ASU researcher encourages parents to read to their children early and often
Courtesy photo
The start of every new school year brings new concerns for parents. But one concern that never changes is whether there’s something more they could be doing to help their child succeed at school.
As it turns out, there is — and they’re probably already doing it.
“Reading with your child, telling them stories, talking with them — it all makes a difference,” says Rufan Luo, an associate professor at Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences who studies how early learning experiences shape a child’s language skills and school readiness.
She uses what she learns to create real-world tools and programs to help parents support their children’s growth.
Luo has found that simple things like reading to children, having family conversations and asking questions during play — especially when children are very young — can help them grow not just as learners, but as critical thinkers and well-rounded students.
“What families do in those early years has a lasting impact,” she says.
Luo, currently the interim director of RISE (Resilience in Social Environments), is especially interested in how these experiences vary across cultural and social backgrounds, and how researchers and educators can better support families from different backgrounds.
To that end, she is working with local groups like Valleywise Health, Child Crisis Arizona, Hope Women’s Center and A New Leaf. Together, they are building a new early language program that will be shaped by input from community members through an advisory board. These partnerships help make sure that the tools they develop are culturally responsive, respectful and easy to use.
In her research, Luo asks two big questions: What do early learning experiences look like across different families? And how do those experiences shape school success?
Below, she shares some of what she has learned.
Learning isn’t the same everywhere
Some families tell more stories; others focus on emotions or social behavior. In one project, Luo studied how African American, Latino and Chinese immigrant parents told stories using the same picture book. Each group focused on different themes — like goals, feelings or social rules — and their children’s own stories reflected those same values.
“It shows how children learn culture through everyday interactions,” Luo says.
In one of Luo’s current studies, she’s looking at how Chinese immigrant families use media in different languages with their children. It’s her first time doing in-depth interviews as part of her research, and she’s learning a lot about how families make choices about language in the digital world.
Economic and social factors also play a big role
By age 3, children from low-income families may already be falling behind their peers in both what they know and how quickly they learn new language. But that’s not because their parents aren’t trying.
“These families often face challenges like long work hours or lack of access to books and services,” Luo says. “They care deeply and do the best they can, often with very few resources.”
For Luo, one of the most rewarding parts of her work is hearing from families who feel seen in her research. She once received an email from a mother who said Luo’s work reflected her family’s experience and gave her hope.
“That’s why I do this,” Luo says. “When research helps someone feel understood, it’s incredibly meaningful.”
-
Graphic by Alexander Davis
-
Graphic by Alexander Davis
-
Graphic by Alexander Davis
-
Graphic by Alexander Davis
Community input is key for interventions
In one of her most impactful projects, Luo and her team worked with a nonprofit called the Maternity Care Coalition in Philadelphia. Together, they created a program for parents of infants and toddlers in low-income neighborhoods to help boost early language development.
Instead of designing it on their own, Luo’s team worked side-by-side with community members and home visitors who already had strong relationships with local families.
“This partnership helped us create something meaningful and useful,” Luo says. “Because the program reflected families’ real needs and values, it was more successful and more likely to last.”
Home impacts school — and vice versa
Reading and talking with children early and often makes a big impact.
“A child’s reading readiness in the first few years is a strong predictor of how they’ll do later in school,” Luo says. “But it’s not just about vocabulary. Reading and language help children follow directions, express their feelings and build relationships. It helps them become part of the world around them.”
In one study, Luo was inspired by conversations she had with parents in which they asked questions like, “Should I speak Spanish to my child at home?” or “Will learning two languages confuse them?”
She found that when parents felt their child’s school supported them speaking and reading Spanish, they were more likely to read and talk to their children in Spanish at home. They also held more positive beliefs about bilingual learning.
“It was powerful to see how much the school environment shaped what families did at home,” Luo says. “It shows how connected home and school really are.”
Free and low-cost reading events and resources for children
These opportunities are designed to help build language, boost confidence and inspire a lifelong love of reading for families in the greater Phoenix area.
More Arts, humanities and education
Can science fiction frame a better future?
When Mary Shelley penned her famous novel in 1816, it was in response to a bet, not an effort to shape society.But “Frankenstein,” often considered the first sci-fi novel, along with other classic…
From Canada to Armenia: School of Art student pursues passion through global research
Fiona Gray, who will graduate this fall with a BA in art history and a minor in religious studies, said her time at ASU not only prepared her for pursuing a career in academia but also allowed her to…
Photography student explores cultural legacy through his lens
For Nicolas Morley, who graduates this fall with a BFA in photography from the School of Art, the path to photography began with a moment of clarity late in high school.“It took me a while to figure…