Can Book-Gifting Programs Act as a Catalyst for Cooperative Learning among Children, Parents, and Teachers?

This paper explores the potential for book-gifting programs to initiate cooperative learning between a dynamic whole group composed of children, parents and teachers. It uses the results from a series of book-gifting program evaluations (three Randomized Controlled Trials with N=1694 participants in total) and investigates whether the pattern of change in outcomes produced by these book-gifting programs fits with social interdependence theory and aligns with cooperative learning practices. Outcomes considered in the study include: shared reading practices between parents and children; changes in parent and child attitudes to reading and reading resources; and changes in parent and teacher attitudes towards home/school cooperation. The paper then explores what ways social interdependence theory and cooperative learning research evidence can enhance book-gifting programs.