Story hour at a family homeless center: contribution to graduate students' preparation and confidence in preliteracy skills.

Purpose: This study evaluated the potential benefit to graduate students' of participating in a service-learning program conducting a storybook reading program for children in a family homeless shelter.

Method: Ten graduate students in the second year of a two-year master's degree program in communication science and disorders participated in the storybook reading program. The graduate students engaged in reflective writing about their experiences and completed self-ratings of confidence in preliteracy skills before and after program participation. Twenty graduate students in two comparison groups (10 students in a pre-program comparison group, and 10 in a post-program comparison group) also completed questionnaires. The mixed-methods study used quantitative analyses to analyze questionnaire ratings and qualitative methods to analyze reflective writings.

Results: Together, the quantitative and qualitative results indicated positive outcomes from the service-learning experience with regard to graduate students' perceived confidence in preliteracy skills and preparation for careers as speech-language pathologists. The results provide empirical data showing that service-learning experiences with at-risk populations can contribute to graduate students' clinical education and preparation as speech-language pathologists.

Conclusion: The results support the value of service-learning experiences in communication sciences and disorders. Clinical preparation in preliteracy development also supports the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association statement on the roles and responsibilities of speech-language pathologists in relation to reading and writing in children.