A Study of the Effects of Parental Involvement in the Teaching of Reading on Children's Reading Test Performance

S ummary . The reading attainment of working‐class children, as indicated by reading test performance, is lower than that of other children but there is some evidence that it might be improved if their parents are involved more in the teaching of reading by hearing their children read at home. A study was carried out of a reading at home parental involvement project in a primary school serving a working‐class area. The project was satisfactorily implemented and 76 children completed three years in it. Their reading test scores were compared to those of similar children who had passed through the school before the project. No significant improvement was found in test performance. The findings are discussed in relation to those of the Haringey Project (Tizard et al. , 1982). It is hypothesised that the effects of this form of parental involvement may depend on the nature of home visiting which supports it, on the previous extent of parental involvement, or on whether the families concerned are from ethnic minorities. It is argued that there should be continued development and evaluation of parental involvement in the teaching of reading.