ERIC Number: EJ1483250
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Oct
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1082-3301
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1707
Available Date: 2024-11-07
Receptiveness of the Kindytxt Universal Early Literacy Texting Program by Parents from Low, Medium, and High Socioeconomic Communities
Early Childhood Education Journal, v53 n7 p2767-2781 2025
The home literacy environment (HLE) plays an important role in children's early literacy learning. Texting programs are an increasing feature of family literacy interventions that support parent engagement in their children's learning. Unlike face-to-face interventions, texting programs can offer sustained parental support at low cost and large scale. Messages can be translated into other languages, saved and shared, thus potentially widening the influence on children's HLEs. Most early literacy texting programs target families from disadvantaged communities, yet research suggests all families may benefit from guidance on supporting their children's early literacy. This study examined the receptiveness of a universal early literacy texting program, Kindytxt, by parents of kindergarten children from low, medium and high socioeconomic communities. Kindytxt was developed as a component of a universal book gifting program that uses a library-school model of program delivery and has statewide reach. Parents received 90 texts over 30 weeks and were invited to provide feedback via SMS at several intervals. Non-parametric tests were used to compare parent responses based on community-level socioeconomic status. Similarly high levels of parental support were evident across all socioeconomic strata. We argue that a universal approach can avoid the stigma and potentially lower uptake of programs that target disadvantaged families. Moreover, the Kindytxt cooperative delivery model allows targeted strategies to be incorporated within the universal program. Teachers and librarians can proactively bolster recruitment to the texting program and support parents to differentiate the literacy activities to suit their child's cultural context and level of literacy development.
Descriptors: Parent Attitudes, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Emergent Literacy, Family Programs, Socioeconomic Status, Program Attitudes, Kindergarten
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Edith Cowan University, School of Education, Mt Lawley, Australia