An Investigation into the Views of Parents of Preschool-Aged Children on Home Literacy

Vollständiger Abstract

Worum geht es in dieser Arbeit?

The study investigates the perspectives of parents of preschool-aged children regarding their home literacy environments and shared book-reading practices. Adopting an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the quantitative phase included 200 parents, whereas the qualitative phase included 20 parents. The parents' overall home literacy environment scores were relatively high. Mothers exhibited significantly higher mean scores in total home literacy (M = 101.20) compared to fathers (M = 89.21), with similar statistically significant advantages in the sub-dimensions of book reading, letter knowledge, and vocabulary. However, no significant gender differences emerged in phonological awareness or activity scores. Qualitative findings indicated that parents established physical reading areas for their children, even if they had not experienced shared reading during their own childhoods. Conversely, home reading routines were predominantly initiated by the children rather than planned by the parents. Furthermore, parents perceived the direct teaching of reading and writing as the school's responsibility, adopting a reactive role. Qualitative findings also highlighted a significant need for parental guidance regarding age-appropriate book selection and interactive reading strategies, while reaffirming that fathers' active engagement in home literacy practices remains structurally limited compared to mothers.