Supporting Children’s Early Literacy Development: The Impact of Home Literacy Environments and Socioeconomic Factors

This study investigates the role that children’s home literacy environments (HLEs) play in influencing early literacy skills. Strengthening a child’s HLE through the establishment of supportive home literacy routines, inclusive of parents’ involvement in literacy activities, parents’ own literacy habits, and encouragement of children’s literacy interest may buffer against socioeconomic risk. Participants were 471 preschool children (M = 5.36 age; 54.8% male) whose parents (81.1% ­biological mother; 55.0% white; 60.3% Hispanic/Latine) enrolled them in a summer reading intervention program embedded within local summer camps and childcare settings prior to the start of kindergarten. Parents were asked to complete a set of questionnaires inclusive of demographic information, as well as their HLE. Children’s early literacy skills were assessed using curriculum-based measurement probes of oral reading fluency and a measure of receptive vocabulary. Primary results show that greater parental involvement in literacy activities, as well as children’s interest in literacy, were associated with higher scores on measures of children’s print knowledge and phonics fluency skills. Higher scores on measures of children’s receptive vocabulary were only associated with greater levels of parents’ own literacy habits. These results demonstrate that specific aspects of the HLE may further support the positive development of emergent literacy skills among preschool children transitioning into kindergarten above and beyond demographic influences. These findings are discussed, along with the implications that should be considered for educators and parents looking to better support children’s literacy development as they transition into kindergarten and beyond.