Parental involvement in the development of children's reading skill: a five-year longitudinal study

This digest found in

How was the study designed?

The study involved a total of 110 kindergarten children (age 4-5 years) and fifty-eight grade 1 children (age 6-7 years). The children were in three cohorts and each cohort entered the study at a different age/grade (at four, five and six years of age). Their reading attainment was followed until the end of grade 3 (age 8-9 years). All the children came from middle or upper-middle class, English speaking homes. Their parents, who were highly educated and literate, reported reading storybooks to their children frequently and often taught their children how to read and print words at home. At school, the teachers taught reading using a 'balanced' approach, which included work on phonics within the context of literacy activities.

The researchers assessed the children's literacy experiences using the following measures:

the children's experience of storybooks was measured by giving parents two separate lists of sixty titles and sixty authors of children's books (including twenty false titles and authors) and asking parents to indicate which they recognised;
the children's experience of print was measured by parental reports of how frequently they taught their child to read and write, which they rated on two five-point scales (1=never; 5=very often);
the parents' own literacy levels were measured by asking parents to indicate authors they recognised from a given list of authors of popular adult literature (which included false names);
children's exposure to print once they entered school was measured at the end of grade 1 (age 7 years). Children were shown illustrations from popular children's books and asked to give details about the books they were taken from;
the children's oral language and early reading skills were measured in kindergarten and at the beginning of grade 1 using tests which included, listening comprehension, matching words based on rhymes, naming letters of the alphabet, sounding out simple words, such as 'sun', and invented spelling based on sounds etc; and
the children's reading skills were assessed at the end of grades 1 (age 7 years) and 3 (age 9 years) using standard vocabulary and comprehension tests usually administered by the schools.

Your path: Home > Welcome to The Research Informed Practice Site (TRIPS) > Themes > Early years > Parental involvement in the development of children's reading skill: a five-year longitudinal studyMonMar81353352004 > How was the study designed?
Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction What were the researchers' aims and what did they find out? How did parental involvement affect children's reading attainment? Why is parental involvement in children's literacy development important? How was the study designed? What are the implications of the study for parents and teachers? Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader Parental involvement in the development of children's reading skill: a five-year longitudinal study This digest found in Early years English Parents Send to a friend Word doc 50KB Printer friendly Collate for later How was the study designed? The study involved a total of 110 kindergarten children (age 4-5 years) and fifty-eight grade 1 children (age 6-7 years). The children were in three cohorts and each cohort entered the study at a different age/grade (at four, five and six years of age). Their reading attainment was followed until the end of grade 3 (age 8-9 years). All the children came from middle or upper-middle class, English speaking homes. Their parents, who were highly educated and literate, reported reading storybooks to their children frequently and often taught their children how to read and print words at home. At school, the teachers taught reading using a 'balanced' approach, which included work on phonics within the context of literacy activities. The researchers assessed the children's literacy experiences using the following measures: the children's experience of storybooks was measured by giving parents two separate lists of sixty titles and sixty authors of children's books (including twenty false titles and authors) and asking parents to indicate which they recognised; the children's experience of print was measured by parental reports of how frequently they taught their child to read and write, which they rated on two five-point scales (1=never; 5=very often); the parents' own literacy levels were measured by asking parents to indicate authors they recognised from a given list of authors of popular adult literature (which included false names); children's exposure to print once they entered school was measured at the end of grade 1 (age 7 years). Children were shown illustrations from popular children's books and asked to give details about the books they were taken from; the children's oral language and early reading skills were measured in kindergarten and at the beginning of grade 1 using tests which included, listening comprehension, matching words based on rhymes, naming letters of the alphabet, sounding out simple words, such as 'sun', and invented spelling based on sounds etc; and the children's reading skills were assessed at the end of grades 1 (age 7 years) and 3 (age 9 years) using standard vocabulary and comprehension tests usually administered by the schools.