Children’s acquisition of early literacy skills: examining family contributions

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(02)00166-7Get rights and content

Abstract

A study of 143 families and their preschool-age children was undertaken to examine the relationship between the family environment and children’s language and literacy skills. This research was guided by three models hypothesized by Snow, Barnes, Chandler, Goodman, and Hemphill (1991) to explain the family’s contribution to children’s acquisition of language and literacy. The three theoretical models examined in this study were: Family as Educator, Resilient Family, and Parent–Child Care Partnership. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling were used to estimate latent constructs and structural models, respectively. Results showed that only the Family as Educator model was significantly related to child language and literacy outcomes (i.e., book-related knowledge, receptive language skills, and expressive language skills). Implications for future researchers and educational practice are discussed.

Introduction

The processes underlying children’s acquisition of language and literacy have been a focus of research for many years. Much of this research aims not only to understand these processes, but also to improve children’s language-related competencies. Research of this nature is important given the paramount role played by language and literacy in children’s academic development and achievement. For example, Werner and Smith (1992) found that literacy was one of the strongest predictors of children’s academic success. Walker, Greenwood, Hart, and Carta (1994) found that preschoolers’ language abilities predicted their reading achievements in grades one through three. Scarborough (1991) showed that expressive vocabulary skills during the preschool years predicted later reading skills in second grade. Weinberger (1996) also demonstrated that children’s literacy abilities at age 5 predicted their reading levels at age 7. Additionally, Dickinson and DeTemple (1998) found evidence that parents’ assessments of children’s language abilities at ages 3 and 4 were significantly related to teacher assessments of language and vocabulary skills in grades two and four.

Given the important role played by language and literacy abilities in young children’s later academic competencies, the present study examines the relationships between the family environment and preschool children’s language and literacy skills. Although many studies investigating the developmental roots of children’s language and literacy skills have focused on children from low-income families (e.g., Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998; Payne, Whitehurst, & Angell, 1994), we now understand that many home literacy environment-related processes also are important for preschool children from middle-income families. For example, research highlights the importance of parent–child book reading (e.g., Griffin & Morrison, 1997), parental expectations (e.g., Evans, 1998), family stressors (e.g., Entwise & Alexander, 1996), and emotionally healthy family environments (e.g., McMullen & Darling, 1996) in later academic achievements among children from middle-income families. Therefore, it is possible that all children, regardless of socioeconomic status, benefit from home literacy environments that foster their language and literacy skill development. Thus, the current study will investigate the role played by the family literacy environment among preschool-age children from middle-income families.

Section snippets

Young children’s emerging literacy skills

Emergent literacy is the term used to describe young children’s developing literacy skills before formal schooling. Emergent literacy encompasses oral (i.e., expressive and receptive), reading, and writing skills that young children acquire (Teale & Sulzby, 1987). Teale (1987) states:

By looking not merely at conventional manifestations of reading or writing, but considering also such manifestations as children’s rereading of familiar books before they are fully literate, 3-year-olds’ uses of

Family contribution to children’s language and literacy development

Much research has demonstrated that the home environment serves as an important influence in the development of emergent literacy skills in young children (e.g., Beals & DeTemple, 1993, Dickinson & Tabors, 1991, Teale, 1987). The importance of the home environment is grounded in the fact that the home serves as a setting in which language and literacy is first encountered (Strickland & Taylor, 1989). Many conceptualizations of the home literacy environment have focused primarily on the

Purpose of study

Although Snow et al. (1991) studied the contributions of these models to language and literacy skill development among elementary school children, no study of which we are aware has examined the Snow et al. models’ possible contributions among younger children. In addition, while the authors’ efforts concentrated on children from low-income families, research cited above (e.g., Baker et al., 1996) points to the possible importance of these theoretical models in explaining literacy and language

Procedures

Preschool-age children and their families were recruited through licensed child care centers in an urban county in a western state. Child care centers were randomly selected from a list of all licensed facilities, excluding home providers, in the county in which the study was conducted. The researchers contacted directors of the randomly selected child care centers to request consent for participation. Of the 80 directors contacted, a total of 30 (37.5%) gave consent for their centers to

Results

CFA was used to create measurement models of the three theoretical models (i.e., latent constructs), Family as Educator, Resilient Family, and Parent–Child Care Partnership, proposed by Snow et al. (1991). Care was taken to insure that variables similar to those used by Snow et al. were included in each measurement model. Although the variables in the measurement models do not exactly match ones used by Snow et al., appropriate measures for preschool children, as opposed to elementary school

Discussion

The goal of this study was to examine associations between the three theoretical models, Family as Educator, Resilient Family, and Parent–Child Care Partnership (Snow et al., 1991), and emergent literacy skills among middle-income preschool children. Results from this study showed that the Family as Educator model was significantly associated with preschool children’s book-related knowledge and receptive and expressive language skills. Results did not, however, show the Resilient Family and

Conclusion

Results from this study suggest that parental literacy-related beliefs and activities that afford children opportunities to learn are important in preschool children’s acquisition of language and literacy skills. Given that children are exposed to words and language when reading books with their parents, these results are not surprising. It also is likely that parents who are well-educated, as many of the ones sampled in this study, can better provide a literacy-enriched home environment,

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by a Nevada Agriculture Experiment Station Grant.

References (69)

  • L. Baker et al.

    Home and family influences on motivations to read

    Educational Psychologist

    (1997)
  • Beals, D. E., & DeTemple, J. M. (1993). Home contributions to early language and literacy development. National Reading...
  • H.J. Becker et al.

    Parent involvement: A survey of teacher practices

    Elementary School Journal

    (1982)
  • P.M. Bentler

    Comparative fit indexes in structural models

    Psychological Bulletin

    (1990)
  • P.M. Bentler et al.

    Significance tests and goodness-of-fit in the analysis of covariance structures

    Psychological Bulletin

    (1980)
  • Bijleveld, C. C. J. H., Mooijaart, A., van der Kamp, L. J. T., & van der Kloot, W. A. (1998). Structural equation...
  • K.A. Bollen

    A new incremental fit index for general structural equation models

    Sociological Methods and Research

    (1989)
  • G.H. Brody et al.

    Financial resources, parent psychological functioning, parent co-caregiving, and early adolescent competence in rural two-parent African-American families

    Child Development

    (1994)
  • M.L. Burger et al.

    A library based literacy program for mothers and their preschool children

    Early Child Development and Care

    (1991)
  • S. Burgess

    The role of shared reading in the development of phonological awareness: A longitudinal study of middle to upper class children

    Early Child Development and Care

    (1997)
  • Bus, A. G. (1994). The role of social context in emergent literacy. In E. M. H. Assink (Ed.), Literacy acquisition and...
  • A.G. Bus et al.

    Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy

    Review of Educational Research

    (1995)
  • Byrne, B. M. (1989). A primer of LISREL: Basic applications and programming for confirmatory factor analytic models....
  • T.H. Cairney

    Acknowledging diversity in home literacy practices: Moving towards partnership with parents

    Early Child Development and Care

    (1997)
  • R. Calfee

    Language and literacy, home and school, home and school

    Early Child Development and Care

    (1997)
  • Carmines, E. G., & McIver, S. P. (1981). Analyzing models with unobserved variables: Analysis of covariance structures....
  • K.A. Crnic et al.

    Mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of daily hassles of parenting across early childhood

    Journal of Marriage and the Family

    (1991)
  • K.A. Crnic et al.

    Minor parenting stresses with young children

    Child Development

    (1990)
  • T.A. Cronan et al.

    The effects of community-based literacy training on Head Start parents

    Journal of Community Psychology

    (1994)
  • D.B. DeBaryshe et al.

    Development of an instrument for measuring parental beliefs about reading aloud to young children

    Perceptual and Motor Skills

    (1994)
  • D.K. Dickinson et al.

    Early literacy: Linkages between home, school, and literacy achievement at age five

    Journal of Research in Childhood Education

    (1991)
  • C.J. Dunst et al.

    Measuring the adequacy of resources in households with young children

    Child: Care, Health, and Development

    (1987)
  • C.J. Dunst et al.

    Family resources, personal well-being, and early intervention

    Journal of Special Education

    (1988)
  • J. Elicker et al.

    The Parent–Caregiver Relationship Scale: Rounding out the relationship system in infant child care

    Early Education and Development

    (1997)
  • Cited by (140)

    • Is winning at the start important: Early childhood family cognitive stimulation and child development

      2020, Children and Youth Services Review
      Citation Excerpt :

      Due to data limitation, only the preschool stage family cognitive stimulation is available for later effect at the school-aged stage (10–14 years old).5 We construct the preschool family cognitive stimulation index based on a series of cognitive stimulation question items on children in different development stages, referring to previous psychological studies (see Burger, 2010; Bennett, Weigel, & Martin, 2002). The survey of these items follows a widely used home environment measurement survey in the psychology field, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) (Caldwell & Bradley, 1979; Todd & Wolpin, 2007), but in a brief form.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text