Relationshis between parents literacy skills and children's emergent literacy skills

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Parents literacy skills vs children’s

This session was good, but INTENSE. The woman presenting was professor at Spellman college and was presenting research findings that are to be published shortly. I will need to log into the conference site to see if she posted any handouts. Her slides were literally FULL of words (Kevin McCardle would not be happy - I think he suggested 10 words per slide for us - I GET it now!).

She outlined the whole study - which surveyed children age 4 in specific APPLE program in GA and their caregivers. There were a total of 96 "dyads" children and caregivers. The stats broke down into almost all women caregivers and african americans.

The study posed five questions to test specific areas of literacy (ex. print awareness, language skills). They tested children and adults individually to determine their levels. The bottom line of the study - yes, parents skills did affect children.

The presentation of the slides, and the fact that we did not see the whole study, makes exact reporting tough. It was very technical! Overall, not every category tested affected children, but in the end, yes parents literacy has an effect. The researcher also thought of some things that additional studies could look into and thought it would solidify further, perhaps even show on a greater level how significant they are.

Take aways - parents "education" level does tell you their literacy level. Asking parents to read / do with child at home may not be a possibility - think B2B or SRP where we say - read to children - could be a problem). Also, I'm interested in following up on the survey tests they used with parents and children since we have grant reporting coming up and both M and I are utilizing book giveaway kits and we're tracking change.

I think this shows the importance of having data, statistics, science to show the importance of what we're doing, or why we need to change / improve / continue what we do.


Notes copied and posted:

- using grade level to assess literacy skills does not help
- people can be passed through
- 63 million adults (29%) read and understand a basic
- 30 million (14%) below basic level of literacy

Oral – receptive, expressive vocabulary
Expressive vocabulary

Lack of literature in these areas – questions exploratory

Study – hypothesis
96 child / primary care – dyads - (mom/dad/aunts/ grandparents)
80% of caregivers were mothers
Adults were English speakers
Avg. age 32
90 % African American
All children avg age 4 year old

PPVT – Peabody ppicture vocabulary test
EVT – expressive vocabulary test
Woodcock Johnson III tests of achievement (decoding, word recognition)
Print and Word Awareness (PALS)

Preschoolers tested in FALL (aug – oct)
Parents tested in WINTER (nov. - )

Descriptive statistics
- adults performing on avg. high school level
- children on avg 3 yr old language level

PALS
- didn’t have where child should be

One way ANOVA
- demographics same
- literacy skills same
- child literacy – one site higher (adults higher and children were higher)

Correlation statistics

Regressions
Predict child’s skills based on parents

Chart (Table 9)
1-6 parents
7-11 children

- .23 – .5 – small to moderate correlations, enough to say there is a relationship
- education level still correlated to children’s literacy skills
- hypothesis confirmed

- 15% education level contribution to expressive, oral language skills
- Parents language did predict child’s skills
- Child age 20 % , oral vocabulary parents 5 %
- How parent speaks affects how child speaks

Parent’s decoding skills – does not necessarily predict child

14% parental written language skills, prediction of child’s alphabet skills
- 12 % parent education level

Parents written language skills did not predict child’s print awareness

Conclusions

- parent literacy skills connect to child’s skills
- need to know parents skills (can’t say take this home, read this, etc.)

Read to your child, talk to your child (conversations matter!)
Give them the types of questions to ask
Emergent literacy, phonics (crux of it all)

Necessary to examine exact parental variables
Can’t look at children in isolation (family literacy is key)
Recognize impact of the parent

Follow up study needed
Diverse populations, socioeconomic groups


Illiteracy passéd on generation / generation (preschool – pre-k in home most critical when child is learning)

So what? – pass on to literacy programs, professionals focus on parents and kids
- 20 minutes to test parents (invest in future of the children)
- A matter of how (how get parents, how find out their skills)

Questions
- what would study look like with children who were not in a formal program
- what about the home literacy environment (home often mediated through literacy skills)
- girls in program outnumbered the boys
o this was in Georgia (free state program)
o APPLE (Atlanta preschoolers pursuing…)

- one parent had a masters degree
o 10/12 grade level across the board was what came out

Research has been submitted for publication
- funded out of United Way (APPLE project)
- this research tacked on
- implement parent component
- push for family literacy
- use “flesh kincaid level” when sending home information
o important to know level of parents b/c of what you ask parents to do at home

Did survey, home literacy environment survey, title recognition book test (20 real, 10 false) – very low, Hesh (reference - ? who authors were – adapted), home literacy environment survey (how long read at night, do you primarily read with child, if child doesn’t know skill do you work with them)

Email in program – if something want to know – email and she will send

Professor at Spellman College
Teach in ECE program with preservice teachers (bridge adult and child literacy)
Coauthors – Daphne Greenberg (adult literacy), Nicole Pattenteri (early literacy) at Georgia State