INTRODUCTION: THE POWER OF HOME LIBRARIES WE CAN CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP Making children’s books available to children is a cheap and feasible intervention that could change home dynamics to improve the future economic fortunes of children (Manu et al., 2019, p. 1). Literacy is the birthright of every child. Reading introduces children to new worlds and ideas, expands their imaginations, and helps them chart their own destinies. Books, magazines, and digital reading materials inspire educational engagement, encourage critical thinking and nuanced ideas, and ensure people walk through the world with empathy for those around them—qualities that become more and more crucial in challenging times. Educators around the globe know that helping children develop into lifelong readers and learners is their most important work—laying a foundation for student success in school and beyond. While children make enormous academic leaps in school, their reading skills are also significantly enhanced outside of the school day and beyond the classroom. Four decades of research with children of all ages, in varied socioeconomic and cultural groups, reveal that access to books in the home is one of the strongest predictors of educational achievement (Evans et al., 2010; Evans et al., 2014; Manu et al., 2019). Children in homes with more extensive home libraries read more, have higher-level reading skills, and attain more years of education overall than those with access to fewer books, even after controlling for parental education level (Crook, 1997; de Graaf et al., 2000; de Graaf, 1986; de Graaf, 1988; Evans et al., 2010; Georg, 2004; Park, 2008; Teachman, 1987). Increasing children’s access to books correlates to “dramatically positive effects” on reading growth and achievement (Allington, 2014).
THE RESEARCH IS CLEAR
Young people need home libraries now more than ever.
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HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
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