significantly to their academic achievement. As such, caregivers are expected to play a prominent role that will

facilitate the reading abilities of their children. This research sets out to provide caregivers with strategies that

would enable them to be actively involved in the reading activities of their children. Thirty six (36) children

were selected randomly among lower basic level and their corresponding caregivers made up the sample of the

research making a total of seventy two (72) respondents. A pre-test was administered on the students to

determine the baseline data on their reading abilities while interviews were conducted to determine their

exposed to dialogic reading have great improvement on their reading ability.

Generally, most low-income parents do not themselves, read, let alone read to their children (Martı

n-Loeches

et al, 2004). Researches on the impact of parental involvement on their children’s academic progress have

attested to the major role parents play in the academic success of their children (Epstein, 1984, 1987,

children, a number of researches have consistently shown positive effects on their children’s reading

development at home (Bean, Southworth, Keebler and Topping, 1986, 1987).

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 1992) results indicate higher levels of reading

caregivers to participate in the educational process of their children at home and in school. Activities such as

information exchange, decision sharing, volunteer services for schools, home tutoring/teaching, and

child/school advocacy could be used to involve caregivers in school learning, Tarraga, Garcia and Reyes,

(2017). Parental involvement as the activities occurring between a parent and a child or between a parent and

teachers at school that may contribute to the child’s educational outcomes and development. However,

findings of some researches have indicated the willingness of many parents to work with teachers and schools

to help their children to succeed academically, Charvkin and Williams, (1985); Rasinski and Fredericks,

(1989).

Most Nigerian families are interested in providing education for their children, but unlike the caregivers in the

developed nations of the world, Nigerian parents are not known to devote appreciable level of interest in the

(2000); Wright, (2004); Hawes, Plourde, (2005). When caregivers are actively involved in their children’s

reading activities, by consistently reading to, or with them, reading skills may improve. The interaction that

occurs between the caregivers and children may play a significant role in children's overall reading skills

development. However, there is poor record of parents’ involvement in enhancing the reading abilities of their

children in Nigeria, (Iroegbu & Igweike, 2020). The reasons could be attributed to insufficient time for

caregivers to work with their children, parents’ lack of motivation to implement learning activities with their

children, inadequate instructional materials and training support from the schools or even lack of awareness of

the various ways they could be involved. This research is addressing this problem by providing training and

support to the caregivers, on how to utilise the Dialogic strategy in getting actively involved in the reading

activities of their children.

3. To deploy the dialogic strategy to the caregivers of the children,

4. To examine the efficacy of the Dialogic Reading Strategy on the students reading ability.

Despite the importance of reading and writing as components for the literacy attainment of primary school

pupils, a lot of primary school pupils are experiencing great difficulty in acquiring the reading skills. Rasinki

(1994) maintained that assessing the reading ability of children and giving them the right intervention at the

appropriate time is paramount because difficulties in developing proficiency in the early grade can lead to

severe academic difficulties throughout the students’ schooling. Similarly, Kennedy, Birman and Demacaine

(1986) have also been proven through research that once the child has gone beyond the third grade (primary

three), efforts aimed at alleviating reading difficulties for him/her are seldom successful. Research conducted

involvement has the benefits of higher test scores and grades, better attendance, increased levels of completed

homework, and motivation. Numerous supplementary and preventive instructions/efforts aimed at providing

intervention to children with reading difficulties at the early grade have been designed by experts in the

reading field, Rasinki (1994). The problem is how can this additional support be accommodated in the already

prepared school curriculum? This is where the intervention or involvement of the caregivers comes in.

Dialogic Reading (DR) is an evidenced-based approach to shared book reading. Adults use these strategies to

storytelling quality which encourages children to stay engaged and get excited, (Huag & Doleis, 2007). Many

caregivers are frustrated with storybook time when their children do not respond enthusiastically.

Reading is one of the most important sources of information to human beings. It is an action word with the

three domains of Bloom’s taxonomy: Cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Yurtbakan, Erdogan &

Erdogan (2021), supported the fact that reading begins with receiving message from the written source and

ends with establishing meaning in the mind, where the process begins with most cognitive and psychomotor

dimensions at the forefront and motivation playing a key role as a driving force in mobilizing the individual at

Similarly, Lerner (2000) expressed the view that early literacy is the acquainting of children to books, stories,

and poems at an early age, mostly by parents at preschool level. (Doyle, 2004; Gupta, 2009, Whitehurst &

Lonigan (2001) unanimously maintained that early literacy is all the prerequisite knowledge, skills and

attitudes that children are expected to acquire regarding literacy in the periods before they start formal

are to be developed through reading books interactively by both children and caregivers, Whitehurst, Epstein

et al., (1994). Roles are exchanged between the caregivers and the children with the guidance of the adult

caregivers. In both scenarios, listening and asking questions are the key activities involved during Dialogic

Reading. Reading together with children right in the home environment by the caregivers or parents is the most

effective method that supports Dialogic Reading.

Researches on Dialogic Reading indicated that the parents and caregivers should support early literacy skills in

the preschool period, because the skills positively affect reading. It was also observed that children who

routinely participate in reading activities with adults in the preschool period, are most successful in language

skills (Yuzbasioğlu & Akyol, 2022).

Yurtbakan, Erdogan & Erdogan (2021) observed that studies have been conducted with the aim of assessing

a transformative tool for fostering parental involvement in children’s reading development. At its core, DR

involves an interactive, dialogic process where parents actively engage their children through questioning,

elaboration, and narrative participation during shared reading sessions. This strategy, in its real sense, aligns

the zone of proximal development (ZPD) when guided by more knowledgeable others. Notably, researches

(Lonigan and Whitehurst (1998), Aram (2006) have demonstrated that DR functions well in the enhancement

emphasized that the interactive nature of DR fosters cognitive engagement, thereby enabling children to co-

construct knowledge with their caregivers. This co-construction, according to them, has been shown to

stimulate deeper linguistic processing compared to traditional read-aloud practices. However, as noted, the

efficacy of DR is highly contingent on parents’ ability to adopt and sustain dialogic techniques, and this is a

challenge that is magnified in contexts with limited parental literacy, such as rural Nigeria like Kazaure Local

children’s literacy outcomes, Aderinoye and Rogers (2005) had earlier highlighted that integrating culturally

relevant content into DR practices increases parental engagement and ensures the sustainability of such

Additionally, the role of parental agency in literacy development has been further emphasised in recent global

studies. For instance, Mol, Bus, de Jong & Smeets (2008) conducted a meta-analysis revealing that the depth

of parent-child interaction during DR session was more critical for literacy gains than the frequency of reading.

inadequate educational infrastructure. However, contextual adaptation remains a key factor that must be

considered in DR practices within the local linguistic and cultural contexts, Tadesse, Samuel and Tesfaye

(2022).

While DR democratises literacy by positioning parents as co-educators, it also challenges deeply entrenched

hierarchies in education. It should be recalled that Whitehurst (1992) has argued that DR disrupts the

traditional teacher-centred model by fostering a more participatory and inclusive approaches to learning,

thereby emphasizing the learner-centred approach. Furthermore, Aderinoye, Tade and Smith (2007) pointed

out, achieving this paradigm shift in rural setting requires sustained community sensitisation and support. As

such, the implementation of DR in Kazaure must therefore transcend procedural training to address underlying

perceptions of literacy as an institutional rather than a communal endeavour.

level of literacy and involvement in the reading development of their children. The caregivers of the 31

selected children received training on how to use the Dialogic Reading Strategy to enhance their involvement