Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
This article was downloaded by: [University of Calgary]On: 13 March 2013, At: 06:10Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Early Child Development and CarePublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gecd20
Child and parent characteristics,parental expectations, and childbehaviours related to preschoolchildren's interest in literacyAlison E. Baroody a & Jennifer Dobbs‐Oates a
a Department of Child Development and Family Studies, PurdueUniversity, 1200 W. State St., West Lafayette, IN, 47904‐2055,USAVersion of record first published: 02 Dec 2009.
To cite this article: Alison E. Baroody & Jennifer Dobbs‐Oates (2011): Child and parentcharacteristics, parental expectations, and child behaviours related to preschool children's interestin literacy, Early Child Development and Care, 181:3, 345-359
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430903387693
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representationthat the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of anyinstructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primarysources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
ISSN 0300-4430 print/ISSN 1476-8275 online© 2011 Taylor & FrancisDOI: 10.1080/03004430903387693http://www.informaworld.com
Early Child Development and CareVol. 181, No. 3, April 2011, 345–359
Child and parent characteristics, parental expectations, and child behaviours related to preschool children’s interest in literacy
Alison E. Baroody and Jennifer Dobbs-Oates*
Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 1200 W. State St., West Lafayette, IN 47904-2055, USATaylor and FrancisGECD_A_438947.sgm10.1080/03004430903387693(Received 8 July 2009; final version received 5 October 2009)Early Childhood Development and Care0300-4430 (print)/1476-8275 (online)Original Article2009Taylor & [email protected]
The current study examined the relations between children’s literacy interest andparent and child characteristics (i.e. parents’ education level and child’s gender),parental expectations of their child’s school attainment and achievement and thechild’s positive and problem behaviours. Participants were 61 preschoolers frompredominately low-income families enrolled in local preschool programmes.Parents completed questionnaires reporting demographic characteristics, parents’expectations and their child’s literacy interest. Preschool teachers reported onchildren’s behaviours in the classroom using standard behaviour-rating scales.Child gender was marginally related to child literacy interest, but parent educationwas not significantly correlated with interest. Parents’ expectation of their child’sschool achievement was significantly correlated with child literacy interest, butparental expectations about attainment were not. Overall, teachers’ reports ofchildren’s positive and problem behaviours were correlated with child literacyinterest in the expected direction. Interpretation and implications of the findingsand future directions for research are discussed.
Keywords: literacy; interest; preschool; parental expectations; child behaviour;child gender
Preschoolers’ early emergent literacy skills (e.g. letter knowledge, receptive andexpressive language) are related to children’s later reading skills and achievement inelementary school (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002). Furthermore, reading skills infirst grade are related to reading achievement in secondary school (Cunningham &Stanovich, 1997). Therefore, early literacy skills form the foundation of later readingsuccess. However, many children enter kindergarten without the basic skills needed inorder to enable them to learn. For example, it is estimated that 18% of children enterkindergarten without any core skills related to print familiarity (National Center forEducation Statistics, 2000). Therefore, these children are at risk for poor readingachievement. Understanding factors related to emergent literacy skills has thepotential to help researchers, parents and educators know how to successfully promotethe development of emergent literacy skills during the preschool years.
Children’s interest
Interest in literacy activities during the preschool years is a relatively new topic; thus,it has not been well defined. In this study, interest is defined as children’s enjoyment
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
346 A.E. Baroody and J. Dobbs-Oates
of and frequency of engagement in literacy-related activities. This definition is consis-tent with other studies that have begun to explore this topic (Bracken & Fischel, 2008;Farver, Xu, Eppe, & Lonigan, 2006). Scholars have suggested that children’s interestin literacy activities may play an important role in relation to children’s emergent liter-acy skills (Gambrell & Gillis, 2007; Lonigan, 1994; Scarborough & Dobrich, 1994).Children who enjoy literacy activities are likely to engage in them more often thanchildren who do not enjoy them or are indifferent towards literacy activities. Throughengaging in literacy activities, children are able to learn and practise skills that can aidthem in learning to read later on in kindergarten and elementary school. Studies haveconsistently reported a relation between young children’s interest in literacy activitiesand letter knowledge (Bracken & Fischel, 2008; Deckner, Adamson, & Bakeman,2006; Frijters, Barron, & Brunello, 2000; Weigel, Martin, & Bennett, 2006). Childrenin these studies were preschool or kindergarten age and came from both low- andmiddle-income families. A few studies have also reported an association betweenchildren’s interest in literacy activities and children’s oral language, although thesefindings have been less consistent. Bracken and Fischel (2008) and Farver et al.(2006) found a relation between interest and receptive language for samples ofpreschool children enrolled in Head Start. However, Deckner et al. (2006) and Frijterset al. (2000) did not find a relation between interest and receptive language in samplesof preschool and kindergarten children from middle-income families. Likewise,Weigel et al. (2006) report an association between expressive language and interest forchildren up to six years old, while Deckner et al. report that the association weakensover time and becomes non-significant by about 42 months. Thus, young children’sinterest in reading is related to at least some emergent literacy skills, with the mostconsistent findings being between literacy interest and letter knowledge. Children’searly letter knowledge is important since it has been found to be a good predictor oflater reading development (Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1994).
Since there is empirical support for interest playing a role in relation to emergentliteracy skills, the topic of interest warrants further investigation. Although studieshave examined interest in relation to outcomes, few studies have examined whatcharacteristics might be related to interest and what characteristics and behaviours aredisplayed by children who are rated as having higher levels of interest.
Demographic characteristics
Research examining children’s emergent literacy skills and literacy-related parentingpractices have found these skills and practices are connected to parent and childdemographic characteristics (Dye & Johnson, 2007; National Center for EducationStatistics, 2008). Therefore, it is reasonable to investigate whether children’s literacyinterest may also be related to demographic characteristics (e.g. child gender, parenteducation level). In research with elementary school age children, gender differencesrelated to reading interest or motivation have been well documented with girls havinghigher levels of interest in literacy (McKenna, Kear, & Ellsworth, 1995). Although lessresearch has examined gender differences in children’s literacy interest during thepreschool years, the studies that have been carried out report similar findings. Forreports of children’s interest or learning motivation in literacy, parents rate girls higherthan boys (Alexander, Johnson, Leibham, & Kelley, 2008; Raty, 2003). Additionally,work by Baroody and Diamond (2008) reported similar gender differences using achild-report interest measure. Thus, the limited research conducted with preschool
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
Early Child Development and Care 347
children is consistent with the findings regarding gender for elementary age children.Therefore, the prediction of the current study is that preschool girls will display higherlevels of interest in literacy activities, compared to their male peers.
Parents’ education is another factor that should be examined in relation to interest.In a model presented by Wigfield, Eccles, Schiefele, Roeser, and Davis-Kean (2006),parents’ education level is related both directly and indirectly (via parents’ expecta-tions) to achievement motivation in elementary and secondary school students. Thereare reasons to expect a similar association during children’s younger years. Parentswith higher education levels tend to provide more literacy opportunities and literacy-rich environments for their children by reading to children more frequently (Dye &Johnson, 2007). Since these children are exposed to more literacy opportunities andactivities, it is reasonable to predict that these children may have more opportunitiesto become interested in literacy activities. Furthermore, parents with higher educationlevels tend to endorse views of reading as a source of enjoyment and pleasurecompared to parents with lower education levels (Serpell, Sonnenschein, Baker, &Ganapathy, 2002). Parents with higher education levels also tend to view theirchildren as more capable when assessing their abilities, especially on literacy-relatedtasks like writing (Raty, 2003). Parents who believe reading is enjoyable and viewtheir children as capable are probably more likely to read to them and engage them inliteracy-related activities. Thus, parent education levels would seem to serve as aproxy measure for parent-provided literacy experiences and parent beliefs about therole of reading. However, studies which have specifically examined the relationbetween parents’ education and young children’s interest in literacy have been incon-sistent. Bracken and Fischel (2008) report an association between parents’ educationlevel and preschool children’s literacy interest. Baker and Scher (2002) report a rela-tion between income level (which was associated with years of maternal education)and parents’ reports of their child’s interest in learning to read, but no relation betweenmaternal education and children’s reports of their reading motivation. Farver et al.(2006) did not find an association between parents’ education level and children’sliteracy interest. It is possible, though, that this was due to a lack of variability in theparticipants’ demographic characteristics (a majority of parents were Latino andreported having a high-school degree or less). Thus, some evidence suggests that thereis an association between parents’ education level and children’s interest in literacyactivities although results are mixed.
Parental expectations
Parents’ expectations about their child’s school achievement (i.e. how well the childwill do in school) and school attainment (i.e. how far the child will go in school – highschool, two-year college, four-year college, etc.) may be related to interest. Asmentioned earlier, Wigfield et al. (2006) suggested that parents’ expectations arerelated to children’s achievement motivation in general. However, no known studieshave specifically examined the relation between parental expectations and preschoolchildren’s interest in literacy activities.
Some studies have explored the relation between parental beliefs about reading andchildren’s interest. DeBaryshe (1995) reported that mothers’ beliefs about reading(i.e. views on parents as teachers, value of children’s active participation in readingaloud, appropriateness of direct instruction, whether knowledge is gained through bookreading, malleability of children’s language development, if limited resources are
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
348 A.E. Baroody and J. Dobbs-Oates
obstacles to reading, and effect associated with reading) were related to children’s inter-est in literacy activities during preschool. Baker and Scher (2002) also found a relationbetween parents’ beliefs and interest, although parental beliefs were operationaliseddifferently than in the DeBaryshe study. In the Baker and Scher study, parental beliefsreferred to reasons for reading. Parents who indicated that reading was importantbecause it is a source of pleasure had first-graders who scored higher on the enjoymentsubscale of the motivations for reading measure. It is interesting to note that in thisstudy home literacy environment was also measured. Home literacy environment wasnot related to children’s motivation scores, which raises questions as to why beliefs,but not actual practices, would have an impact on child interest. Like parental beliefs,parental expectations may play a role in children’s literacy interest. It is possible thatparents who have higher expectations encourage their children more, thus contributingto higher levels of interest, or it could be that parents who perceive their child as moreinterested in literacy then expect that their child will do better and go further in school.However, before speculations about directionality can take place, studies first need toprovide support for the relation between parental expectations and children’s literacyinterest.
Children’s behaviours
Preschool children’s positive and problem behaviours have been associated with chil-dren’s emergent literacy and reading skills both concurrently and into elementaryschool (Miles & Stipek, 2006; National Institute of Child Health and HumanDevelopment [NICHD], 2004; Normandeau & Guay, 1998). Literacy interest, too, maybe related to positive and problem behaviours. However, few studies have examinedthe role of interest in relation to children’s behaviours. Farver et al. (2006) examinedthe relations among parent–child literacy activities (e.g. shared reading), child literacyinterest and children’s social functioning during the fall of the preschool year. Chil-dren’s literacy interest mediated the relation between parent–child literacy activitiesand children’s social functioning as measured through teachers’ reports. Therefore,there is some evidence that children’s interest in literacy activities is positively relatedto their prosocial behaviour. Little evidence is available to support the relation betweenchildren’s literacy interest and problem behaviours. However, it is reasonable tohypothesise that children who create disruptions, are easily distracted, or are often offtask, would be viewed by adults as having lower levels of interest. It is also possiblethat children who have lower levels of interest become easily distracted or cause disrup-tions because they do not find the activity interesting. As with parental expectations,determining directionality may be difficult and research is first needed to establish arelation between children’s behaviours and literacy interest.
Current study
The current study extends previous research by exploring factors related to preschoolchildren’s interest in literacy activities. Although a wide variety of factors are likelyrelated to preschool children’s interest in literacy activities (e.g. home literacy envi-ronment), this study is limited to examining preschool children’s literacy interest inrelation to child and parent demographic characteristics, parental expectations of chil-dren’s school achievement and attainment, and children’s positive and problembehaviours. The aim of the current study is to address the following questions: (1) Are
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
Early Child Development and Care 349
parent and child characteristics related to preschool children’s literacy interest? (i.e.Do parents rate girls higher on literacy interest compared with boys? and Do parentswith higher education levels report higher child interest ratings?); (2) Are parents’expectations of their preschool children’s future educational achievement and attain-ment related to their ratings of their preschool children’s literacy interest?; and (3) Areparents’ ratings of their preschool children’s literacy interest related to teachers’ratings of children’s positive and problem behaviours in the preschool classroom?
Method
Participants
Sixty-one children (32 boys) participated in this study. The children’s ages rangedfrom 34 to 69 months, with an average age of 46.8 months and a standard deviationof 8.9 months. Forty-three (70.5%) of the participating children were Caucasian, eight(13.1%) were multiracial, five (8.2%) were Latino and five (8.2%) were AfricanAmerican.
Only 56% of parents responded to any of the questions about family income. Themean reported yearly income was $31,606 and the standard deviation was $30,604. Ofthe parents who provided any information about income, more than half reported anannual income of $20,000 or less. The participants were recruited from childcarecentres that served a predominantly low-income population. Thus, despite the incom-plete data, the participants can be characterised as a low-income sample. Additionally,60 of the 61 participating parents/guardians reported their highest level of education.Parents’ highest level of education ranged from less than ninth grade to schoolingbeyond a four-year college degree. Thirteen per cent of parents had not obtained ahigh school diploma. Twenty per cent reported graduating high school, 49% reporteda high school degree plus some college or trade school and 16% reported a four-yearcollege degree or more.
Procedures
Five childcare centres in a mid-sized midwestern city participated in this study. Eachof these centres predominately served children from low-income families. This studyis part of a larger study on a preschool literacy intervention. Families were recruitedfor this study through packets that were sent home with the children. Parents who wereinterested in participating returned a completed consent form and Parent/GuardianQuestionnaire. The head teacher of each classroom was asked to complete rating scalesdescribing each participating child’s classroom behaviour. All measures used in thepresent study were collected at the beginning of the larger study, before any groupassignments were made or interventions begun.
Measures
Parent report
A parent or guardian of each participating child completed a short questionnaireincluding demographic information and questions about children’s interest in readingand parents’ expectations for children’s educational achievement and attainment.Three questions asked the parent to report on their child’s interest in literacy-related
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
350 A.E. Baroody and J. Dobbs-Oates
activities (see Appendix). A composite measure of parent-reported child literacyinterest was created by averaging the scores on the three literacy items together (α =.73). Parents were also asked to report their expectations of their child’s educationalattainment (highest level of education) and achievement (average grade in school).Each of these parent report items is reproduced in the appendix. See Table 1 fordescriptive statistics on parent report measures.
Teacher report
Each child’s head preschool teacher completed two rating scales describing the child’sbehaviour in the classroom. The teacher rating scale for preschool children, from theBehaviour Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition (BASC-2; Reynolds &Kamphaus, 2004a), asks teachers to rate the frequency of 100 different child behav-iours on a four-point scale. This scale measures both problem behaviours and adaptivebehaviours. Problem behaviour scales include aggression, anxiety, attention problems,atypicality, depression, hyperactivity, somatisation and withdrawal. Adaptive behav-iour scales include adaptability, functional communication and social skills. TheDevereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA; LeBuffe & Naglieri, 1999a) asksteachers to rate the frequency of 37 positive and negative child behaviours. This scaleresults in scores for three positive behaviour categories (initiative, self-control andattachment), which are also aggregated into a total protective factors score. TheDECA also presents a behavioural problems score. Both the BASC-2 and the DECA
Table 1. Descriptive statistics for parent and teacher report measures.
Measures N Median SD Range
Parent reportChild interest 61 3.67 1.03 1–5School attainment 59 5 1.04 1–61
School achievement 53 10 1.46 5–112
Teacher reportBASC3
Adaptive skills 57 51 8.44 34–74Behavioural symptoms 57 53 10.29 35–80Externalising problems 57 56 11.62 40–92Internalising problems 55 53 12.68 31–91
DECA3
Initiative 59 51 8.85 31–70Self-control 59 52 9.27 34–70Attachment 59 50 8.33 34–72Total protective factors 59 51 8.75 31–72Behavioural concerns 59 52 9.12 31–69
Composite BASC and DECAPositive behaviours 59 51.00 8.10 34.50–73.00Problem behaviours 59 52.00 9.16 33.00–74.50
1 Corresponds to “less than ninth grade” through “beyond college”.2 Corresponds to “C” through “A”.3 Both BASC and DECA scores are t-scores.
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
Early Child Development and Care 351
are nationally normed scales with strong evidence of reliability and validity. The test-retest reliability for the BASC-2 composite scales ranges from .84–.87 and for theprimary scales from .72–.87. The BASC is correlated with other behavioural measuressuch as the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) andConner’s Teacher Rating Scale-Revised (CTRS = R; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004b).The test-retest reliability for the DECA scales ranges from .68–.94 and the DECA hasbeen used successfully to distinguish between preschool children who have and do nothave emotional and behavioural problems (LeBuffe & Naglieri, 1999b). See Table 1for descriptive statistics on teacher report measures.
Results
All variables were checked to ensure that they met the assumptions of normality. Allvariables were normally distributed except parents’ expectations of children’s schoolattainment. A Spearman’s rho correlation was used in analyses including parents’expectations of children’s school attainment since they were not rated on a ratio scaleand were not normally distributed.
Parent and child characteristics in relation to child interest
On average, parents rated girls higher on literacy interest than boys (girls M = 3.82[.83]; boys M = 3.39 [1.15]). This difference was marginally significant (t(57) = −1.65, p = .05; d = .44). Children’s literacy interest was not correlated with parents’education level (r(60) = .18, p = .17).
Parental expectations in relation to child interest
Parents’ expectations of their child’s school attainment (i.e. how far the child will goin school) were not related to parents’ ratings of their child’s literacy interest (ρ(59) =.04, p = .74). Parents’ expectations of their child’s school achievement (i.e. the child’saverage grade in school) were significantly correlated with parents’ ratings of theirchild’s literacy interest (r(53) = .39, p < .01).
Children’s behaviour in relation to child interest
Children’s interest in literacy was significantly related to teachers’ ratings of chil-dren’s overall behavioural symptoms and externalising problems, as measured by theBASC. Furthermore, interest was marginally related to children’s adaptive skills (acomposite of adaptability, functional communication and social skills) and internalis-ing problems. Correlations were in the expected direction (see Table 2). With respectto the primary behavioural scales, child interest in literacy was positively related tosocial skills. Children’s literacy interest was negatively related to aggression, attentionproblems, hyperactivity and withdrawal, and marginally negatively related to atypi-cality. Children’s literacy interest was also significantly related to three of the fiveDECA scales (see Table 3). Interest was positively related to self-control and totalprotective factors, and negatively related to behavioural concerns. Additionally, therewas a marginal positive relationship with attachment. Due to correlations across therating scales, two composite variables were created. Adaptive skills (BASC) and totalprotective factors (DECA) were averaged together to create a composite variable
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
352 A.E. Baroody and J. Dobbs-Oates
labelled positive behaviours. Behavioural symptoms (BASC) and behaviouralconcerns (DECA) were averaged together to create a composite variable labelledproblem behaviours. Positive behaviours were positively correlated with children’sliteracy interest (r(59) = .27, p < .05). Problem behaviours were negatively correlatedwith children’s literacy interest (r(59) = −.35, p < .01).
Discussion
The findings from this study contribute to the growing body of literature on preschoolchildren’s interest in literacy activities in three ways. First, it provides additionalsupport to previous studies that have found that child gender is related to literacyinterest. Second, the findings from this study are a first step towards understanding theconnection of preschool children’s interest in literacy to other factors, such as parentalexpectations and children’s behaviour. Although these findings are preliminary, theyform the foundation from which future research can explore these factors in more
Table 2. Correlations between child interest and BASC ratings.
Variables Child interest
Composite scalesAdaptive skills .26***Behavioural symptoms −.36*Externalising problems −.31**Internalising problems −.23***
Primary scalesAdaptability .16Aggression −.30**Anxiety −.13Attention problems −.38*Atypicality −.22***Depression −.20Functional communication .22Hyperactivity −.31**Social skills .30**Somatisation −.22Withdrawal −.29**
*p < .01; **p < .05; ***p < .10.
Table 3. Correlations between child interest and DECA ratings.
Variables Child interest
Initiative .18Self-control .29*Attachment .24**Total protective factors .26*Behavioural concerns −.32*
*p < .05; **p < .10.
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
Early Child Development and Care 353
depth. Ultimately, this can help us understand how these factors work together topromote children’s interest which in turn is related to children’s emergent literacyskills and later reading success. Finally, this study provides preliminary evidence thata simple three-item parent report questionnaire can provide a reliable and validmeasure of children’s literacy interest, and do so more efficiently than other currentmeasures of young children’s interest in literacy activities.
Consistent with previous findings, parents rated girls higher on literacy interestthan boys. This finding fell just short of significance, probably due to the relativelysmall sample size. One possible explanation for girls’ higher literacy interest is thatboys and girls may have different motivations for reading. Adolescent girls reportedreading for enjoyment, whereas boys reported reading for mainly pragmatic purposes(e.g. finding out how something works; Gambell & Hunter, 1999). From kindergartenthrough fifth grade, boys consistently checked out more non-fiction books from theschool library than did girls (Hartlage-Striby, 2001). Since non-fiction book genrestend to be less common than narratives in preschool classrooms, it is possible thatboys have less access to literacy materials that interest them (Larkin-Lieffers, 2007).Additionally, it is possible that literacy materials available to young children in thehome and school may be more thematically appealing to girls. It has been suggestedthat girls tend to prefer books that are categorised as more romantic or nurturing,whereas boys prefer books that are categorised as more violent or scary (Collins-Standley, Gan, Yu, & Zilman, 1996). Teachers and parents may be more likely toprovide books that have nurturing or romantic themes instead of scary or violent ones,although empirical studies are needed to support this hypothesis.
In the present study, parents’ education level was not related to parents’ reports ofchild interest. Previous research on this question has been equivocal, with some stud-ies reporting a relationship (Bracken & Fischel, 2008), and others not (Farver et al.,2006). Given the limited power of the present study, and the inconsistent findings ofprevious research, the possibility of a relation between parents’ education andchildren’s literacy interest remains unresolved.
Parents’ expectations of their child’s school attainment were not related to chil-dren’s literacy interest; however, parents’ expectations of their child’s school achieve-ment were significantly related to children’s literacy interest. That is, parents’perceptions of their children’s literacy interest are unrelated to how far parents expecttheir children to go in school. However, parents’ report of their children’s interest isrelated to how well parents expect their children to do in school. Parents who perceivetheir child as more interested in literacy activities also expect their child to do betterin school. It is interesting to note that parental expectations of both attainment andachievement were related to parents’ education level (ρ(58) = .41, p < 01; ρ(52) = .30,p < .05; respectively). This suggests that a parent’s expectations about how far his orher child will go in school may be influenced primarily by how much schooling theparent has completed, whereas a parent’s expectation for his or her child’s schoolachievement may be based on the parent’s own schooling as well as on factors moredirectly related to the child, such as demonstrated interest in literacy activities. Moreresearch is needed to better understand the relation between early interest and parents’expectations, and the roles these variables might play in later school achievement.
Similar to Farver et al. (2006), the present study found that parent-reported childliteracy interest was positively related to children’s positive behaviours. Additionally,children’s literacy interest was negatively related to children’s problem behaviours.That is, children who are perceived as more interested in literacy activities by their
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
354 A.E. Baroody and J. Dobbs-Oates
parents are also perceived by their teachers as displaying more positive social behav-iours. Conversely, children who are perceived as not interested in literacy by theirparents are perceived as displaying more problem behaviours by their teachers. Thisintuitively makes sense. Many widely used preschool curricula, such as The CreativeCurriculum (Dodge, Colker, & Heroman, 2002) and High/Scope Curriculum (High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 2007; Hohmann & Weikart, 1995), containliteracy components and many preschool interventions focus on improving children’semergent literacy skills (e.g. Wasik, Bond, & Hindman, 2006; Whitehurst et al.,1994). Thus, many preschool settings emphasise reading and literacy-related activi-ties (e.g. group book-reading, writing names and letter games). Children who likereading and literacy activities would be more likely to enjoy and be successful insettings that emphasise these types of activities. Children who have little interest inreading and literacy activities would most likely take less pleasure in settings thatheavily emphasise these activities. Since these children do not seek out literacyopportunities or engage in them, they are more likely to be perceived as bored, inat-tentive, disruptive or frustrated. Additionally, these children may seek out other activ-ities that the teachers do not emphasise. Thus, teachers may perceive more conflictswith children who have low levels of literacy interest and rate their behaviours asmore problematic.
The significant relationships between interest in literacy activities and classroombehaviour provide a reminder that areas of children’s development are integrated. Asmentioned earlier in the introduction, literacy interest during the preschool years isalso related to emergent literacy skills (Bracken & Fischel, 2008; Farver et al., 2006;Weigel et al., 2006). Thus, it appears that interest is correlated with skills in bothsocial and academic domains of development. Recently scholars have suggested thatchildren’s school readiness consists of skills in many domains of development andthat these areas of development (e.g. literacy, mathematical and socioemotional) arerelated to one another (Snow, 2007; Spira & Fischel, 2005). Increasing attention isbeing placed on the connections between the cognitive and the social domains. Forinstance, Miles and Stipek (2006) reported that academic and social behaviours arerelated both concurrently and longitudinally. Interest or motivation may represent athird domain of development to consider in the study of children’s development andtheir school readiness. The interest domain may be related to a variety of skills, bothacademic and social.
Finally, this study contributes to the literature by providing support for parentreport measures as a useful way to assess children’s interest. Studying literacy interestduring the preschool years is a relatively new topic and there are no generally agreedupon measures for assessing it (Ortiz, Stowe, & Arnold, 2001). In the current study,interest was measured using a simple, three-item parent report. This measure of inter-est related to other variables, including child gender, parent expectation of childachievement and teacher report of child behaviour in predicted ways. Additionally, thethree-item measure had adequate internal consistency of .73, above the suggestedcriteria of .70 for exploratory measures or research in the early stages of development(Henson, 2001; Nunnally, 1978). This suggests that parent reports have the potentialto be an efficient, reliable and valid method of assessing children’s interest. Othermethods of measuring children’s literacy interest, such as child report and observa-tions of parent–child shared reading sessions, have been reported (Deckner et al.,2006; Frijters et al., 2000). While these methods have potential benefits, they are alsomore difficult and time-consuming to use, compared to our parent report measure.
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
Early Child Development and Care 355
Limitations
As will always be the case, the current study had some limitations. One limitation wasthat only some of the many factors that are potentially related to preschool children’sliteracy interest could be examined in this study. We acknowledge that there are otherfactors that are likely to be related to interest as well. Future studies are needed toexamine other variables (e.g. home literacy practices, classroom literacy environ-ments), which most likely are related to children’s literacy interest.
Another limitation was shared source and method variance. That is, parents wereasked to report on both their expectations and their child’s literacy interest. However,the different patterns of relations found for expected achievement and attainmentsuggest that the significant relationship between expected achievement and literacyinterest is unlikely to be solely an artefact of shared source and method variance.Additionally, the pattern of correlations between parent-reported child interest andteacher-reported child behaviour further supports the validity of the interest measureand discounts the role of shared method variance, as relationships were found acrossinformants as predicted.
A third limitation was that all measures were collected at one time point. Collect-ing data over several time points might provide a more accurate record of children’sinterest, since children’s interest might change over time (Alexander et al., 2008).Finally, the sample was small and mostly represented low-income families. Thus,findings should only be cautiously generalised. However, despite the small samplesize, significant results were found.
Future directions
Future research could more closely examine the relation between parents’ expecta-tions of their child’s school achievement and children’s interest in literacy. Under-standing the relation between parents’ expectations and child interest may help usbetter understand what role interest plays in relation to expectations and why interestis related to certain expectations (i.e. achievement) but not others (i.e. attainment).Additionally, understanding the role of both parental expectations and children’s liter-acy interest in relation to school success may be important.
Determining directionality may also be important. The current study can onlyspeak to the relation among variables and can say nothing about the direction of asso-ciations. Understanding the relative strength and the direction of the associationsamong parental expectations, children’s interest and children’s behaviour will help usbetter understand how children develop.
Finally, additional research is needed to explore how best to assess children’sinterest. One strategy is to use multiple methods of measurement. To date, fewpublished studies have used more than one measure of young children’s literacy inter-est within the same study (Baker & Scher, 2002 and Ortiz et al., 2001 are exceptions).Using multiple methods of assessing children’s interest (e.g. parents’ reports andteachers’ reports) within the same study would provide convergent validity. Usingmultiple measures of interest may provide a more accurate representation of children’sinterest and minimise problems of shared source and method variance.
Therefore, more empirical studies are needed in order to help us better understandchildren’s interest in literacy activities. Understanding what factors are related tointerest may help us better understand the construct of interest itself and the role itplays in relation to children’s emergent literacy development. If interest is related to
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
356 A.E. Baroody and J. Dobbs-Oates
other areas of development such as academic and social, as this study as well as otherssuggest, then exploring children’s interest as a point of intervention has the potentialto benefit children and help them to succeed.
AcknowledgementsThis study was supported by a Kontos Fellowship awarded to the second author by the Centerfor Families at Purdue University. The authors wish to thank the Center for Families for theirsupport, as well as the preschool centres, teachers, children and families who participated inthis project. Thanks also to Karen Diamond for helpful comments on an early version of thismanuscript.
Notes on contributorsAlison E. Baroody is a PhD student in the Department of Child Development and FamilyStudies at Purdue University.
Jennifer Dobbs-Oates, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Child Developmentand Family Studies at Purdue University.
Both authors study the development of preschool-aged children with a focus on schoolreadiness and center-based childcare settings.
ReferencesAlexander, J.M., Johnson, K.E., Leibham, M.E., & Kelley, K. (2008). The development of
conceptual interests in young children. Cognitive Development, 23, 324–334.Baker, L., & Scher, D. (2002). Beginning readers’ motivation for reading in relation to
parental beliefs and home reading experiences. Reading Psychology, 23, 239–269.Baroody, A.E., & Diamond, K.E. (2008). Links among preschool children’s home literacy
environment, interest in literacy activities, and emergent literacy skills. Unpublishedmanuscript, Purdue University.
Bracken, S.S., & Fischel, J.E. (2008). Family reading behavior and early literacy skills inpreschool children from low-income backgrounds. Early Education and Development, 19,45–67.
Collins-Standley, T., Gan, S., Yu, H.J., & Zilman, D. (1996). Choice of romantic, violent,and scary fairy-tale books by preschool girls and boys. Child Study Journal, 26, 279–303.
Cunningham, A.E., & Stanovich, K.E. (1997). Early reading acquisition and its relation toreading experience and ability 10 years later. Developmental Psychology, 33, 934–945.
DeBaryshe, B.D. (1995). Maternal belief systems: Linchpin in the home reading process.Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 16, 1–20.
Deckner, D.F., Adamson, L.B., & Bakeman, R. (2006). Child and maternal contributions toshared reading: Effects on language and literacy development. Applied DevelopmentalPsychology, 27, 31–41.
Dodge, D.T., Colker, L.J., & Heroman, C. (2002). The creative curriculum for preschool(4th ed.). Washington, DC: Teaching Strategies.
Dye, J.D., & Johnson, T. (2007). A child’s day: 2003 (selected indicators of child well-being)(USDC Publication No. P07-109). Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce.
Farver, J.M., Xu, Y., Eppe, S., & Lonigan, C.J. (2006). Home environment and young Latinochildren’s school readiness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 196–212.
Frijters, J.C., Barron, R.W., & Brunello, M. (2000). Direct and mediated influences of homeliteracy and literacy interest on prereaders’ oral vocabulary and early written languageskill. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 466–477.
Gambell, T.J., & Hunter, D.M. (1999). Rethinking gender differences in literacy. CanadianJournal of Education, 24, 1–16.
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
Early Child Development and Care 357
Gambrell, L.B., & Gillis, V.R. (2007). Assessing children’s motivation for reading andwriting. In J.R. Paratore & R.L. McCormack (Eds.), Classroom literacy assessment:Making sense of what students know and do (pp. 50–61). New York: The Guilford Press.
Hartlage-Striby, K. (2001). Girls choose fiction; boys choose non-fiction. Kentucky Libraries,64, 36–40.
Henson, R.K. (2001). Understanding internal consistency reliability estimates: A conceptualprimer on coefficient alpha. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Develop-ment, 34, 177–189.
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. (2007). Alignment of high/scope keydevelopmental indicators and key experiences. Retrieved May 14, 2007, from http://www.highscope.org/file/EducationalPrograms/EarlyChildhood/chart.pdf
Hohmann, M., & Weikart, D.P. (1995). Educating young children. Ypsilanti, MI: High/ScopeEducational Research Foundation.
Larkin-Lieffers, P.A. (2007). A question of access: Finding information books for emergentreaders. Language and Literacy, 9, 1–35.
LeBuffe, P.A., & Naglieri, J.A. (1999a). Devereux early childhood assessment. Lewisville,NC: Kaplan Press.
LeBuffe, P.A., & Naglieri, J.A. (1999b). Devereux early childhood assessment: Technicalmanual. Lewisville, NC: Kaplan Press.
Lonigan, C.J. (1994). Reading to preschoolers exposed: Is the emperor really naked?Development Review, 14, 303–323.
McKenna, M.C., Kear, D.J., & Ellsworth, R.A. (1995). Children’s attitudes towards reading:A national survey. Reading Research Quarterly, 30, 934–956.
Miles, S.B., & Stipek, D. (2006). Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations betweensocial behavior and literacy achievement in a sample of low-income elementary schoolchildren. Child Development, 77, 103–117.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2000). America’s kindergartners: Findings from theearly childhood longitudinal study, kindergarten class of 1998–99, Fall 1998 (NCESPublication No. 2000-070). Washington, DC: US Department of Education.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Parents’ reports of the school readiness ofthe young children from the National Households Education Surveys Program of 2007(NCES Publication No. 2008-051). Washington, DC: US Department of Education.
NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Development). (2004). Trajectories of physi-cal aggression from toddlerhood to middle childhood (Monographs No. 69(4), Serial No.278). Society for Research in Child Development. Boston, MA: Blackwell.
Normandeau, S., & Guay, F. (1998). Preschool behavior and first-grade school achievement:The meditational role of cognitive self-control. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90,111–121.
Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Ortiz, C., Stowe, R.M., & Arnold, D.H. (2001). Parental influence on child interest in shared
picture book reading. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16, 263–281.Raty, H. (2003). At the threshold of school: Parental assessments of the competencies of their
preschool-aged children. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 1862–1877.Reynolds, C.R., & Kamphaus, R.W. (2004a). Behavior assessment system for children
(2nd ed.). Circle Pine, MN: American Guidance Service.Reynolds, C.R., & Kamphaus, R.W. (2004b). Behavior assessment system for children:
Manual (2nd ed.). Circle Pine, MN: American Guidance Service.Scarborough, H.S., & Dobrich, W. (1994). On the efficacy of reading to preschoolers.
Developmental Review, 14, 245–302.Serpell, R., Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., & Ganapathy, H. (2002). Intimate culture of families
in the early socialization of literacy. Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 391–405.Snow, K.L. (2007). Integrative views of the domains of child function: Unifying school
readiness. In R.C. Pianta, M.J. Cox, & K.L. Snow (Eds.), School readiness and the transi-tion to kindergarten in the era of accountability (pp. 197–216). Baltimore, MD: Paul H.Brookes.
Spira, E.G., & Fischel, J.E. (2005). The impact of preschool inattention, hyperactivity, andimpulsivity on social and academic development: A review. Journal of Child Psychologyand Psychiatry, 46, 755–773.
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
358 A.E. Baroody and J. Dobbs-Oates
Storch, S.A., & Whitehurst, G.J. (2002). Oral language and code-related precursors to reading:Evidence from a longitudinal structural model. Developmental Psychology, 38, 934–947.
Wagner, R.K., Torgesen, J.K., & Rashotte, C.A. (1994). Development of reading-relatedphonological processing abilities: New evidence of bidirectional causality from a latentvariable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 30, 73–87.
Wasik, B.A., Bond, M.A., & Hindman, A. (2006). The effects of a language and literacy inter-vention on head start children and teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 63–74.
Weigel, D.J., Martin, S.S., & Bennett, K.K. (2006). Contributions of the home literacy envi-ronment to preschool-aged children’s emerging literacy and language skills. Early ChildDevelopment and Care, 176, 357–378.
Whitehurst, G.J., Arnold, D.S., Epstein, J.N., Angell, A.L., Smith, M., & Fischel, J.E. (1994).Outcomes of an emergent literacy intervention in head start. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 86, 542–555.
Wigfield, A., Eccles, J.S., Schiefele, U., Roeser, R.W., & Davis-Kean, P. (2006). Develop-ment of achievement motivation. In W. Damon & R.M. Lerner (Editors-in-chief), N.Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personalitydevelopment (6th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 933–1002). New York: Wiley.
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
Early Child Development and Care 359
Appendix. Items from the parent report questionnaire
Child interest items
How often does your child ask to be read to?
__ Hardly ever__ Once or twice a month__ Once or twice a week__ Almost daily__ More than once per day
How much does your child enjoy being read to? (Rate interest on a scale from 1 to 5)
1 2 3 4 5not at all very muchN/A (no one reads with my child)
How often does your child read books by himself or herself?
__ Hardly ever__ Once or twice a month__ Once or twice a week__ Almost daily__ More than once per day
Parental expectation items
How many years of school do you expect your child to complete?
__ Less than ninth grade__ Some high school, but not finish__ High school degree__ High school + some college or trade school__ Four-year college degree__ Beyond college
Circle the average grade you expect your child to receive in elementary school
A A− B+ B B− C+ C C− D+ D D−
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f C
alga
ry]
at 0
6:10
13
Mar
ch 2
013
