The apple doesn’t fall from the tree: parents’ reading-related knowledge and children’s reading outcomes

Abstract

This study investigated parents’ reading-related knowledge and its association with children’s reading outcomes. Forty-two parent–child dyads were assessed when children were in Kindergarten and 39 of the children were followed the subsequent year. Reading measures were administered in Kindergarten. In Grade 1, children received reading and arithmetic measures. Parents completed a questionnaire involving (general) cultural knowledge, print exposure, and reading-related knowledge associated with the identification of regular and irregular word spellings. All parent variables accounted for unique variance in children’s reading scores in Kindergarten, however, only parents’ reading-related knowledge continued to do so into Grade 1. Our findings are consistent with the research conducted with teachers underlining the association between reading-related knowledge and students’ reading performances. The current study contributes to the limited literature focusing on parents’ reading related knowledge. The data presented here suggest that parental reading-related knowledge is associated with children’s reading outcomes in both Kindergarten and Grade 1.