Literacy Across the Life Span

Does reading with children in early childhood predict later language and literacy skills?

Reading is an important life skill and critical for educational attainment. There is compelling evidence from international studies that home literacy practices such as reading to young children support their oral language skills, literacy development and academic outcomes. 

However, we do not know how early we should start reading with children to support these skills. Ultimately, we need to know more about early home literacy practices in Ireland and the ways in which these are related to later literacy and educational outcomes. Research from Dublin City University is beginning to tease this out.

The icon on this article represents contribution towards UN Sustainability Goal 4: Quality Education. The Sustainable Development Goals are 17 objectives designed by the United Nations to serve as a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.

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Publications

Leech, K., McNally, S., Daly, M., & Corriveau, K. (2022). Unique effects of book-reading at 9-months on vocabulary development at 36-months: Insights from a nationally representative sample of Irish families. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 58, p.242-253.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.09.009

McNally, S., Leech, K., Corriveau, K., & Daly., M. (2023). Indirect effects of early shared reading and access to books on reading vocabulary in middle childhood. Scientific Studies of Reading. 10.1080/10888438.2023.2220846

Publications

Concannon-Gibney, T. (2021). 'Teacher, teacher, can't catch me!' Teaching vocabulary and grammar using nursery rhymes to children for whom English is an additional language. The Reading Teacher, https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/trtr.2013  

Concannon-Gibney, T. (2019). Teaching essential literacy skills in the early years' classroom: A guide for students and teachers. Oxon: Routledge. Available here.

This research examined practice, perceptions and policy of both primary and post-primary school teachers as they related to literacy, with a specific focus on the enactment of the 2011 National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. The paper examines comparisons and contrasts across the two sectors, highlighting gaps that merit attention in the implementation of a successor Strategy. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2024.2370795