The Impact of Shared Book Reading on Children's Language Skills: A Meta-Analysis
Noble, C., Sala, G., Peter, M., Lingwood, J., Rowland, C., Gobet, F., & Pine, J. · 2019
grade Cmeta-analysisindependentreplicatednumbers spot-checked
Sample
Pooled across shared-reading intervention studies
Population
Preschool and early-school children.
Design
Separates passive-control from active-control comparisons — the decisive contrast for deciding whether shared reading does anything specific.
Key findings
Shared book reading beats doing nothing (g=0.23) but is statistically indistinguishable from any other adult-attention activity (g=0.03). It is a non-specific attention effect, not a specific language lever — and follow-up effects are non-significant.
Counterfactual
THE HEADLINE VARIABLE: passive controls (business-as-usual) versus ACTIVE controls (an alternative adult-attention activity).
Genetic confound
Experimental base; the active-control null is the key result.
Replication notes
Consistent with the general pattern that adult-attention interventions look effective against no-contact controls and evaporate against matched attention.
DOI / URL
10.1016/j.edurev.2019.100290
Effects
| Outcome | Metric | Value | Measure | Timing | Vs | Horizon | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child language skills vs PASSIVE control | g | 0.231 (p<.001) | mixed | end-of-treatment | business-as-usual | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| Child language skills vs ACTIVE control | g | 0.028 (p=.703) — NULL | mixed | end-of-treatment | active-alternative | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| Post-intervention follow-up | g | non-significant | mixed | grade-3 | unclear | over-2yr | domain-skill |
Cited by
- The early home environment — what parents can and cannot causally movemixedconf: highgc: low
- The parent as instructor — what survives when the person teaching is the person who raised the childmixedconf: mediumgc: medium