Children's digital reading in family during the Covid-19 pandemic confinement in Spain

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Language, Communication

Abstract

Spanish children have endured the strictest period of confinement in Europe related to the Covid-19 pandemic. International recommendations (PAHO and WHO, 2020; UNICEF, 2020) consider reading as an ideal activity to be carried out in families with children aged 2 to 8 during the confinement. However, due to the closure of libraries and educational centres during this period, there has been a very limited access to free printed materials. For this reason, different institutions have offered digital reading material to families in order to encourage reading at home.
The aim of this study is to analyse digital reading activities that have been performed in Spanish households during the confinement by Covid-19. To do so, we have considered as digital reading all the activities in which reading was done through any of the existing technological tools (mobile phone, computer, television, tablet, ebook). Those activities could be beginning both at the initiative of the child (autonomously), or initiated by the adult, seeking adult/child reciprocity.
We hypothesized that families took into account the official recommendations and they developed digital reading activities at home. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was carried out with a sample of 337 Spanish families with children aged between 2 and 8 years old (mean 5 years and a half). The parents’ mean age was 39.06 years old. Also, 74.8% of the families lived in urban districts, whereas 25.2% of families lived in rural areas. The majority of the sample (64.5%) had higher studies (only 7.9% with primary studies).
Data were collected through four specific items that were selected from a bigger questionnaire on parenting patterns and activities during confinement. Specifically, families were asked about how often they carried out different activities, such as playing digital games that involve reading, listening and watching electronic books or reading children's storybooks with the children. In addition, a final item was included to evaluate, in their view, to what degree their children showed interest in reading digital books. The questionnaire was administered to the families via WhatsApp, and completed at home during the confinement.
Results show a medium-low frequency of digital reading activities, while the parents think that their children have also a low-medium interest on this type of activities. However, the frequency of parent-child story reading is very high. Furthermore, the age of children has the highest correlation with digital reading activities carried out by the families during confinement, considering all the demographic variables analysed (parents´ educational level, area of residence, age of parents and age of children). Considering this findings, it seems necessary to promote home reading at the early childhood education stage through inclusive and accessible activities. On this regard, it is important to provide measures and tools in order to reduce the digital gap, that usually is bigger in families with older parents, living in rural areas and with low SES.

Authors

• Verónica García-Ortega, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  Non-Presenting Author

• Margarita Martín-Martín, complutense university of madrid
  Non-Presenting Author

• Irene Solbes Canales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  Presenting Author

• Susana Valverde-Montesino, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  Non-Presenting Author