Strong conceptual knowledge developed through home reading experiences prior to school

Abstract

Studies of early reading in the home indicate the relevance of these experiences for young children’s later reading development when they start school. The study reported here followed twenty children through 2 years prior to starting school and assessed their reading progress at the start of school. Audio/tape-recordings of their home experiences were collected in some detail, at random during whole days and transcripts of the audio/tape-recordings were reviewed for instances of reading experiences. In addition, parent interviews reported activities with their children, including those not captured on the audio/tape-recordings and others that took place across different days not recorded. Strong relationships were found between measures of family interest in reading and their children’s reading development when they started school. It was also found that Socioeconomic Status (SES) of family background did not necessarily determine these children’s reading development. Those children who had the opportunity to form successful understandings about reading from their home experiences, arrived at school with strong conceptual frameworks that supported their continuing reading development.