Parental Involvement and Reading Attainment

S ummary .— The relationship between a number of home background factors and reading ability was studied in three samples (samples of 63, 100 and 104) of working‐class children aged 7–8, using standardised tests given to the children and parental interviews. The home background factor which emerged as most strongly related to reading achievement was whether or not the mother regularly heard the child read (‘coached’). WISC IQ scores were obtained on one of the samples (N = 100), and it was established that IQ differences did not account for the superior reading performance of the coached children. Controlling for maternal language behaviour, as assessed using scales devised by Bernstein's colleagues, had little effect on the association between coaching and reading performance; controlling for coaching, however, markedly reduced the correlation between maternal language behaviour and reading performance. When the amount of coaching which the children had received was related to reading test score, a highly significant positive association was found. The lack of attention paid in the past to parental involvement in children's school work is commented upon in discussion of the implications of the findings.