Date of Award

5-1-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Shannon Grave

Abstract

Lack of access to books has a lasting effect on children. The home literacy environment of a child impacts their emergent literacy skills, and later the level of literacy with which the child enters kindergarten. Children from lower socio-economic environments are more likely to enter kindergarten behind their peers due to factors such as: less access to books in their home due to poverty and having family members that work multiple jobs and have less time to spend reading with their children. Shared reading between a caregiver and a child is an integral piece of emergent literacy that can start in infancy. It is imperative that families have access to books to share with their children. This study aimed to address parental beliefs and perceptions about literacy and how those influence their child’s literacy exposure. The study also provided access to a lending library for preschool students in a lower socio-economic school district. Data was collected by reviewing relevant literature, surveying caregivers, and providing a six-week book sharing program for children who participated in the lending library intervention. Findings were then analyzed using quantitative methods to determine how the intervention was received by families and if the impact was great enough to advocate to the school district that the lending library become permanent.

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