Mediated reading with a social cognitive approach: assessment of a research intervention

Abstract

This study's objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a program designed to diversify teachers' storytelling practices and indirectly promote children's understanding of mental states and social information processing. Five teachers and 57 students, aged six years old on average, attending a public school, participated in the study. Teachers were trained and pre- and post-tested through questionnaires addressing social-cognitive conceptions and the impact of qualification on their mediated reading practices. The social-cognitive aspects and the attribution of children's mental terms were evaluated during the reading of two books. A field diary was used to document weekly observations. The results revealed teaching improvement in selecting books and in exploring mental terms during narratives. In regard to the students, significant differences were found in the use of mental language and social information processing. The conclusion is that conducting mediated reading with a social-cognitive focus is feasible in schools.