The effect of reading interactive books on early literacy skills and executive functions of children aged 48–72 months

In this study, the effect of reading interactive books on the early literacy skills and executive functions of 48-72 month old children was examined. An interactive book reading program was applied to the students in the experimental group (n = 22) for 10 weeks, while the control group (n = 23) read through digital tools for the same period. The study group of the research consists of a total of 45 students, 21 girls and 24 boys. As a data collection tool in the study, the Early Literacy Skills Assessment Tool (EOBDA) was used to measure early literacy skills and the Childhood Executive Function Inventory (ÇDYİE) was used to measure executive function skills. Both measurement tools were used as pre-test and post-test before and after the experimental procedure. The independent variable of this research is the book reading method (interactive reading and reading with digital tools) while the dependent variables are indicated as executive function and early literacy skills. SPSS IBM 25.0 package program was used in the data analysis of the research. MANOVA and ANCOVA analyzes were performed in accordance with the research questions and normality assumptions. According to the findings of the research, the students in the experimental group, in which interactive reading was applied, received statistically significantly higher scores in the phonological awareness sub-dimension, which is one of the early literacy sub-skills, compared to the control group in which reading was performed with digital tools. Although the average scores of the experimental group students were higher than the control group in other subtests of early literacy skills (print awareness, story comprehension, and visual matching), no statistically significant difference was found. However, in terms of executive functions, the control group students who read with digital tools showed statistically significantly higher performance in both working memory and inhibitory control skills than the experimental group who read interactive books. In general, it can be stated that reading interactive books is more effective in developing early literacy skills for children aged 48-72 months, while reading with digital tools is more effective in developing executive function skills. Based on the findings of the research, it can be recommended that teachers and practitioners use both methods together to develop early literacy and executive functions of children aged 48-72 months.