telling the story’. There
was only one occasion when the child joined in with the story telling. The
child never attempted to turn the page in spite of an ‘always’ answer on the
questionnaire. This again could be to do with book choice or my presence. It
is not possible to be conclusive about these discrepancies and my results
suggest that using such data collection methods is too variable and exact
measurements are, in these circumstances not possible.
Consistent with parental answers the child made 12 conversational
contributions about the story and pointed to pictures and words 17 times.
Child 2 is does not attend any day care setting. This has highlighted the
problems of Bookstart distribution and whilst this family have good reading
patterns established, it perhaps suggests a gap in the system where the ‘hard
to reach’ families are potentially missing out on the Bookstart opportunities.
‘More regular contact, more events…’ (Mother of 2 year old).
27
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Family 3:
Family 3 have a daughter who is 3 years old. Both parents are English. Her
father is an engineer and her mother is a full time parent. The child has
received both the Baby Bookstart pack and Bookstart + for toddlers.
However, the child did not choose one of the Bookstart books to share with
her mother during my observation. Wishing to adhere to the rights of the
child, I felt it inappropriate to attempt to dissuade her from her book choice for
the purpose of my research.
Non participant observations of family 3 (recording 3)
Child
Parent
Location
Girl
Age: 3
Mother
Family
Kitchen
Story book: The Other Ark
By Lynley Dodd
Asks parent
questions
about the story
/ / / / / / / / / / (10)
Joins in with
telling the story
/ / / / / (5)
Makes
conversations
about the
pictures
/ / / / / / / (7)
Turns the
pages
(0)
Makes
predictions
about the story
Points to the
words letters
& pictures
(0)
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / (14)
28
Length of
activity
6:13
Date
14.04.07
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Discussion:
The child contributed well to the book sharing experience, echoing her
mother’s questionnaire responses (appendix iv). She asked many questions,
joined in with telling the story, and pointed to the pictures on 14 occasions.
She made no attempt to turn the pages and made no predictions about the
story; her mother indicated on her questionnaire that she occasionally did this.
The child’s mother felt that the Bookstart Programme ‘hasn’t changed our
behaviour but it’s reinforced our feeling that reading is a valuable activity’.
Furthermore it has been recognised by the family (answer 6) that shared
reading activities are a valuable and special part of the parent child family
relationship.
Very good idea, part of our bedtime routine – the only time we sit down
alone. A valuable activity that is not just about reading, but talking
about ideas and pictures
(Mother of 3 year old).
Family 4:
Family 4 follow the Waldorf Steiner approach to childcare. Their twin five-year
olds do not go to school and have never experienced a state run pre-school
day care setting. In the past year they have been attending a Steiner
playgroup, started by their mother. The twin’s mother did believe that in some
circumstances Bookstart may have a purpose:
…can be a useful tool for encouraging children’s language skills for
parents who may not be aware of, or confident employing other
techniques’
(Mother of 5 year old twins).
29
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
As the family have chosen not to pursue the Bookstart Programme the book
chosen was not from the Bookstart range.
Non participant observations of family 4
Child
Parent
Location
Boy
Age: 5
Mother
Family back
garden
Length of
activity
10:27
Date
10.4.07
Book: Kate, the Cat and the Moon
By David Almond & Stephen Lambert
Asks parent
questions
about the story
Joins in with
telling the story
Makes
conversations
about the
pictures
Turns the
pages
Makes
predictions
about the story
Points to the
pictures, words
or letters
/ / / / / / / (7)
(0)
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / (13)
/ (1)
(0)
/ / / / / / / / / (9)
Discussion:
My observations of this shared reading experience echoes answers from the
parent questionnaire (appendix v). My impression was that they regularly
shared books. The child was very much a participant in the activity and not a
passive observer. He initiated mature conversations about the story and
there was an abundance of discussion between the two of them. His
conversation explored and examined the characters. His use of language
was well established. Caution should be exercised, however, about
30
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
interpreting and comparing this maturity of conversation against that of other
children as the study child was over 5 years old. The second oldest child in
my observation group was 4 and the youngest 1:5 so there is an extensive
range on the language development spectrum.
Their Mother (recording 4 & 5), a former primary school teacher, has chosen
to opt out of the English state education system as she feels that the National
Curriculum and its ensuing restrictions emphasises academic achievements
and is not in the best interests of her children.
There’s a lot of children who just don’t have a sound basis for language
development and in the first seven years that’s really what should be
going on
(Mother of 5 year old twins).
The twins’ mother held strong views about children’s books and felt that
British attitudes towards shared reading emphasise an educational/academic
approach rather than the perspective of language development (recording
4&5).
I think it’s more about the language experience rather than specifically
sharing books. I think children who have had an opportunity to talk to
an interested adult and to hear conversations where they are allowed
to join in are at a distinct advantage
(Mother of 5 year old twins).
31
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Family 5 & 6
Family 5 have a daughter who is 4 years old. Both parents are English. Her
father is a flight safety manager and her mother is currently a full time student.
The child has received all three Bookstart packs.
Analysing the questionnaire (appendix vi) it is quite clear that the Bookstart
Programme has enhanced shared reading practices within this family. Whilst
the parents had already established good reading habits with their child, it
was felt that since receiving the Bookstart packs their reading practices had
improved and they are now sharing books with their child daily. The child
takes an immense interest in books and ‘always’ was indicated on the
questionnaire in answer to; asks questions, contributes and joins in with telling
the story, makes predictions about stories and points to words, letters and
pictures. This all indicates that shared reading is a common occurrence in
this household. It would appear that the child feels confident with books,
enjoys shared reading experiences and, since receiving the free books, her
mother feels that she takes a lot more interest in books.
The book box belongs solely to my daughter and is very precious to
her. She brings her box and chooses a book for us to read
(Mother of 4 year old).
Family 6 have a boy of 17 months. Both parents are English. His father is a
full time parent and his mother a primary school teacher. The child has
received the baby Bookstart pack and the Bookstart + set.
Within this family there is a regular reading routine which had been
established prior to the free gift of books. The child’s mother who completed
32
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
the questionnaire (appendix vii) was pleased to be introduced to some
different books from Bookstart - books that she may not have chosen herself.
Her child was the youngest of all my participants so unfortunately question 4,
based on language was not so relevant. However the child’s mother was very
keen to tell me that her son is fantastic at imitating reading and loves to hold a
book and babble. She enthusiastically advocates encouragement about
books ‘rather than formal approach at early age’ (mother of 17 month old).
The Bookstart Co-ordinators perspective
This section outlines the perspective of the Bookstart Co-ordinator whom I
interviewed in March (recording 6).
She was very positive about the Bookstart Programme. Her job as coordinator is a full time post suggesting that the programme is well funded and
wholly supports the raising of literacy skills in children.
It’s a huge amount of funding going into this programme, if you
consider it’s National…that message in itself is saying that there’s
something valuable in this
(Bookstart Co-ordinator).
She expressed appreciation towards the large financial commitment from
private and public charities, sponsorship from over 25 children’s publishers
and funding from Sure Start, amounting to approximately £60 per child for
three sets of books.
33
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
The Bookstart Co-ordinator especially wished to have it noted that funding for
Bookstart Cornwall came from the European Social Funding and the Learning
Skills Council. Part of the reason for this funding is that Cornwall is a
designated Objective One area. Objective One (2006) has been set up to
help to reduce some of the social and economic differences within the
European Union, primarily aimed at removing disparities in wealth across the
European Union. Goals include the restructuring of deteriorating industrial
areas and the diversity of rural areas where there is declining agriculture
We met at the baby bounce and rhyme time session in a local library
(appendix viii). I have not gone into detail about this session; however the
activity, held for any-aged pre-school child, was supported by a library
assistant who read stories to the children and held a singing session. 5
children attended. The afternoon included a visit from Bookstart Bear - a
giant life-size teddy bear invited to befriend the children and promote the
Bookstart Programme. My brief impression was that it was an enjoyable
experience for the children that attended; I observed them listening attentively
to the stories, asking for additional readings and joined in enthusiastically with
the music. Parents observed high quality modelling of shared book reading,
echoing part of the vision of the Bookstart Programme.
My subsequent interview with the Bookstart Co-ordinator started with a brief
history of Bookstart in Cornwall. Once funding came directly to Bookstart
Cornwall, the Bookstart team took over the responsibility and the coordination of the programme from the library service. There has been a
34
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
steady increase in active library users in Cornwall (appendix ix). County
library statistics show that active children (under 16) who have borrowed at
least one library item within the financial year, have risen from 24,920 in 20052006, to a figure of 25,637 in 2006-2007 - an increase of 717
(06/07 figures are un-audited therefore are provisional figures only and
subject to change). From 06/07, the library will be keeping figures of active
library users in the 0-4s age group and this year’s (pre-audit) figures are
3,697. However there is no evidence to conclude that the increase in active
library users is solely due to the Bookstart Programme. Bookstart maintain a
positive partnership with county libraries, linking library sessions such as the
baby bounce and rhyme time and story sack workshops. The coordinator felt
that the involvement with the library was a significant part of the project and
put a lot of emphasis on the story sack courses. ‘Part of our funding enables
us to offer every parent a chance to attend a story sacks course ‘(Bookstart
Co-ordinator).
The story sack course gives parents the opportunity to have further
involvement in the Bookstart Programme, such as craft activities, making
resources to supplement the story books and workshops to learn different
story telling techniques. Story sack courses also offer adult learning advice to
parents offering opportunities to enhance their own learning opportunities,
linking with Cornwall County Councils promotion of adult continued learning
programmes (appendix x).
35
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Link into Learning:
Link into learning offers free, friendly, flexible help with the essential
skills of adult literacy, numeracy and English for speakers of other
languages
Family Learning:
Family learning is for parents and carers who want to become more
involved in their children’s education. Additionally it offers improved job
prospects as parents can improve, gain new skills and continue with
their own learning. Parents often overcome negative learning
experiences and confidence improves (Cornwall County Council
2007).
The Co-ordinator expressed total commitment to the programme and stated
that, in her opinion, the free books for children had made big contributions
towards children’s reading and language development ‘It enhances language
development and it enhances early literacy skills’ (Bookstart Co-ordinator).
An area of difficulty touched upon by the co-ordinator was in regard to the
distribution of the packs. There appear to be limited National guidelines about
this, and ambiguity about the ages at which children should receive the packs.
Contributing to the problem is that many agencies gift the packs and therefore
tracking which families had received the packs is logistically problematic.
Consequently, Cornwall, where the co-ordinator is based, has devised its own
system and categorises children in line with the school academic years, i.e.
Bookstart + was gifted to children in 2006/7 if their birthdates fall between
September 2003-August 2004 and Treasure Chests were gifted to children
born in the months of September 2002-August 2003. This system has been
much more efficient (appendix xi).
36
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
I asked the co-ordinator about any problematic aspects of the Bookstart
Programme and she felt that in families where parents had literacy difficulties,
some of the guidance materials (appendices xii & xiii), particularly Bookstart +
and Treasure Chests had overwhelmed some parents. Where this had been
acknowledged, literature from the baby packs was included with the older
books and support offered. Care is also taken with families whose English is
not their first language; here dual language books are gifted (appendix xiv).
Twins were also acknowledged as individual children and each would receive
a book pack containing different books.
The Co-ordinator shared the fact that the books are carefully selected and
reflect a socio-economic mix, including ethnic minority groups, disabilities and
diverse belief systems, (appendix xv) and emphasised that the books were a
gift to every child and were not limited to deprived families and minority
groups.
She held a very strong view that the programme was not just about a delivery
service and that her team offered an all round service; ‘The packs are no
good on their own’ (Bookstart co-ordinator). These comments very much
reflect the vision of the Bookstart Programme. Her emphasis was that the
love of books should be embedded in every child across the country and due
to the success of the Bookstart programme a fourth delivery of books is likely
to be introduced to 5 and 11 year olds.
37
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
At no time had the Co-ordinator experienced a parent not wishing to accept
the free gift of books. However, she commented that a parent of a young
baby wished to bypass the baby books and had requested a set of toddler
books instead. The co-ordinator reassured the parent that the young child
concerned would be sure to enjoy the baby books and in time would receive
the toddler books as well.
There is therefore a danger that in some cases
parents may view the gift of books as an educational tool and not fully
appreciate that shared reading experiences is more than teaching a child to
read.
From my impression, Bookstart Cornwall appears to a collaborative
partnership with libraries, children centres and families. ‘We’re giving them
[the parents] opportunities and it’s about whether they take these
opportunities or not…They [the parents] get excited about it cause we’re all
excited about it’ (Bookstart Coordinator).
38
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Summary of key findings
Analysis drawn from; (1) observations of shared reading experiences with 4
families, (2) semi-structured questionnaires from 6 families and (3) an
interview with the County Bookstart Co-ordinator.
Analysis of semi-structured parent questionnaires
Nationality
Age and sex of child
At least 1
professional working
parent
Bookstart packs
received from Health
Visitors
Bookstart packs
received at day care
settings
All eligible book
packs received
Did Bookstart help
the family to do any
new things?
Families that daily
share books with
their children
Since Bookstart,
does the child have
the same interest
in books?
Since Bookstart,
does the child have
a lot more interest
in books?
Family 1
Family 2
Family 3
Family 5
Family 6
British
Dual
British
British
British
3:8
Boy
2:3
girl
3
girl
4
girl
1:5months
boy
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
X
X
√
√
√
X
X
X
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
Family 4 are not accounted for in this table as they did not pursue the
Bookstart Programme due to personal choice regarding their belief in the
Steiner philosophy. However, I think the following comment from this family
adds weight to the importance of book sharing, regardless of one’s belief
systems:
39
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
I read to my children daily but do not use this time to teach them to
read – that will come later at their appropriate developmental stage –
somewhere between their 6th + 7th year. The children enjoy sharing
books but I also tell stories with no books as I think this is a better way
of engaging their imaginations, developing listening skills…
(Mother of 5 year old twins).
The Bookstart Co-ordinator and families 1,2,3,5 and 6 unequivocally
supported the Bookstart Programme as being an effective way of encouraging
shared reading experiences. All were aware of the Bookstart message and
the importance of shared reading.
Conclusion
My research project has been a small scale study looking at evidence to
support early book sharing experiences at home. I believe that I have
corroborated research - Wells (1987), Miller (1996), Whitehead (1999),
Oldfield (2001) and (Evans 1997) - signifying that families who value and
share books with their children are helping them to develop good literacy
skills, language advancement and help to advance social and emotional
maturity. The Bookstart Programme, according to my findings, is fulfilling its
vision by offering these opportunities to families through the gifting of free
books.
My findings and conclusion echo the research (Moore & Wade 1993) showing
that the Bookstart Programme was demonstrably successful in promoting the
importance of early book-sharing experiences within families. All participants
in my research study contributed positive attitudes about Bookstart and 100%
of the interviewed families read daily with their children. One of my
40
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
participants (Family 4) held strong views about children’s books but was
nevertheless able to recognise that in some cases the Bookstart Programme
could have positive effects upon early childhood development; however she
felt that books used as a tool for formally teaching children the skills of
reading should be reserved until after the age of 6 years.
A weakness in my research has been the difficulty in finding a socio-economic
mix of families. For this reason it has been hard to compare data between
families who have received the gifted books against those who have not.
Given the opportunity to develop my research further, it would have been
interesting to extend the research in this way. I think my research would have
been enhanced if I had gathered data from the so called ‘hard to reach’
families who have not taken advantage of the Bookstart Programme either
intentionally or unintentionally and for a diverse mix of reasons do not access
day care settings, libraries, health visitors. Families in these circumstances
may miss out on the support available by the Bookstart Programme by the
occasional distribution difficulties. Distribution issues were highlighted in my
data where 2 out of 5 (40%) of eligible families had not been gifted their
second Bookstart pack.
My views have broadened. Before I researched this topic I perhaps had a
narrow-minded view of children’s reading development and viewed it primarily
as an academic process. Since undertaking this research I am more able to
appreciate that the process of shared family reading has multi purposes,
much broader than I initially understood. My perspective of children’s
41
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
development has altered, particularly in light of the Steiner philosophy whose
distinctive approach to child development provides a balance of academic,
social and artistic elements. I more firmly believe that educational
professionals and policy makers, who focus on curricula, academic
achievements, targets and results, may achieve only short term or limited
success. I have become more sympathetic towards the Steiner movement
which is child centred and does not concern itself by government economic
forces. Whilst it is clear that some children are able to be numerate and
literate before the age of 6 years, this may have long term negative
consequences, such as feelings of inadequacy or underachievement if the
child is pressurised earlier than he or she is physically and/or emotionally
ready.
I have learned that the nature of early learning is self-motivated, through
active feeling, touching, exploring and imitating, allowing the child to come to
know the world in the way most appropriate to his or her age and ability.
Bookstart is instrumental in this and supports families in meeting the
developmental stages of children, offering language, social, sensory,
emotional and academic nourishment.
I fell that I am now closer to understanding why some children are
unmotivated to read. It does seem very clear that positive parental attitudes
towards books and families who enjoy, encourage and share stories together
have a profound effect on children’s long term attitude towards reading. If my
research was larger scale and a longer time scale I would have liked to
42
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
expand my study to include attitudes, achievements and perspectives from
teachers, parents and children at primary schools. It would be interesting to
compare how home literacy experiences impact upon children at school.
Initiative such as Bookstart seeks to target family learning and values effective
partnerships between parents and children. I have seen how the Bookstart
Programme fosters and develops these opportunities for families.
I believe that through my readings and broadened understanding, I can now
appreciate more widely the significance of developing children’s interest and
motivation towards books. I value much more the impact books have
particularly how extensively they are linked with language development,
something that I had previously not fully grasped. Moreover, this research
project has helped me to realise that story telling helps children put their life’s
experiences into context thereby helping them to make sense of the world.
As my first piece of university research I have found my choice of topic very
interesting and value the support that I have received from all my participants.
I am also very satisfied with how much I have learned through this process.
43
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
References
Allberg, A and Allberg, J (1999) Each Peach Pear Plum. Viking Kestrel Picture
Books: New York
Almond, D and Lambert, S (2004) Kate, The Cat and the Moon. Hodder
Children’s Books: London
Bell, J (2005) Doing your Research Project. Open University Press: Berkshire
Collins, F., Svenson, C., Mahony, P (2005) ‘Bookstart: Planting a seed for life
Roehampton University, London, 1-123
Cornwall County Council [online]
http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=455 [28 March 2007)
DfES. ‘What Sure Start Is Here to Do [Online]
http://www.surestart.gov.uk/aboutsurestart/ [13th February 2007]
Dodd, L (2006) The Other Ark, Puffin Books: London
Evans, J (1997), Oral Language, Developmental Continuum, Western
Australia, Rigby Heinemann
Green, S (2000) Research Methods in Health, Social and Early Years Care.
Stanley Thornes Ltd: Cheltenham
Grieg, A and Taylor, J (1999) Doing Research with Children. Sage
Publications Ltd: London
Hayes, N and Orrell, S (1993) Psychology An Introduction. Third edition,
England: Addison Wesley Longman Ltd 55, 1, 1-12
Hunt, H (2007) Bookstart Co-ordinator, Conversation with author, 14th March.
Mayo, M (2001) Dig Dig Digging, London: Orchard Books
Mayo, M (2002) Emergency!, Orchard Books: London
Mc Guinness, D. (1998) Why Children Can’t Read. Penguin Books: Great
Britain
Moore, M and Wade, B (2003) Bookstart: a qualitative evaluation. Educational
Review, 55 (1)
Miller, L (1996) Towards Reading. Open University Press: Buckingham
44
Catherine Hunn: EEC 315
Objective One [online] http://www.objectiveone.com/O1htm/whatis.htm
[28March 2007]
Oldfield, L (2001) Free to Learn: Introducing Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood
Education, Gloucestershire: Hawthorn Press
Roberts-Holmes, G (2000) Doing Your Early Years Research Project. Paul
Chapman Publishing: London
Salter J (1987) The Incarnating Child, Gloucestershire: Hawthorn Press
Sharp, C (2002) ‘School Starting Age: European Policy and Recent Research’
[Online] http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/other-publications/conferencepapers/school-starting-age-european-policy-and-recent-research.cfm [14th
April 2007]
Smith et al (1993) Understanding Children’s Development. Fourth edition,
United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing
Smith, P., Cowie, H., Blades, M. (2003) Understanding Children’s
Development, Fourth Edition, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Smith, T (1980) Parents and Preschool, London: Grant McIntyre Ltd
Wade, B and Moore, M (1996b) Home Activities: The Advent of Literacy,
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 4, pp. 63-76
Weinberger, J (1996) A Longitudinal study of children’s early literacy
experiences at home and later literacy development at home and school.
Journal of Research in reading, 19 (1), 14-24.
Wells, G (1985) Language, Learning and Education, Berkshire: NFERNELSON Publishing Company
Wells, G (1987) The Meaning Makers. Children Learning Language and Using
Language to Learn, Portsmouth: Heinemann Educational Books Inc
Whitehead, M (1999) Supporting Language and Literacy Development in the
early years, Buckingham: Open University Press
Williams, S and Lewis, T (1999) Helping Young Children to Read, Hodder &
Stoughton: Great Britain
45