The Scholastic Research & Validation team is proud to share a newly published whitepaper, Home Libraries, which highlights the importance of having books in the home, with an emphasis on closing reading gaps, growing family literacy, and the substantial impact home libraries have on academic achievement, economic success, and health.
Home Libraries seeks to provide a gateway to research that equips educators, parents, students, and families to build an empowering reading culture and environment for every child. The whitepaper summarizes research that shows how children without access to reading materials at home are more likely to suffer learning losses when out of school and how home libraries are one of schools and communities’ best tools to combat learning loss. The paper illustrates the importance of creating a literacy-rich home environment for all children and outlines the essential components of a student home library – a tangible, cost-effective way to afford every child access to a bright, successful future.
There is a convincing progression of findings when considering the impact of home libraries:
- Access to home libraries is unequivocally linked to student achievement and to lifelong success.
- Children without access to reading materials in the home are more likely to suffer learning losses when out of school.
- Home libraries are one of the best tools schools and communities have to combat learning loss
And the benefits of books in the home do not stop in childhood.
- Adults who grow up with home libraries are more likely to find work (Evans et al., 2015) and have higher reading, math, and technological competence than their peers with fewer books in their homes (Sikora et al., 2018).
Additionally, the paper outlines tangible, cost-effective ways to afford every child access to a bright, successful future. To read the full paper click here.
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