Poster #23 - Home literacy environment and children’s second language development: The role of parental efficacy and marital satisfaction

• In Event: Poster Session 05

Abstract

A growing body of literature has found a positive relation between the home literacy environment (HLE) and children’s language and literacy development. However, the mechanism through which parents are involved in home literacy activities remains to be further explored. Previous studies have identified parental efficacy and marital satisfaction as significant predictors of parents’ involvement in their children’s education (Kwok et al., 2013; Kwok & Li, 2015). In particular, parents’ self-efficacy in supporting their children’s literacy development is related to their engagement in home literacy activities (Chen et al., 2020; Peacock-Chambers et al., 2017) and children’s literacy skills (Yeo et al., 2014). Other studies revealed a positive influence of parents’ marital satisfaction on HLE, which subsequently predicted children’s emergent literacy skills (Froyen et al., 2013; Konishi et al., 2018). However, the associations among parental efficacy, marital satisfaction, HLE, and children’s language and literacy outcomes are not fully understood. Further, less is known about the influences of different parental factors in the context of children’s second language development. Considering that the HLE may be more important for children’s second language learning than first language acquisition (August et al., 2006), it is important to understand the antecedents of parental involvement to better support children’s HLE and second language development.
Against this background, this study explores the association among parental efficacy, marital satisfaction, HLE, and Hong Kong children’s development of English as a second language. In particular, this study examines 1) whether HLE mediates the relation between parental efficacy and children’s English skills; and 2) whether the relation between parental efficacy and HLE is moderated by parents’ marital satisfaction.
A total of 246 children (114 girls, Mage= 47.41, SDage= 3.60) and one of their parents (204 mothers and 42 fathers), who were from intact two-parent families, participated in this study. Children’s English skills— phonological awareness, receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and letter knowledge— were assessed individually. Parents completed a questionnaire that tapped into the HLE (i.e., shared reading and storytelling, play and media-based activities, and direct teaching of literacy skills), self-efficacy in supporting their children’s English learning, and marital satisfaction. After controlling for child age, gender, non-verbal intelligence, and family SES, parental efficacy was indirectly associated with children’s English skills through the mediation of HLE [indirect effect = .06, 95% CI (.02 to .11)]. Moderation analysis suggested a significant interaction effect between parental efficacy and marital satisfaction in relation to HLE (B= .08, p< .05). Furthermore, as marital satisfaction increased, the positive effect of parental efficacy on HLE is stronger (Figure 1). However, the effect of parental efficacy on HLE was only significant for parents who had an average or high level of marital satisfaction, but not for those who had a low level of marital satisfaction. This may indicate that parental efficacy was more likely to contribute to parents’ involvement in home literacy activities among couples with above-average levels of marital satisfaction. Implications for families and educators will be discussed.

Authors

• Yushan Jiang, The University of Hong Kong
  Presenting Author

• Carrie Lau, University of Hong Kong (HKU)