Home Language and Literacy Environment in Latin America – Family Processes, Child Outcomes, and Intervention Efforts

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The influence of the Home Language and Literacy Environment (HLLE) on child outcomes has been widely documented in Western samples. However, compared to the global north there is a dearth of research in the global south and a great need to include the linguistically, culturally, and socially diverse contexts from the forgotten half of our planet. Latin America is the world’s most unequal region in terms of income distribution, which inevitably leads to unequal developmental opportunities. To reduce the gap most Latin American countries have recently transitioned to a new focus on parent involvement in Early Childhood Care and Education curricula. This symposium integrates findings from four studies conducted in Chile and Costa Rica interested in how parenting practices shape children’s HLLE and development. The first study investigated the relations between Costa Rican mothers’ conversational style during book reading and reminiscing and preschoolers’ language and literacy skills. The second study examined the relationship between the HLLE of Costa Rican families and child vocabulary acquisition. The third study investigated how the HLLE mediates the relationship between SES and language in a bi-ethnic sample (indigenous / Chilean) of preschool children in Chile and how ethnicity moderated the mediation effect. The fourth study evaluated an intervention in Chile to promote adult and toddler engagement during shared reading by incorporating the repeated reading of a personalized book. Findings from these studies deepen our theoretical understanding of HLLE processes in Latin America and inform future interventions targeting families from low-SES and minority group backgrounds.

Sub Unit

• Solicited Content: Global South

Chair

• Susana Mendive, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Individual Presentations

• Caregiver Reminiscing and Book-Sharing Styles and Children’s Language and Literacy Development in Costa Rica - Presenting Author: Ana Maria Carmiol, Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR); Non-Presenting Author: Alison Sparks, Amherst College; Non-Presenting Author: L. Diego Conejo Bolanos, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica

• The Relationship Between the Home Language and Literacy Environment in Costa-Rican Families and Children’s Vocabulary - Presenting Author: Valeria Ortiz Villalobos, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Author: Kathy Sylva, University of Oxford

• The Interaction of the Quality of the Home Environment and Ethnicity on Chilean Preschoolers’ Vocabulary - Presenting Author: Regina Tahirih Lohndorf, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

• Personalized Book Intervention Favorably Promotes Children´s Words Utterance and Dyads’ Engagement During Shared Reading - Presenting Author: Susana Mendive, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Non-Presenting Author: Katherine Strasser, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; Non-Presenting Author: Francisca Pozo, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Non-Presenting Author: Natalia Kucirkova, Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioural Research, University of Stavanger