Can learning apps at home enhance children’s school readiness?

By Winnie Tam, Centre for University and School Partnership, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

A study by Niklas and colleagues investigated the impact of Learning4Kids, an app-based family intervention approach, on enhancing kindergarten children's literacy and mathematics skills before they enter school. The study included 500 German children (mean age 5 years), randomly assigned to one of four groups: literacy apps, math apps, control apps, or no tablet.

Children in the intervention groups used specially designed, research-based educational apps at home over six months. The literacy apps focused on letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and language development; the math apps targeted number knowledge, counting, and measurement. Designed to promote active learning without distractions, the apps adjusted difficulty levels as children progressed. Control apps focused on general cognitive skills, not literacy or math.

Results showed that children in the intervention groups significantly outperformed those in the control groups in their respective domains. The literacy intervention was particularly effective for letter knowledge and phonological awareness, and the mathematics intervention for number knowledge and backwards counting. Importantly, longer app usage correlated with greater skill improvements, with an average of 4.5 minutes of daily use producing a +0.10 SD gain in mathematical competence and 2.5 min a +0.10 SD gain in literary competence.

These findings demonstrate that high-quality educational apps can be a cost-effective, accessible way to support kindergarten children's school readiness. However, the researchers emphasized that most commercially available educational apps lack empirical validation and may not deliver similar benefits.