The Effects of Parental Reading and Teaching on Kindergarten Children's School Readiness

Abstract

This thesis project identifies and discusses parental reading and teaching patterns and the impact these same methods may or may not have on children's school readiness, specifically the student’s readiness to read. The study highlights the following research questions: What patterns of parental reading and teaching can be identified among families of children entering kindergarten in a rural school? What are the associations between parental reading and teaching patterns and the child's school readiness? The literature review section examines the topics of home environment, parent’s engagement with literacy development, school readiness, and academic success. The active research was performed in a rural school district in Western New York with three families, in which the mother was a “stay-at-home” mom. The study group data was gathered using parental interviews, close observation of parent and child interaction while reading in their home, and student assessments using print and letter recognition testing. Conclusions drawn from the project support the creation of a home environment that is safe and comfortable, parent strategies that use prompting while reading aloud, parental support during game playing, and reading to children on a daily basis were all found to contribute to children's school readiness.