Despite evidence supporting the implementation of book sharing interventions, few studies have examined the value of providing caregiver training in these contexts. This study draws on the quantitative findings of a larger project that employed a non-randomized comparison group crossover repeated measures design as part of a mixed research approach. The goal of the study was to determine the outcome of a caregiver training video on the book sharing behaviours of 40 caregiver–child dyads in an impoverished peri-urban settlement in South Africa. Children in this study were aged 3 to 6 years of age. Caregivers included older siblings, parents, and other relatives. Findings revealed a significant improvement in caregiver shared reading behaviours in both experimental and comparison groups after viewing the caregiver training video, both within and between groups. The significant change in the shared reading behaviours of the caregivers and children, coupled with the positive impact observed in the children and the cost-effective nature of the intervention, suggest that training videos may constitute an effective intervention medium with the potential to promote children’s literacy as a population-based intervention in majority world settings.
Background: Many caregivers from low-middle income (LMI) households consider that preschool children are too young for shared book reading. Thus, many caregivers are unaware of their potentially powerful role in their children’s emergent literacy and communication.Objectives: To describe (1) caregivers’ perceptions of shared reading, (2) caregivers’ perceptions of barriers to shared reading and (3) changes in these perceptions following a short intervention.Method: A qualitative methodology was used to understand the perceptions of 40 caregivers from a semi-rural South African township. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted before and after intervention. The intervention was a short training video about shared reading.Results: Caregivers described the unfamiliar reading culture and viewed reading as an educational activity that they knew little about. Barriers to shared reading included lack of time, few reading materials and low levels of literacy or lack of exposure to this type of activity. Following the intervention, they acknowledged the importance of shared reading, described growing confidence in their shared reading abilities and closer relationships with their children.Conclusion: Speech-language therapists (SLTs) have a pivotal role to play in caregiver training of emergent literacy skills and can make a marked impact in guiding caregivers’ shared reading. A short video-based intervention can alter caregiver perceptions and practices, which may be the first step in changing behaviours.Contribution: The study provides an example of a simple and cost-effective intervention that changed caregiver perception and caregivers’ reported shared reading practice.
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