Latino parent involvement and associations with home literacy and oral reading fluency.

Abstract

Objective: Grounded in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's theoretical model of parents' motivations for involvement in their children's education, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between Latino parents' perceptions of involvement and the home literacy environment, as well as children's oral reading fluency (ORF). We further considered salient contextual factors (i.e., educational attainment, income status, and parent reading proficiency) that may impact parents' perceptions of involvement. Method: The sample included 730 young Latino children (M age ϭ 6.47, SD ϭ 1.13; 49.9% male) and their caregivers attending summer camps that participated in a summer reading intervention program. Prior to intervention delivery, parents completed questionnaires regarding general family demography, parent perceptions of involvement, and the home literacy environment. Standardized curriculum-based measures of children's ORF were conducted by trained research staff. Results: Results indicated that Latino parents' perceptions of involvement were associated with children's ORF and aspects of their home literacy involvement, even when accounting for parents' income, education level and self-reported reading proficiency. Regarding income status, families from higher income backgrounds perceived having more time and energy, and were more involved, as compared to families from lower income backgrounds. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that Latino parents' perceptions not only influence their home literacy involvement, but also their young children's ORF, even when accounting for contextual factors. Implications for practice and future directions are discussed. Impact and ImplicationsThe present study furthers our understanding about the importance of Latino parents' beliefs about their children's education and how that relates to their home literacy involvement and children's oral reading fluency. Additionally, this study indicates that Latino parents' beliefs may buffer the negative effects of contextual factors (i.e., income, education level, reading proficiency) related to Latino parents becoming involved. This study provides school personnel, including school psychologists, counselors, administrators, and teachers, with unique insight into how Latino parents view their role in their child's education, to better construct engagement efforts tailored for Latino families.

Parents as Multidimensional Reading Partners for Young Children’s Reading Development: A Scoping Review

“…These roles are believed to be effective in promoting children's reading development from the aspect of fluency (National Reading Panel, 2000;Henry, 2008;Pagan & Sénéchal, 2014;Sawyer et al, 2018;Brown et al, 2019;Zambrana et al, 2019;Yildirim et al, 2020), comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000Gabl et al, 2007;Henry, 2008;Shany & Biemiller, 2009;Blanch et al, 2013;Pagan & Sénéchal, 2014;Brown et al, 2019;Yildirim et al, 2020) and interest (Cotter, 2012;Yeo, Ong & Ng, 2014;Levy, Hall & Preece, 2018;Choi, Kang & Sheo, 2020;Dobbs-Oates, Pentimonti, Justice and Kaderavek, 2015;Kathy, 2016). Traditionally, the roles as a motivator, tutor and facilitator in young learner's reading were given larger emphasis on the teachers in the classroom.…”

“…In another study by Zambrana et al (2019), the researchers concluded that the perception and role of parents are paramount in influencing young children's oral reading fluency and their account for contextual factors. Brown et al (2019) also yielded the same results as they realised that children's fluency and comprehension significantly increased after parent-child reading consistently for five months.…”

Reading Without Words: Cultivating Bi/Multilingual Family Engagement

“…Successful engagement models begin with creating an ecology where both generic and home literacy practices are valued, and families and teachers are positioned alongside one another as learners. Such an ecology would recenter families as powerful contributors to their child's education (Zambrana et al, 2019). Teachers would recognize and value the cultural literacy practices of bi/multilingual families, involve families in program creation, and design reading activities that are both meaningful and effective (Gaitan, 2012; Wood et al, 2018).…”

Role of socioeconomic and parental involvement factors on children foundational learning skills based on MICS (2017–2018) data Punjab, Pakistan

“…Zambrana et al 9 suggested that Latino’s parents perceptions had much influence on the children home literacy but also their Oral Reading Skills, considering contextual salient factors (i.e., educational attainment, income status, and parent reading proficiency) as well.…”