Emergent literacy skills have been found to be an important predictor of future linguistic acquisition and academic success. Studies have also shown that children who are consistently exposed to good quality and regular quantities of sound-letter recognition, such as storybook reading, have improved trajectories for attaining literacy skills prior to beginning kindergarten. The underlying factor is the quality of storybook reading rather than the quantity. A seminal meta-analysis conducted by Scarborough and Dobrich (1994) found that parent-preschooler reading experiences explained only 8% of the variance in early literacy achievement. Shared reading supports oral language and non-language developments, but being read to is not enough (Meyer et al., 1992). Engaging children with the explicit purpose of expanding their literacy skills is essential for their cognitive, literacy, and numeracy development (Norris & Anderson, 2008). This meta-analysis was designed to examine the effects of specific variables impacting the overall effectiveness of storybook reading as an intervention in developing emergent literacy skills, specifically the effects of explicit instruction during storybook reading. Results showed that this additional factor of parents or teachers providing explicit instruction during storybook reading has been shown to have a larger effect size than storybook reading alone.

Positive academic mindsets, which are one’s attitudes or beliefs that specifically pertain to academic performance, have been found to create an impetus for students to persist in their schoolwork, propelling oneself towards better academic behaviors, and ultimately improved academic performance. Although mindset research has examined the impact of mindsets on Hispanic and African-American youth, little is known about its effects on Asian American youth, specifically Southeast Asian youth. The present study examined the effects of a 3-session growth mindset training on ninth and tenth grade students who identified as Southeast Asian, and 2 Southeast Asian families. Questionnaires were completed by the participants to obtain demographic information, mindset status, and other variables of interest (e.g., interest in school, grit). Results indicated that growth mindset and grit were positively correlated; however, results showed that there was no significant improvement in academic performance after the targeted training. Findings from this study suggest that trainings aimed to change mindsets may be insufficient for students to engage in positive academic outcomes based on the adoption of a growth mindset. Additionally, further examination into the subjective experiences of adolescents in school due to the seemingly context-dependent nature of mindset trainings would provide increased understanding into the complexities of a student’s lowered academic achievement. Limitations, reasons for the lack of statistical significance, and recommendations for future studies are discussed.