Characteristics of the preschool home literacy environment which predict writing skills at school

Anne-Marie Adams,Hannah Patel,Fiona R Simmons,David Giofrè,Elena Soto-Calvo,Hannah N Francis,Courtney Hartley

doi:10.1007/s11145-021-10133-w

Anne-Marie Adams, Hannah Patel + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10133-w

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Abstract

Aspects of the preschool home learning environment which may foster reading development have been identified, although their relationships with spelling and writing remain unclear. The present study explored associations between the preschool home literacy environment (HLE), language and nonverbal abilities and children’s spelling and writing skills measured two years later. A parental questionnaire recorded the reported frequency of pre-schoolers’ code- and meaning-related home literacy experiences, alongside an index of book exposure. One hundred and twenty one children (60 female, Mage = 6:7, SD = 3.67 months) contributed data assessing their transcription skills, indexed by handwriting fluency and word spelling, and translation abilities, indexed by sentence generation and the ability to produce more extended text. Exploratory factor analyses confirmed distinct factors relating to the productivity and complexity of writing samples. Regression analyses revealed that the frequency of preschool code-related, letter-sound interactions explained significant variance in children’s transcription skills at school, independently of earlier language and nonverbal abilities. In contrast, experiences in the preschool HLE were not related to the higher level writing skills of translation and text production. The implications of the findings for our understanding of the cognitive and environmental factors associated with children’s early writing development are discussed.

Highlights

Part of the work was conducted whilst the author was at the School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University
Given the close relationships observed between oral language and cognitive, executive function, skills (Dockrell et al, 2019; Drijbooms et al, 2015; Olinghouse & Leaird, 2008; Salas & Silvente, 2020), we examined the more stringent test of unique associations between home literacy environment (HLE) and writing; relationships which are independent of these abilities
The present study extended our understanding of the relationships between experiences in the preschool HLE and later spelling and writing skills

Summary

Introduction

Part of the work was conducted whilst the author was at the School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University. Code-related experiences appear more closely connected to the development of skills important in word decoding, whereas meaning-related experiences appear not to be directly related to this skill, they may bear an indirect association with reading comprehension through oral language skills (e.g., Hamilton et al, 2016; Hood et al, 2008; Manolitsis et al, 2013; Martini & Sénéchal, 2012; Sénéchal, 2006; Skwarchuk et al, 2014). Krijnen et al (2020) argued that experiences within the HLE might be distinguishable along two independent axes; one reflecting the code and meaning distinction and another reflecting the manner of engagement varying from playful exposure to direct teaching. Its later formulation, as the ‘not-sosimple’ view of writing (Berninger & Winn, 2006), included roles for working memory and executive function resources in written text composition

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