Abstract
<p style="text-align:justify">This study presented a secondary analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) dataset. The paper explored the differences between fourth grade reading scores by examining (1) how often the fourth graders discuss their school work at home with family and (2) how often the fourth graders discuss what they were reading with friends. The results by NAEP Data Explorer indicate that the average scale score (M=214, SD=36) of students who report “never or hardly ever” talking about studies at home was significantly (p <0.001) lower than all other groups. The results of how often they talked to their friends about what they were reading were mixed: Students reporting talk with friends once or twice a month (M=228, SD=35) had significantly (p<0.001) higher average scale scores than those in the never or hardly ever and almost every day groups and slightly lower than those talking once or twice a week.</p>
Highlights
Conventional wisdom has long suggested that reading to young children is beneficial to their cognitive development as well as their performance in school settings
This study presented a secondary analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) dataset
The results by NAEP Data Explorer indicate that the average scale score (M=214, SD=36) of students who report “never or hardly ever” talking about studies at home was significantly (p
Summary
Conventional wisdom has long suggested that reading to young children is beneficial to their cognitive development as well as their performance in school settings. Klauda (2009) acknowledged the significant research focus placed upon the role of parents in the learning of children in preschool and primary grades as well as the decline of this focus in the research relative to learner age advancing beyond primary school. In particular, the youngest group investigated by Klauda, are in this transitional space. Fourth graders are obviously not the youngest learners, but they are not yet adolescents. They generally are reading to learn at this stage, not learning to read. Friendships and social connections begin to play a more significant role in the lives of children at this stage. Friendships and social connections begin to play a more significant role in the lives of children at this stage. Vygotsky (1978, 1981) concluded in part that personal communications – such as those which one has with friends – play a key role in learning
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