The Home Literacy Environment: Observational and Interview Study of School-Aged Children

• In Event: Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: Impacts of Out-of-School Time on Math, Science, and Literacy

Abstract

How parents may impact the home literacy environment (HLE) and literacy and language development as children grow older and become independent readers has not been sufficiently examined. To gain a better understanding of the HLE for older children, and to develop better questions about how the HLE may impact contemporary child outcomes, this study used a qualitative approach to researching the HLE in middle childhood. The aim of this study was to expand our understanding of how the home literacy environment should be defined for school aged children. Preliminary findings indicate that while many family practices are represented by current HLE paradigms, many important practices (including interactions with technology and the affective nature of activities) are not.

Author

• Rachel Zwass, University of California - Los Angeles