Analyzing Children’s Reading Outcomes When Reading Print vs. Digital Formats. 

 

Hare, C., Johnson, B., Vlahiotis, M., Panda, E. J., Tekok-Kilic, A., & Curtin, S. (2024). Children’s reading outcomes in digital and print mediums: A systematic review. Journal of Research in Reading, 47(3), 309–329. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12461

Mount, Allison

In this study, Hare et al, asked the question, how do print and digital formats affect reading outcomes including reding comprehension, engagement, vocabulary, speed, etc., in children 1-17 years old? They analyzed 121 studies comparing digital and print formats on reading outcomes in articles published between 2000 and 2023. They coded each of these studies for participant level, task level, and study level. The most common finding was that there was no difference between the two mediums but there were exceptions. Older children reading informational text had higher comprehension levels reading print. Digital was found to be better for engagement, particularly among very young children and diverse learners (children with learning disabilities or children that are not reading in their native language).

Studies such as this one are important to collection management because it can aid the selector in determining the best format for the intended audience. While there should always be options for all audiences between print and digital, there could be times to favor one over the other to target a particular objective. Libraries serving communities speaking and reading different languages may want to invest in more digital content for young readers learning to read in a language that is not native to them. Selections of informational text for older adolescents should favor print editions over digital so that reading comprehension is higher. While there were several studies available to be analyzed, they did not generally represent children of lower socioeconomic status and those from marginalized communities so more research is needed.