Latino parent involvement and associations with home literacy and oral reading fluency

Grounded in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's theoretical model of parents' motivations for involvement in their children's education, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between Latino parents' perceptions of involvement and the home literacy environment, as well as children's oral reading fluency (ORF). We further considered salient contextual factors (i.e., educational attainment, income status, and parent reading proficiency) that may impact parents' perceptions of involvement.

The sample included 730 young Latino children (Mage = 6.47, SD = 1.13; 49.9% male) and their caregivers attending summer camps that participated in a summer reading intervention program. Prior to intervention delivery, parents completed questionnaires regarding general family demography, parent perceptions of involvement, and the home literacy environment. Standardized curriculum-based measures of children's ORF were conducted by trained research staff.

Results indicated that Latino parents' perceptions of involvement were associated with children's ORF and aspects of their home literacy involvement, even when accounting for parents' income, education level and self-reported reading proficiency. Regarding income status, families from higher income backgrounds perceived having more time and energy, and were more involved, as compared to families from lower income backgrounds.

Findings from this study suggest that Latino parents' perceptions not only influence their home literacy involvement, but also their young children's ORF, even when accounting for contextual factors. Implications for practice and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).