A multilevel analysis of home and classroom literacy environments in relation to preschoolers' early literacy development

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of preschoolers' home and classroom literacy environments and the relationships between receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness, and concepts about print (CAP) development. The participants were 168 parents and their children from five private preschools in a large suburban area. Two waves of data were collected. Multilevel linear modeling was used to analyze the two-level data set. The findings of the study revealed that children have more oral language related home experiences than print-related experiences. Similarly, the scores of the children's classroom environment that were related to oral language sources had the highest average of all rated dimensions. Print-related resources and experiences and provisions for book corners in the classrooms were limited. The results revealed that children's spring semester early literacy scores were significantly associated with their initial early literacy scores, mother's education level, and the classroom literacy environment. However, the home literacy environment was not significantly related to spring semester CAP scores.