Print-Focused Read-Alouds in Early Childhood Special Education Programs

The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of print-focused read-alouds, implemented by early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers alone or in conjunction with caregivers, on the print knowledge of children with language impairment (LI). Using random assignment to conditions, children with LI were exposed, over an academic year of preschool, to one of three conditions specifying the way in which teachers and caregivers were to read storybooks with them. Based on a print-knowledge composite, children whose teachers used print-focused read-alouds had significantly better print knowledge ( d  = .21) in spring of the year compared to children whose teachers used their typical reading practices. When teachers and caregivers implemented print-focused read-alouds simultaneously, children’s Spring print knowledge was modestly higher ( d  = .11) than that of children whose teachers and parents used their typical reading practices, but the effect was not statistically significant. Examination of intervention moderators showed that children with lower levels of nonverbal cognition benefited substantially from exposure to the intervention. Educational implications are discussed.