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Published on: October 11, 2018
Parents' reading-related knowledge and children's reading acquisition
Megan Ladd1, Sandra Martin-Chang, Kyle Levesque
1Department of Education, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3G 1M8. m_ladd@education.concordia.ca
Annals of Dyslexia
|June 17, 2011
Summary
Parental knowledge of reading, including phonics, positively impacts early literacy skills like letter recognition and sound awareness in young children. This highlights the importance of supporting parents in developing these crucial reading-related skills.
Area of Science:
- * Cognitive Psychology
- * Developmental Psychology
- * Education
Background:
- * Teacher reading-related knowledge is a known predictor of student reading success.
- * Limited research exists on the reading-related knowledge of parents and its impact on child literacy.
- * Understanding parental knowledge is crucial for developing effective early literacy interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the relationship between parents' reading-related knowledge and their young children's literacy and cognitive skills.
- * To explore whether parent reading-related knowledge is associated with other cognitive abilities like print exposure and cultural knowledge.
Main Methods:
- * A study involving 70 parent-child dyads (kindergarten and grade 1 children).
- * Parents completed questionnaires on reading knowledge, print exposure, and cultural knowledge.
- * Children were assessed on letter-word knowledge, sound awareness, vocabulary, oral expression, and mathematical skills.
Main Results:
- * Parental reading-related knowledge positively correlated with children's letter-word knowledge and sound awareness.
- * No significant correlations were found between parental reading knowledge and children's mathematical skills or vocabulary.
- * Parental reading knowledge was independent of parents' print exposure and general cultural knowledge.
Conclusions:
- * Parents' specific knowledge of reading, such as phonics, is linked to foundational literacy skills in their children.
- * These findings suggest that parental reading knowledge is distinct from broader cognitive abilities.
- * Interventions aimed at enhancing parental reading-related knowledge could be beneficial for promoting child literacy development.
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