The purpose of this study was to examine the aspects of mother- preschooler and father-preschooler interactions during picture-book reading by mothers and fathers. Two research questions were posed:
1. What are the aspects of mother-child interactions...
The purpose of this study was to examine the aspects of mother- preschooler and father-preschooler interactions during picture-book reading by mothers and fathers. Two research questions were posed:
1. What are the aspects of mother-child interactions during picture- book reading?
2. What are the aspects of father-child interactions during picture-book reading?
The subjects in this study were six preschoolers and 12 their parents. The preschoolers who included three preschool boys and three preschool girls were at the Western age of 3, and the parents who involved six mothers and six fathers received college or higher education and belonged to the middle classes in terms of socioeconomic standing.
The six families were visited six times respectively during a two- month period, and a participant observation was made 72 times in total, 36 times each, to find out interactions between the mothers and preschoolers and between the fathers and preschoolers. A survey was conducted to grasp the general background of the parents and preschoolers, their family reading environments and preference for picture books. After the participant observation was completed, the parents were interviewed to figure out why and how they read picture books to their children and how they felt about that.
The major findings of the study were as follows:
First, when the aspects of mother-child interactions were observed during their picture-book reading, it's found that the first interaction was talking about the diverse elements of picture books such as titles and covers. The second interaction was asking questions to let the preschoolers think. The third was changing their voice or acting to spark the interest of the preschoolers. The fourth was linking what's described in picture books with the experiences of the preschoolers. The fifth was stimulating the preschoolers to express how they felt. The sixth was sensitively coping with the verbal reaction of the preschoolers. The seventh was linking picture-book reading and learning in a natural way, and the eighth was having a talk with the preschoolers while reading picture books to them.
Second, as a result of observing the aspects of interactions between the fathers and preschoolers during picture-book reading, the first interaction was reading picture books to the end. The second was informing or teaching information or knowledge. The third was conveying what picture books were about in an accurate way. The fourth was checking the understanding of the preschoolers about what picture books said. The fifth was enlarging reading activities into another kinds of activities, and the sixth was boosting a rapport with the preschoolers while reading picture books to them.