A randomized controlled trial of an educational app to improve preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills

Abstract

Mobile devices are now ubiquitous across communities of all income levels, with very young children spending a great deal of time on smartphones and tablets even before they begin formal schooling. If this time could be channeled towards fostering school readiness, it might help narrow the SES opportunity gap. To date, however, little research has examined the effects of preschoolers’ home use of educational apps. The current study evaluated the Khan Academy Kids (Khan Kids) app with children from families with low incomes. We employed a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of home use of the app on 4- and 5-year-olds’ emergent literacy skills. At baseline, parents reported that their preschoolers used mobile media 99 minutes per day, with very little of this time described as educational. After a pretest assessment, the Khan Kids app was used an average of 13 minutes per day for 10 weeks and was well received. Children who used this app showed increases in their emergent literacy skills compared to children provided with age-appropriate apps not targeting these skills. Results suggest that educational apps could provide a practical tool for fostering academic success and narrowing the SES opportunity gap.