Abstract of

Patterns of Parents' Extratextual Interactions During Book Sharing With Preschool Children: A Cluster Analysis Study

Lisa A. Hammett

Anne van Kleeck

Carl J Huberty

Ninety-six middle-income parent-child dyads were videotaped as they shared an unfamiliar book together. Parents' extratextual utterances were coded for content and entered into a cluster analysis in order to identify patterns in the variability in interaction style. Four clusters were revealed: (a) two small clusters of parents who provided many extratextual utterances during book sharing, but who differed with regard to the types of utterances used most frequently; (b) a cluster of parents who provided moderate numbers of utterances across all utterance types; and (c) a large cluster of parents who contributed minimal extratextual utterances during book sharing. Previous research has demonstrated that variability in parent interactions during book sharing is high. These results suggest that parents' utterances varied in systematic ways and that the predominant pattern within this sample was one of limited numbers of extratextual utterances during the sharing of an unfamiliar book. These findings have implications for the methods to best explore variability and the directions of future research.

Abstract from Hammett, L.A., van Kleeck, A., & Huberty, C.J (2003). Patterns of Parents' Extratextual Interactions During Book Sharing With Preschool Children: A Cluster Analysis Study. Reading Research Quarterly, 38(4), 442–468. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.38.4.2