| Many studies have documented the relations between children's reading skills and their home literacy environments. However, few studies have investigated the home literacy environment of Latino families in poverty. I examined the emergent literacy skills and the home literacy environments in Latino children who live in inner-city neighborhoods of Los Angeles. My goals were twofold. First, the study described the level of emergent literacy skills at the onset of preschool. Second, the study analyzed the patterns of associations between the home environmental factors and the emergent literacy skills. Participants were recruited at Head Start. Children's emergent literacy skills were assessed at the beginning of their preschool year. Their home environments were assessed by their primary caretakers' reports as well as by trained interviewers during home visits. Data were analyzed using a path analysis approach. The result showed that children in this sample performed considerably poorer in all emergent literacy skills and non-verbal IQ at the onset of preschool entry compared to the means for the measurements. Thus these children are already behind at the beginning of preschool. A series of path analyses showed that shared book reading with mothers was positively associated with Latino children's English oral language skills. However, it was not associated with their Spanish language skills. Contrary to my hypotheses, parental teaching and child's literacy interest were not associated with any of the emergent literacy skills. In addition, I hypothesized that mother's education and cultural orientation would indirectly influence child's emergent literacy skills. The result did not support my hypotheses. |
