Early Literacy, Edutech, and Shaping the Nation’s Economic Future
Major
Educational Studies
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Educational Studies
Faculty Advisor
Leah Nillas
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-11-2026 11:15 AM
End Date
4-11-2026 12:30 PM
Abstract
Education remains to be the cornerstone of socioeconomic mobility for families across the country and sound literacy instruction is fundamental to equipping students with the necessary skills to succeed in their personal, academic, and professional lives. Children who can read by the end of third grade have shown longstanding success in their ability to graduate secondary school, enroll in college, obtain expanded employment prospects, and earn higher salaries. The significance of the distinction surrounding this age of learning is that around approximately nine, children begin to transition from learning to read to reading to learn (Bautista, Ghesquiere, & Torbeyns, 2024). Students who encounter difficulties in the area of reading and comprehension, such as dyslexia or English Language Learners (ELLs), face significant challenges later as they progress throughout their lives (Samuels & Blackwood, 2025). Educational technology (Edutech), when strategically implemented alongside evidence-based literacy instruction in early learning, offers a pathway to enhance early childhood literacy acquisition and, ultimately, develop the dynamically prepared workforce our country could benefit from. A multitude of research presents that early literacy, amongst other skills such as digital literacy, are essential to forming the next generation of primed, knowledgeable workers (Bautista, Ghesquière & Torbeyns 2024; Blackwood & Samuels, 2025; White & Grieder, 2016).
Early Literacy, Edutech, and Shaping the Nation’s Economic Future
CNS Atrium
Education remains to be the cornerstone of socioeconomic mobility for families across the country and sound literacy instruction is fundamental to equipping students with the necessary skills to succeed in their personal, academic, and professional lives. Children who can read by the end of third grade have shown longstanding success in their ability to graduate secondary school, enroll in college, obtain expanded employment prospects, and earn higher salaries. The significance of the distinction surrounding this age of learning is that around approximately nine, children begin to transition from learning to read to reading to learn (Bautista, Ghesquiere, & Torbeyns, 2024). Students who encounter difficulties in the area of reading and comprehension, such as dyslexia or English Language Learners (ELLs), face significant challenges later as they progress throughout their lives (Samuels & Blackwood, 2025). Educational technology (Edutech), when strategically implemented alongside evidence-based literacy instruction in early learning, offers a pathway to enhance early childhood literacy acquisition and, ultimately, develop the dynamically prepared workforce our country could benefit from. A multitude of research presents that early literacy, amongst other skills such as digital literacy, are essential to forming the next generation of primed, knowledgeable workers (Bautista, Ghesquière & Torbeyns 2024; Blackwood & Samuels, 2025; White & Grieder, 2016).