The role of home environments in children’s literacy skills in Ghana: Parents, siblings, and books

Abstract

Existing literacy studies in low-income countries heavily emphasize school factors. This article shifts focus, examining how home-based reading resources and interactions predict children’s reading via a non-experimental study. Data involve 2,886 children aged 5–13 in Ghana, selected through a two-stage random sampling. Regression analyses show that siblings and parents reading to the child, reading in front of the child, and assisting with studying positively predict children’s acquisition of varying reading skills, measured by the Early Grade Reading Assessment. The availability of home reading resources similarly predicts these outcomes. The results advocate for more literacy investments in homes, extending beyond schools.