Improving Rural Boarding Preschoolers' Vocabulary through After-School Reading Interventions
Saved in:
| Title: | Improving Rural Boarding Preschoolers' Vocabulary through After-School Reading Interventions |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Juan Yan, Xiao Zhang (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Educational Psychology. 2026 118(4):504-518. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 15 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education Preschool Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Preschool Children, Boarding Schools, Rural Areas, Preschool Education, Vocabulary, Language Acquisition, Reading Programs, Expressive Language, Receptive Language, Reading Skills, Program Effectiveness, After School Programs |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Raven Progressive Matrices |
| DOI: | 10.1037/edu0001007 |
| ISSN: | 0022-0663 1939-2176 |
| Abstract: | Preschoolers may board at school to access early childhood education in some rural areas of southwestern China. These young boarders usually exhibit disadvantaged language development relative to their nonboarding peers. Thus, effective language interventions for them are urgently needed. Here, 104 rural boarding preschoolers were recruited and randomized to a dialogic reading group, a group that watched prerecorded book-reading videos incorporating pseudocontingent interactions, or a control group for 8 weeks. The results showed that the two interventions had positive and equivalent effects on children's book-specific expressive vocabulary. Children in the dialogic reading group significantly improved their general expressive vocabulary relative to the control group. Effects on children's receptive vocabulary or Chinese reading skills were not found in both intervention groups. The findings indicate that teacher-child dialogic reading is an effective strategy to enhance rural boarding preschoolers' expressive vocabulary. Watching prerecorded pseudocontingent book-reading videos, though not as potent as dialogic reading, provides a valuable and labor-saving alternative. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1507519 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Preschoolers may board at school to access early childhood education in some rural areas of southwestern China. These young boarders usually exhibit disadvantaged language development relative to their nonboarding peers. Thus, effective language interventions for them are urgently needed. Here, 104 rural boarding preschoolers were recruited and randomized to a dialogic reading group, a group that watched prerecorded book-reading videos incorporating pseudocontingent interactions, or a control group for 8 weeks. The results showed that the two interventions had positive and equivalent effects on children's book-specific expressive vocabulary. Children in the dialogic reading group significantly improved their general expressive vocabulary relative to the control group. Effects on children's receptive vocabulary or Chinese reading skills were not found in both intervention groups. The findings indicate that teacher-child dialogic reading is an effective strategy to enhance rural boarding preschoolers' expressive vocabulary. Watching prerecorded pseudocontingent book-reading videos, though not as potent as dialogic reading, provides a valuable and labor-saving alternative. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0022-0663 1939-2176 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/edu0001007 |
