A Jump Start on Literacy: The Effectiveness of a Caregiver-Implemented Phonological Awareness Intervention

Abstract

There is a large body of research that has focused on ways that we can develop preschool-aged children’s early literacy and language skills within early childhood educational settings. Evidence supports how important a young child’s literacy experiences are on their future reading skills. However, there continues to be little research that focuses on what caregivers can do with their children at home to best prepare their young children for the literacy expectations that they will encounter when they begin their formal years of schooling, particularly in the area of Phonological Awareness. This dissertation aimed to demonstrate that when caregivers received adequate coaching and support, they could successfully implement early literacy experiences with their child at home. This was examined with a multiple probe across skills design to determine if the early literacy intervention utilized by caregivers has a functional relation on their young child’s early literacy skills development within the area of Phonological Awareness. Caregivers also provided insight into the effectiveness of the literacy-based coaching model and their participating children provided feedback related to their overall experiences with their caregiver.