Development of a home literacy environment questionnaire for Tamil-speaking kindergarten children

B Buvaneswari,Prakash Padakannaya

doi:10.1186/s40468-017-0047-y

Abstract

BackgroundThe development of emergent literacy skills depends upon the literacy environments and experiences of children at home. Children’s home literacy environment is closely related to the development of various aspects of emergent literacy like letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Dimensions of home literacy environment, such as physical (literacy) environment, child’s own literacy habits, parental literacy habits, parent-child interaction for language and literacy activities, and parental beliefs about literacy, have been reported in literature.MethodsThe present study describes the construction of a home literacy environment questionnaire for Tamil-speaking kindergarten children in the Indian context. The various dimensions of home literacy environment were described, and items related to each dimension were listed. Seventeen judges rated each item on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (no fit) to 4 (excellent fit). Their comments/remarks/opinion, specific to an item or dimension, were also taken. The rating responses were analyzed for content validity and internal consistency.ResultsContent validity index was calculated at item level as well as scale level. The items in each subscale/dimension which had the item level content validity index scores higher than 0.78 were included in the final questionnaire and the other items were rejected. The scale level content validity index scores were higher than 0.90, indicating good content validity. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated as a measure of internal consistency. Cronbach’s alpha values were lower than 0.7 for three domains: physical environment, parent literacy habits, and parental beliefs.ConclusionsThe questionnaire developed promises to be a useful tool to evaluate the home literacy environment of Tamil children who undergo formal education in English medium schools like in India. The questionnaire developed and presented here can help in collecting reliable data to make informed decisions about children’s (whether typically developing or with developmental disabilities) home literacy environment.

Highlights

The development of emergent literacy skills depends upon the literacy environments and experiences of children at home
Out of the 67 items selected, 8 items each belonged to physical environment (PE), parent literacy habits (PLH), and child literacy habits (CLH) dimensions, while 31 items belonged to parent-child interaction (PCI) for language and literacy activities, and another 12 items represented parental beliefs (PB) about literacy
The present study was an attempt to develop a questionnaire for understanding the home literacy environment of Tamil-speaking children from middle socioeconomic status

Summary

Introduction

The development of emergent literacy skills depends upon the literacy environments and experiences of children at home. According to Ferreiro (1986), emergent literacy emphasizes that children learn and discover literacy through their own attempts at reading and writing. This is in consonance with the Piagetian view that children are active participants in their own learning. According to the Piagetian view, the child is an active constructor of knowledge, capable of understanding and forming his own concepts about his environment. According to Rogoff (1990), the Vygotskian concept that young children learn from their interactions with others is applicable to emergent literacy skills. The development of literacy skills commences prior to formal academic instruction through experiences encountered in the home and may include games, songs, and even daily conversation (Landry and Smith, 2006)

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