Closing the App Gap: The Effects of Educational Media on Low-Income Preschoolers' School Readiness Skills

• In Event: 61.066 - The Changing Face of Early Literacy Teaching

Abstract

Purpose: The average amount of time young children spend time using mobile devices has more than tripled in the last five years (Guernsey et al., 2012). According to a recent survey, 4% of children ages 0-8 in 2011 spent time on digital devices including smartphones, ereaders, or tablets; today, this number today averages 30% (Common Sense Media, 2013). Nevertheless, there remains a troubling ‘app gap’—a disparity in access to mobile devices and applications for low-income children. For example, a recent study indicated that 30% of low-income children have downloaded an app, 57% of which were educational compared to 49% of middle-class children, 80% of which were educational.

Perspectives: Recognizing that the early years are formative in developing children’s use of media (Neuman & Celano, 2012), this study was designed to examine the efficacy of a short-term randomized trial of an educational app on low-income preschoolers school readiness skills. Guided by trained moderators, the educational app engages children in a systematic phonological awareness program that integrates storybook and poetry reading. The purpose of the trial, therefore, was designed to examine if a highly motivating educational app might accelerate children’s skills.

Methods, techniques or modes of inquiry: Ten classrooms, including 148 preschoolers (4-5) from a Head Start Center in a severely impoverished neighborhood participated in the 10-week study. Children were randomly selected within each classroom to engage in either an educational app, Homer, which included a systematic phonological and storybook reading program or Nick Jr. draw and play, an art and activity app, for 10-12 minutes daily. Moderators guided children in small groups in both conditions. Pre-and post measures include the PPVT, TOPEL, and PALs, and decodable sight words.

Results: Preliminary results using analyses of covariance indicated significant gains in children’s phonological awareness skills as a result of daily uses with Homer compared to the control group who spent time on the alternative app. Effect sizes ranged from modest .36 to substantial, .89. There were no recorded gains for PPVT.

Significance: Guided use of an educational app may be a source of motivation and engagement for children in the early years. Given what we know about the importance of phonological awareness and vocabulary, and its contribution to school readiness, such digital resources in a highly controlled setting of the classroom may substantially help to close the “app gap.”

Authors

• Susan B. Neuman, New York University

• Carolyn Strom, NYU Dept of teaching and learning