Home Practices during PreCOVID and COVID Era: Associations with Cognitive Outcomes

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Objective: Home literacy practices and technology usage were examined among families with children ages five to six years old in pre-COVID classroom-based (CB) learning and COVID distance learning (DL). Variations by household income and the implications on cognitive outcomes were investigated. Grounded in sociocultural theory, this study highlights home learning practices that affect developmental trajectories starting in early education (Booker, 2016; Vygotsky, 1987).
Methods: Thirty-seven families with children in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through Kindergarten participated in this study. Parents filled out surveys on home literacy and technological practices and demographic information in the spring of TK and the following Kindergarten year. Children were assessed in TK and Kindergarten using five subtests (Picture Vocabulary, Sentence Repetition, Rapid Naming, Letter-Word Identification, Number Sense) from the Woodcock Johnson IV Early Cognitive and Academic Development battery (WJ ECAD IV; Schrank, McGrew, & Mather, 2015). Household income was reduced into two groups using hierarchical cluster analysis. In TK, the low-income group reported an average household income of $25,001 - $35,000. The upper-income group reported an average income of $75,001 - $100,000. In Kindergarten, the low-income group reported an average income of $15,001 - $25,000; the upper-income group reported an average income of $75,001 - $100,000.
Results: There was an increase from pre-COVID CB learning to COVID DL in child technology usage for school related educational programs and for noneducational games. There was a decrease in home book reading, storytelling, and writing during Kindergarten COVID DL time. In TK, parents from the upper-income bracket reported a significantly lower technology use of educational games when compared to parents in the lower-income bracket. In Kindergarten, parents from the higher-income group reported significantly lower technology usage in educational games and in watching the TV to fall asleep, than those in the lower-income group. Lastly, there were significant associations between TK cognitive outcomes with several home literacy and technological practices. The Expressive Language index score was significantly correlated with telling stories in addition to the numeracy score with playing games on tablets. However, the Expressive Index, Vocabulary, and Number Sense scores were all significantly negatively correlated with the writing home practice. Further qualitative analysis will be conducted to understand the negative correlations.
Discussion: Perhaps, due to the virtual schooling, all children, especially from lower-income groups, are now provided with more equal learning opportunities at home, such as devices and programs supplied by the school. This is a crucial implication during this particular time, as home learning and school curriculum learning are both occurring at home with parents as teachers. As reading books was not correlated with the language outcomes, other aspects of home literacy practice, such as storytelling, may be important in language development at this age. By characterizing how parents utilize technology and literacy practices with their children, we can better understand how to support families through COVID DL. Utilizing specific home literacy and technological practices may be useful in lifting academic trajectories during the home learning era.

Authors

• Naomi T Lin, University of California - San Diego
  Presenting Author

• Monica Molgaard, University of California - San Diego
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shana R Cohen, University of California, San Diego
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alison Wishard Guerra, University of California - San Diego
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tim T Brown, University of California - San Diego
  Non-Presenting Author