Every Book Can Matter
Research conducted on the impact of having a “stock” of books in any home speaks volumes. A 20-year study* conducted in 27 countries concluded that the best index for predicting school achievement is neither parental education nor family income but rather the number of books in the home.??
The availability of information and ideas found in books predictably alters the nature of home conversation. Books insert interesting events, people, and journeys into home and mealtime chat, creating a growing daily hum that strengthens a family’s “scholarly culture.” Book enriched conversation stimulates vocabulary and language development, along with thinking, problem solving, inquiry and communication clarity beneficial to academic and life success.?
Shown above, the target for the minimum number of books in a home is 100. A stock of 100 books in a home supports full school achievement. Each home library starts with one book and grows, book by book, and no book needs to be permanent fixture in a home library. A steady flow of a public library or borrowed books into home libraries can provide constant and abundant scholarly enrichment for a family.?
After reaching that magic 100, the increase in school-related positive impact of books in the home begins to slow, though it never stops. The far-left end of the curved trend line shown above** represents homes with zero to 10 books. At the extreme end are the children of families with no books in the home which is associated with about a 30 percent chance of completing 7th grade (the attainment associated around the world with a “basic” education). The home book supply line then crosses the vertical blue line representing 100 books. That is along the way to predicting nearly 90 percent success of completing 7th grade for children from homes with 100 or more books.??
Now note the point where the educational attainment prediction for children from families with even 10 books in the home lies. That’s where the prediction of children’s school success jumps to about 68 percent. That is an increment of nearly four percent more 7th-grade successes associated with each single book added to homes.??
At the far-right end, the impact of adding another book to the home library is not as pronounced, but even then, anything a family does to add books increases their children’s chances of school success. That impact is hard to downplay. The flattening at the top of that curving “success” line probably reflects the limitations of typical school assessments to measure the power of teachers and family.?
The message here is that ALL books matter, though a reliable stock of 100 is crucial.? Every library book, every online book, every book received as a gift, every borrowed book, every book acquired at a garage or yard sale, every book from the rack at the grocery, every book in a box in the attic, and on every bookshelf in waiting rooms... EVERY book's influence upon families within a community can enhance children’s school success.??
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*Evans, M. D., Kelley, J., Sikora, J., & Treiman, D. J. (2010). Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations. Research in social stratification and mobility, 28(2), 171-197.?
**UniteBooks.com????
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