Home Literacy Environment Research Articles

Relative heritage language and majority language use before school start explains variance in 2nd grade majority language but not reading skills.

The present study examined whether parents' and bilingual children's own relative use of the heritage language vs. the majority language in the homes of bilingual children in Denmark before school start explains variance in 2nd grade majority language skills and reading skills. The study included two groups of children: the Mixed bilinguals group (defined by having a native Danish and a nonnative parent, N = 376) and the Heritage bilinguals group (defined by having parents who were both speakers of a Heritage language, N = 276). Four-stage hierarchical regression analyses showed that, after accounting for type of bilingualism, socioeconomic status (SES) and home literacy environment quality, relative use of the heritage vs. the majority language explained variance in 2nd grade Danish language comprehension scores, but did not explain variance in two reading scores, namely decoding and reading comprehension. In addition, a home literacy factor denoting book exposure (number of books, frequency of reading, library visits, and age of beginning shared book reading) was a significant predictor of both 2nd grade language and reading outcomes, whereas SES became a nonsignificant predictor when adding home literacy and language use predictors. We interpret the results to mean that parents' and the child's own relative use of the heritage language vs. the majority language before school start does not influence bilingual children's early reading skills, whereas a supportive early home literacy environment is a positive predictor of reading skills independently of SES and parental majority language use and skill.

Effects of Literacy Environment and Quantity and Quality of Reading Interaction on Preschoolers’ Early Literacy Skills: Latent Profile Analysis

본 연구의 목적은 음운론적 인식, 어휘력, 이야기 이해력을 토대로 유아의 기초문해력을 유형화하고, 가정의 물리적 문해환경과 책 읽기 상호작용이 유아의 기초문해력 유형에 영향을 미치는지 검증하는 것이다. 이를 위해 만 4세 유아와 어머니 125쌍을 대상으로 유아의 기초문해력 유형화를 위해 잠재프로파일 분석을 실시하고, 유형에 따른 차이를 확인하기 위해 일원배치분산분석, 다항로지스틱 회귀분석을 실시하였다. 연구문제에 따른 분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 기초문해력의 유형은 ‘평균’, ‘지연’, 음운론적 인식과 어휘력이 높은 ‘우수’ 집단으로 구분되었다. 둘째, 가정의 물리적 문해환경은 ‘평균’과 ‘우수’ 집단이 ‘지연’ 집단보다 풍부했다. 질적 책 읽기 상호작용은 ‘평균’ 집단이 ‘지연’ 집단보다 풍부했다. 셋째, 질적 책 읽기 상호작용의 수준이 낮을수록 ‘평균’ 집단보다 ‘지연’ 집단에 속할 가능성이 높았고, 물리적 문해환경이 풍부할수록 ‘지연’ 또는 ‘평균’ 집단보다 ‘우수’ 집단에 속할 가능성이 높았다. 이러한 결과는 가정의 물리적 문해환경과 질적 책 읽기 상호작용이 유아의 기초문해력 향상에 중요한 요인임을 보여준다. 본 연구는 유아기 자녀가 있는 가정 대상 부모교육 및 중재 프로그램 개발에 활용 될 수 있을 것이다.This study aims to identify the profile of early literacy skills based on phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, and story comprehension and verifies the effects of home literacy environment and reading interaction on early literacy skills. Participants of this study were 125 pairs of four-years-old preschoolers and their mothers. Latent profiles analysis was conducted to classify children into different groups according to levels of early literacy skills. One-way ANOVA and multinomial logistic regression was conducted to verify the differences between groups. First, we identified three different groups of early literacy skills: average, delayed, and excellent groups. Second, children in the excellent group showed higher levels of phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge when compared to children in the average and delayed groups. Home literacy environment was richer in the average and excellent groups than the delayed group, whereas quality of reading interaction was higher in the average group than the delayed group. Third, lower quality of reading interaction predicted the higher possibility of classification into the delayed group rather than the average group and richer home literacy environment predicted the higher possibility of classification into the partially excellent group rather than the delayed and average groups. This indicates that home literacy environment and quality of reading interaction are important to enhance preschoolers’ early literacy skills. The results of this study can be used to develop parent education or a child intervention program for preschoolers and their parents.

Relationship between Parental Literacy Beliefs and Home Literacy Environment

Parental literacy beliefs and home environment play an important role in stimulating children's literacy development. Parents who believe that children’s literacy development is highly dependent on them will be more likely to spend more time to create an atmosphere of literacy with their children. The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between parental literacy beliefs and home literacy environment. This study was conducted in Sungai Pelek, Selangor. Findings of this quantitative methods strategy study were based on data collected from 240 parents of KEMAS preschool children aged between five and six years. Data was collected with the aid of electronic questionnaire via Google Form. The Parental Reading Belief Inventory (PRBI) was used to measure parental literacy beliefs and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) was used to measure the home literacy environment. The results showed that the parental 's literacy beliefs have a significant relationship with the home literacy environment. It showed weak correlation between parental literacy beliefs and home literacy environment. In conclusion, the literacy environment at home is not highly dependent on parents’ belief in the important of literacy. It is recommended for future research can be expanded in various states in Malaysia with a larger sample size to increase generalization and produce more reliable data. Furthermore, it is recommended for future research to take into account of the predictive factors in children literacy development research.

Socioeconomic Status and Children’s English Language and Literacy Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Home Literacy Environment

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The present study examined the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and Chinese children’s development of English as a second language in Hong Kong, and whether the home literacy environment (HLE) was an important mediator. Participants were 237 children (110 girls, Mage = 47.38 months, SDage = 3.66) and one of their caregivers. Children were assessed on phonological awareness, receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and letter knowledge. Information on HLE (i.e. shared reading, extratextual talk, direct teaching, play and media-based activities, and literacy resources) was obtained via a caregiver questionnaire. Findings revealed significant SES differences in all aspects of HLE, as well as in children’s English receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and letter knowledge. HLE was differentially related to children’s English skills, suggesting the mediating effect of HLE in the relation between SES and Chinese children’s English skills. Practice or Policy: Findings from this study highlight the features of HLE that can best support children’s second language development. The results can also inform the design of family interventions and policies aimed at reducing educational disparities.

The role of preschoolers' home literacy environment and emergent literacy skills on later reading and writing skills in primary school: A mediational model.

The importance of the quality of home literacy environment and practices (HLE&P) in the earliest years on children's reading and writing development is recognized in the literature. However, whether and to what extent this relationship between preschoolers' HLE&P on their later reading and writing skills in primary school is mediated by emergent literacy competence remains to be clarified. It may be that preschool constitutes a significant opportunity for children to develop notational awareness and phonological awareness which are emergent literacy skills that are fundamental for later reading and writing skills. Children who experience literacy-poor HLE&P with fewer opportunities to practice more complex language skills and diverse vocabulary might develop adequate reading and writing skills when their emergent literacy skills in preschool are high (notational and phonological awareness). This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the mediational role of preschoolers' emergent literacy skills in preschool (notational and phonological awareness) in the relationship between HLE&P and reading and writing skills shown by the same children in primary school using a large-scale dataset. A total of 115 children (mean-age at last year of preschool = 4.88 ± 0.36) took part in the research. In preschool, children performed emergent literacy tasks and their parents completed a home literacy questionnaire. Later, in primary school, children completed standardized assessments of spelling (orthographic accuracy and fluency in a dictation task) and reading decoding (accuracy and speed in a text reading task) skills. The results of mediational analyses showed that notational awareness totally mediates the relationship between HLE&P and reading speed (𝛽= - 0.17, p < 0.05) and writing accuracy (𝛽=0.10, p < 0.05), but not for reading accuracy in primary school. The mediational model with phonological awareness as mediator was not significant. The results are discussed in the light of the effect of preschool in contributing to filling children's home literacy gaps and disadvantages. In preschool, emergent literacy programs are essential to counterbalance the needs of preschoolers to develop adequate reading and writing skills when the family cannot provide enriched HLE&P from the early years of life.

Unpacking the Effects of Parents on Their Children’s Emergent Literacy Skills and Word Reading: Evidence from Urban and Rural Settings in China

ABSTRACT Purpose We examined the role of distal (parents’ education, family’s income, parents’ expectations, and parents’ attitudes to the home teaching of literacy) and proximal (formal and informal home literacy environment, access to literacy resources, and extracurricular activities) parental factors in children’s early literacy skills and whether the relations vary across affluent and disadvantaged societies in China. Method Five hundred fifty-three third-year kindergarten Chinese children (M age = 74.59 months) were recruited from Jining, Luqiao, and Mapo and were assessed on measures of phonological awareness, vocabulary, pinyin knowledge, and word reading. Their parents filled out a questionnaire on their education and income as well as on the frequency of engaging in different home literacy activities, their expectations and attitudes to the home teaching of literacy, and their children’s extracurricular activities. Results Results of multigroup analyses and mediation analyses revealed both direct and indirect effects of both distal and proximal parental factors on emergent literacy skills and word reading. In addition, the models were strikingly similar across the two settings. Conclusion The findings suggest that the pathways of differential influences from parental factors to children’s early literacy skills may be similar across socioeconomic contexts.

The contribution of intrinsic motivation and home literacy environment to Singaporean bilingual children’s receptive vocabulary

The contribution of intrinsic motivation and home literacy environment to Singaporean bilingual children’s receptive vocabulary

Understanding Chinese children’s word reading by considering the factors from cognitive, psychological and ecological factors

Reading is a complex activity that is related to factors from the cognitive, ecological, and psychological domains. However, few studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying word learning by including the factors from the three domains in Chinese children. One hundred and ninety-four Chinese first graders completed tasks on cognitive abilities and word reading ability and a questionnaire relating to the psychological domain, their parents answered questionnaires relating to the psychological and ecological domains. The cognitive factors in the present study involved general (i.e., working memory) and reading-specific (i.e., vocabulary and morphological awareness) abilities. As ecological factors, the parent-reported family socioeconomic status (SES) and home literacy environment (HLE) were used to indicate parents’ resource characteristics of the literacy interactions at home. As psychological factors, an overall mental status was measured by the Conners’ Parent Rating Scale-Revised and reading self-efficacy were used to indicate children’s demand and force characteristics in the literacy interactions. The results of path analysis showed that, after controlling for age and nonverbal intelligence, the reading-specific cognitive abilities had a direct effect on word reading. Working memory, HLE, and reading self-efficacy contributed to word reading through the reading-specific cognitive abilities. Family SES facilitated HLE, which subsequently benefited the reading-specific cognitive abilities, and then assisted word reading.

In and Out of the Unknown: Lessons from Immigrant Families Promoting Multiliteracies During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

AbstractHow has the COVID‐19 pandemic changed the home literacy environment, parental engagement, and home‐school communications for children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? Data on the experiences of 231 Chinese‐Canadian immigrant families with K‐2 children revealed that emergency remote learning affected the home literacy environment in complex ways. While some experienced a decrease in mainstream language exposure, others also witnessed a decline in home language use and literacy engagement due to the closure of heritage language schools and absence of grandparents. Parents also differed in their ability, resources, and confidence level in supporting multiliteracies development at home during the pandemic. Moreover, there existed persistent barriers to effective home‐school communications despite the affordances of remote learning. The findings have important implications for both immigrant families and mainstream teachers in working collaboratively to support the children's needs in multiliteracies development.

읽기 능력 우수 고등학생의 읽기에 대한 인식적 특성 분석

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the cognitive, deterministic, and environmental characteristics of high school students with excellent reading comprehension skills, and to obtain information on improving reading comprehension.&#x0D; Methods To that end, out of 16 high school students in Gangwon Province, 16 who had proven excellent reading comprehension were interviewed individually. The interview consisted of answers to a total of 28 questions classified into cognitive, deterministic, and environmental factors related to reading.&#x0D; Results First, high school students with good reading skills were adept at using reading strategies and demonstrated superior achievement based on extensive vocabulary and background knowledge, but perceived reading categories somewhat restrictedly. Second, it was found that high school students with excellent reading ability had positively formed reading attitude, reading motivation, and reading efficacy, which are factors of reading justice, and that these showed a static correlation with reading ability. Third, it was found that the rich home literacy environment of high school students with excellent reading ability had a positive effect on the development of reading ability.&#x0D; Conclusions Reading comprehension is comprehensively developed under the influence of cognitive, deterministic and environmental factors. In order to develop students with excellent reading comprehension, there should be a comprehensive approach to the development of defining elements and the improvement of the literacy environment, without being biased toward cognition.

My child lags behind: Parents’ perceptions of children's needs for language support, their home-literacy practices, and children's language skills

The home literacy environment (HLE) in terms of providing frequent and high-quality access to oral and written language is a well-established, positive predictor of children's language and emergent literacy development. However, little is known about parents’ perception of children's needs for language support and how this perception in terms of a compensatory motive for fostering children's language skills relates to parents’ home-literacy practices, and their children's language skills. To examine these questions, we conducted a study with 193 preschool children and their parents. We assessed parents’ motive to foster their children to compensate for a perceived unfavorable language development, multiple indicators of the HLE, and children's language skills. Parents’ compensatory motive proved to reflect the needs of their children as children of parents reporting a compensatory motive displayed lower language skills than children of parents who indicated no such motive. However, parents with and without compensatory motive did not differ in terms of reported home-literacy practices. There were also differences concerning the correlational pattern between home-literacy practices and children's language development, with correlations being generally weaker and sometimes even negative in the compensatory group. The results suggest that the relationship between home-literacy practices and children's language development might be decidedly complex and less straightforward than often assumed.

The influence of home literacy environment on children’s literacy and language development: A systematic review

The influence of home literacy environment on children’s literacy and language development: A systematic review

IMPROVING HOME LITERACY SKILLS OF PARENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The first years of human life are critical in all developmental areas. In these years, shared family experiences, social interaction, and safe, responsive, and nurturing environments provided to a child constitute the determining factor in their future life. The home environment is considered to be a place where the foundations of language and literacy skills are stimulated for many children. The COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the whole world, has caused non-formal education to be carried out remotely and via digital tools to an unprecedented extent. This situation has necessitated parents to be more aware of the possibilities of the home environment and its impact on children and to better understand the importance of taking responsibility. However, very few scholars in this pandemic situation have pointed out how language and literacy opportunities can be offered in the home environment, which is the first place of education for children. Therefore, this study aims to increase parents' home literacy skills and attitudes in order to develop opportunities and resources for children's participation in literacy-related interactions. Over a semester, 11 preschool and 12 first-year elementary school parents participated in this action research from Buca district of Izmir province in Turkey. Before implementing the action plans, parental attitudes towards home literacy competencies were assessed using a semi-structured survey prepared by the researchers. After the action plan, the parents’ developmental status and attitudes towards home literacy were again evaluated with a semi-structured survey, and all data were analyzed using descriptive, percentage, frequency, and Cramer V analysis methods. According to the results, the action plan steps had a positive impact on raising awareness of the home literacy environment, building language and literacy activities, and supporting extension skills in essential language development (listening/watching, speaking, reading, and writing).

The home literacy environment mediates effects of socio-economic status on infant vocabulary development.

It is well attested that high socio-economic status (SES) is associated with larger vocabulary size estimates in young children. This has led to growing interest in identifying associations and mechanisms that may contribute to this relationship. In this study, parent-child reading behaviors were investigated in relation to vocabulary size in a large-scale study of linguistically and socio-economically diverse families. This study sampled 902 infants in Singapore, a multilingual society. Both single-language (dominant and non-dominant) and dual-language vocabulary size estimates were obtained and related to family SES, demographic details, and home literacy activities. Results demonstrated that both single-language (dominant and non-dominant) and dual-language infant vocabulary size estimates were predicted by parental education levels. Further analyses revealed that parent-child book reading activities mediated the relationship between parental education and infant vocabulary size. Findings suggest that shared book reading may narrow effects of socio-economic disparities on early language development. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Socio-economic status (SES) was examined in relation to infant vocabulary size in a linguistically and socio-economically diverse setting. Mediating effects of the home literacy environment on infant vocabulary size were measured. Socio-economic factors, notably parental education, had both direct and indirect effects on vocabulary size. The home literacy environment mediated effects of SES on infant vocabulary size.

Importance of Home in the Literacy Process of Child

A type of human service known as an intergenerational program (IGP) involves regular, planned contacts between people of different ages for the benefit of all participants. Children enter school with widely variable levels of emerging literacy, and it is generally known that these levels are an important indicator of subsequent literacy and, consequently, of academic performance in general. Children's early competency development is significantly influenced by the home learning environment. Children's language comprehension and production are particularly tightly related to the early home literacy environment (HLE), which is made up of all literacy materials and family interactions that enhance children's linguistic and literacy learning. Shared reading is a crucial component of the HLE and should begin in a child's early years and become a regular part of family life. However, little research has been done on the impact of the HLE and a child's interest in literacy on later literacy skills. In this review study, we investigated the importance of Home in the literacy process of child and how different aspects in home effect the literacy capability of child.

Exploring Parents' Attempt to Conduct Home Literacy Practices for Their Children

In Indonesia, it is quite hard to find a study that raised the topic of home literacy even though the topic is very important to discuss. This research will provide an overview of how parents in Indonesia carry out home literacy practices with their children. Thus this research aimed to explore the types of home literacy practices by Indonesian parents. The researcher collected the data through an interview via Zoom meeting as a method of this research. The data were transcribed and codified under the theory of Burgees, Hect, and Lonigan (2002). For analyzing the data, the researcher uses a thematic analysis. From the findings, it can be known that the mother played a big role in the sustainability of home literacy. While the father’s role in supporting and teaching the Quran or reciting Surah. There are four roles in conducting home literacy as performed by the parents. These are the limiting environment, the literacy interface, the active home literacy environment, and the passive home literacy environment.

Home and school interventions aided at-risk students' literacy during Covid-19: a longitudinal analysis.

We examined whether different parent- and teacher-related factors had an effect on at-risk children's reading development during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Seventy Grade 1 English-speaking Canadian children (28 females, 42 males; M age = 6.60, SD = 0.46) who were at-risk for reading difficulties were administered word and pseudoword reading, nonverbal IQ, and phonological awareness tasks before the school closures (February 2020; Time 1). Reading tasks were administered again when they returned to school in September 2020 (Time 2). In April-May 2020, their parents (n = 70) and teachers (n = 40) filled out a questionnaire on the home literacy environment and the frequency of teaching reading and providing reading materials, respectively. Results of multilevel regression analyses showed that children's reading enjoyment and home learning activities predicted both word and pseudoword reading at Time 2. Differentiation of instruction for struggling readers also predicted children's pseudoword reading at Time 2. These findings reinforce the important role of parents in their children's early reading development particularly when the typical agents of instruction (i.e., teachers) have less time and opportunities to interact with their students because of the pandemic.

Investigating Parental Beliefs and Home Literacy Environment on Chinese Kindergarteners’ English Literacy and Language Skills

Investigating Parental Beliefs and Home Literacy Environment on Chinese Kindergarteners’ English Literacy and Language Skills

Newspaper Reading in Families with School-Age Children: Relationship between Parent-Child Interaction Using Newspaper, Reading Motivation, and Academic Achievement.

The present study aims to observe the patterns of newspaper subscription and reading and further explore the structural relationship between parent-child interactions, children's reading motivation, and academic achievement in families with school-age children. Online surveys were administered to 1361 parents of elementary students from grade 1 to 6 across South Korea. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS to conduct frequency analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping analysis. Results showed the following. First, 17.0% of households subscribed to a newspaper, 28.5% of parents read paper newspapers, and 97.1% of parents read online newspapers. Second, parent-child interaction using newspapers had an indirect effect on children's academic achievement through the mediating effect of reading motivation. Overall results revealed the functions of newspaper as part of home literacy environment and the newspaper's positive contribution to a child's reading motivation and academic achievement.

The Effect of Parental Absence on Children’s Literacy Development: A Case Study of a Fourth-Grade Elementary School Student

The research analyzed the parental role in the literacy development of a fourth-grade Midwestern elementary school student in the United States of America. The subject selection was based on the beginning of the year assessment, which showed an early second-grade literacy level. Data were collected through observation and in-depth interviews with the homeroom teacher, reading specialist, and the subject for one semester. The observation notes, and interview transcriptions were coded. The four emerging themes were the subject’s literacy level, parental background, the caregiver’s literacy belief and behavior, the home literacy environment, and the subject’s literacy interest. The analysis showed that parental absence affected the subject’s lack of motivation in facing academic challenges and literacy difficulties. Low motivation led to low academic achievements, including literacy. The caregiver, which was the grandfather, did not display his parental role in reinforcing the subject’s literacy. A home literacy-rich environment was not created. The caregiver did not expose the subject to literacy-related activities at home. Meaningful conversation on literacy activities and achievements was not made between the caregiver and the subject, which was suggested to be the factor that caused the subject’s difficulties in processing and delivering information. The limited parental support by the caregiver on the subject’s literacy activities and resources was analyzed to be the instrumental factor that caused the subject’s difficulties in reading and writing.