Parents Supporting Children’s Language and Literacy at Home
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS STUDY |
WHAT IS THE STUDY ABOUT?
The purpose of this research is to better understand how parents support their children’s language and literacy development at home. As children’s language and literacy skills improve over time, parents must continuously adapt their support of those skills to provide scaffolding that is age- and ability-appropriate. For instance, singing rhyming songs is beneficial for language development of young children, but support might shift to enabling reading strategies for older children in the late elementary school years. Most prior studies have examined the home literacy environment broadly (e.g., number of books in the home) or have focused on parental influence within narrow sample parameters, such as age range (e.g., children in preschool). |
In the present research, we expand to a wide age range encompassing both pre- and post-onset of formal literacy instruction. Our research also acknowledges that the medium in which reading is occurring is shifting; adults and children alike are increasingly reading in a digital format. In this transition, there is both concern and optimism: Concern that reading digitally may distract children from reading in a deep and focused manner. And optimism that digital reading and technology may support children’s literacy in new ways.
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WHAT'S NEW?
In the summer of 2022, we launched a survey for Canadian parents/guardians who have a child/children 10 years old or younger. In this survey we ask parents how they support their child’s reading at home (e.g., sounding out words, predicting how the story might end, asking questions that go beyond the text), rating their own beliefs and attitudes towards teaching their children how to read, and where they obtain their literacy information. Overall, we plan to investigate the ways in which parents support their children’s language and literacy skills, and how these diverse ways might differ based on many factors. |
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STUDY
If you have any questions about our study, please contact Language and Literacy Lab manager Stef Hartlin at [email protected].
If you have any questions about our study, please contact Language and Literacy Lab manager Stef Hartlin at [email protected].
MEET THE RESEARCH TEAM
This project is a joint research initiative between Dr. Hélène Deacon, Director of the Language and Literacy Lab at Dalhousie University, and the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, Canada’s premier literacy advocacy organization, along with, Dr. Jenny Thomson, Co-Lead of Technology and New Media from the University of Sheffield, Drs. Émilie Courteau and Klaudia Krenca (Postdoctoral Fellows at Dalhousie University), and supported by Language and Literacy Lab manager Stef Hartlin.
This project is a joint research initiative between Dr. Hélène Deacon, Director of the Language and Literacy Lab at Dalhousie University, and the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, Canada’s premier literacy advocacy organization, along with, Dr. Jenny Thomson, Co-Lead of Technology and New Media from the University of Sheffield, Drs. Émilie Courteau and Klaudia Krenca (Postdoctoral Fellows at Dalhousie University), and supported by Language and Literacy Lab manager Stef Hartlin.
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In partnership with
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS AND FUNDERS
Thank you to all of the families for taking part, our invaluable partner The Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, and to our funders. Our work would not be possible without your support!
Thank you to all of the families for taking part, our invaluable partner The Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, and to our funders. Our work would not be possible without your support!