Expanding the Boundaries of Kindergartners’ E-book Reading

The increasing range and number of electronic books (e-books) available in the children’s
book market has motivated educators and researchers to investigate how well these platforms
can contribute to advancing emergent literacy. Such research has nonetheless been conducted
on a much smaller scale in the area of self-regulated learning (SRL) with e-books targeted at
young children at risk for learning disabilities. The article discusses recent research conducted
with kindergartners 4.5 to 7.0 years old. In the research reported, the 78 participants were
randomly divided into three groups of equal size: experimental (educational e-book with metacognitive
guidance), experimental (educational e-book without metacognitive guidance), and
control (the regular kindergarten program). The findings indicated that the metacognitive
guidance embedded in the educational e-book supported phonological awareness (rhyming)
but not vocabulary acquisition.