Abstract
Based on the Home Literacy Model, this study explored a refined model of home literacy activities and their relations with children’s emergent literacy skills in a linguistic and socio-economic diverse sample of 214 Dutch kindergartners (mean age 4 years and 7 months, 46% girls and 29% monolingual speakers of Dutch). The study examined a typology of home literacy activities that explicitly addressed didactic approach and was not restricted to activities involving print. Next, the study explored the relations between activity types and children’s emergent literacy skills. Three activity categories were identified: code, oral language exposure and oral language teaching activities. Results of multilevel structural equation modeling showed that all types of home literacy activities were related to children’s oral language skills, although the association between oral language teaching and oral language skills was negative. Oral language skills were associated with children’s code and phonological skills. The outcomes indicate the existence of a more nuanced pattern of interrelations between elements of the home literacy environment and children’s literacy skills in this diverse sample than observed before.
Highlights
The importance of the home literacy environment for the emergent literacy development of young children has been well-documented
The aim of the current study was to explore the refined typology of home literacy activities and to analyze associations between activity categories and children’s oral language, code and phonological skills in a highly diverse sample situated in urban parts of the Netherlands
Variability in responses was larger on the code activity items, whereas for both oral language exposure and teaching, variability on most items was small, with standard deviations < 1
Summary
The importance of the home literacy environment for the emergent literacy development of young children has been well-documented (cf. Burgess, Hecht, & Lonigan, 2002; Niklas & Schneider, 2013). The HLM has been investigated in diverse settings and populations, but to date, it has not been studied in the context of urban parts of the Netherlands. This context, in which the current study is situated, is characterized by a highly diverse population regarding home languages and educational background. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to explore a refined model of home literacy activities and their relations with children’s emergent literacy skills that considers a wider spectrum of home literacy activities and explicitly addresses didactic approach
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have