Poster #65 - Antecedents and Consequences of Home Literacy Activities in Highly Transparent Orthography

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

The study investigated the extent to which home literacy activities during the preschool year would predict the development of children’s language and literacy skills in primary school, among Finnish children. The antecedents of maternal literacy activities during preschool were examined. The data of 1,880 children (6-year-olds at a baseline) and their mothers were used. Children’s literacy and language skills were tested at five time-points: the beginning and end of preschool, the beginning and end of Year 1, and the end of Year 2. Mothers filled in questionnaires at the end of their children’s preschool year. The results showed that home teaching of reading at preschool age had a weak but statistically significant impact on children’s emergent literacy (letter knowledge, reading fluency), while shared reading contributed to oral language skills, such as vocabulary and listening comprehension. Moreover, early letter knowledge was related to both the maternal teaching of reading and shared reading, while maternal beliefs and expectations about their children’s schooling and competence (i.e., importance of reading and writing readiness, child’s talent in reading and writing, and expectations for child’s performance) were associated with more frequent engagement in the teaching of reading. The results support and expand the Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal & LeFevre, 2002, 2014) in the highly transparent Finnish language.

Authors

• Gintas Silinskas, Univerity of Jyväskylä
  Presenting Author

• Minna Torppa, University of Jyvaskyla
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, University of Jyvaskyla
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jari-Erik Nurmi, University of Jyvaskyla
  Non-Presenting Author