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The Relationship Between Conversational Turns and Student Achievement

Principal Investigator

Joanna K. Dill – North Greenville University

Project Description

This is a secondary correlational analysis of data derived from a randomized controlled trial of a 13-week parenting course that was designed to encourage verbal interactions between parents and their young children, with the goal of improving kindergarten readiness. This study focused on a subset of data on parent-child verbal interactions from 45 parents who had been randomly assigned to the control group and 45 parents who were randomly assigned to and also completed the 13-week training course, in order to examine the relation between the verbal interactions and kindergarten achievement. The study took place in rural South Carolina between 2016 and 2019.

Research Questions

  • What is the relationship between conversational turns and kindergarten achievement?
  • What is the relationship between the weekly recording participation categories and kindergarten achievement?
  • What is the relationship between gender and conversational turns?
  • What is the relationship between ethnicity and conversational turns?
  • What is the relationship between socioeconomic status and conversational turns?

Key Findings

The results indicated a statistically significant correlation between conversational turns and kindergarten academic achievement (N[45]=.773, p<.01). Mean KRA scores differed significantly between the LENA group (M=265.2, SD=10.47) and non-LENA group (M=260.49, SD=10.37), t(88)=2.14, p<.05, indicating that parent education classes focused on conversation can improve student achievement. Regardless of gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, increased conversational turns may contribute to future academic success.

Study Citation

Joanna K. Dill. The relationship between conversational turns and student achievement. Dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Greenville University, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/openview/d604e54271796dedcdb0fb2e07741236/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y.

The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.

Publication
Year

2021

Status

Completed

Study Type

Correlational Study

Grantee

LENA

Full Report
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