Using mobile technology to engage parents and carers in reading with their children

• In Event: Unlocking the potential of EdTech for effective learning by engaging communities

Proposal

The role of parents and carers in a child’s education is undisputed as being impactful and important to a child’s development and with reading outcomes at a historic low, it is clear reading engagement must extend beyond the school. And while EdTech has the potential to offer a solution of access through the use of personal mobile phones, understanding the components that contribute to parental engagement in reading behaviors requires additional exploration. This presentation will showcase research that explores the use of mobile technology to enable Kenyan schools to improve parents’ and carers’ engagement in reading with their children.

In 2022 (Phase 1), the researchers utilized a mixed-methods Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology to test approaches to improve parental engagement in reading using the BookSmart app. The study engaged parents and carers of grade three students from 14 schools across Nairobi and Kiambu counties in Kenya. Each received different engagement modalities to determine their impact on parental engagement and the findings overall were positive. The research affirmed the efficacy of five modalities in enhancing parents' and carers’ engagement with their children's reading through the app, which consequently improved the knowledge, attitudes and practices surrounding reading.

Building upon the successes of Phase 1, Phase 2 of the research is underway in 2023 and is testing new and modified modalities of varying intensity levels with a quasi-experimental design (QED) across 12 intervention schools and three control schools. The treatment modalities include various approaches such as volunteer (parent) led shared reading sessions, the delivery of hybrid parental training packages, teacher assigned reading with a tracking tool, and the delivery of digital nudges.

Together, the research and implementation team will present findings from the second phase of the QED research and secondary questions posed:

RQ1: How do different intervention modalities impact carer-child engagement in a reading application?
RQ2: What is the cost effectiveness of each of these modalities for improving carer-child engagement?
RQ3: How do the different modalities impact carer-child engagement and reading outcomes across gender and socioeconomic backgrounds?
The research is being assessed through surveys, a baseline and endline reading test using the Uwezo tool, qualitative interviews, and the continuous review of in app analytics. Taking the research further, this presentation will address the implications of parental/carer engagement on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards reading within the home as well as the reading outcomes achieved through this behavior change.
The presentation and the results presented from this research will offer insights on the use of mobile technology for school-to-home reading engagement and the most promising modalities for driving reading behavior. The presentation will offer practical insights on how this research has shaped the service model including components of their BookSmart App, instructional design, and behavior change approach in Kenya and globally as the provider seeks to empower families and communities to read so they can read to learn and become catalysts for change.

Authors

• Amina Khan, UNESCO-ODI-EDTech Hub (Consultant)

• Deborah Backus, Worldreader