Role of Parental Attitudes, Home Literacy Environment, and Migration Background in Children´s Literacy Skills

• In Event: Influences on Early Literacy Development: Interactions Among Environment, Pedagogy, and Socioemotional Factors

Abstract

We investigated the longitudinal associations between parental attitudes towards reading and children´s literacy skills for children with and without migration background (N = 500, Mage = 60.97 months; SDage = 4.61). We explored whether these associations are mediated by the Home Literacy Environment (HLE) when controlled for child age, sex, cognitive skills, and socioeconomic status. The structural equation model shows, that the relations between parental attitudes towards reading and emergent literacy skills were mediated via HLE. Indirect effects were found, showing that the HLE but not parental attitudes towards reading mediated the effect of migration background on children´s literacy skills. Interventions aimed at shaping parental attitudes and the HLE may be a good target to foster children´s literacy development.

Authors

• María Valcárcel Jiménez, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

• Jörg-Henrik Heine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

• Tina Schiele, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

• Anna Mues, German Youth Institute

• Frank Niklas, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich