Home Literacy Experiences of Preschoolers Enrolled in Head Start and Special Education Programs

Abstract

A survey was constructed to gather information concerning the home literacy experiences of preschool children enrolled in Head Start and early childhood special education classrooms. A total of 291 surveys were analyzed, representing 95 children considered at risk, 166 children with special education needs, and 28 peer models who had no developmental delays or disabilities. The results indicated a number of differences across the three groups regarding the priority placed on literacy at home, the ways in which children were involved in reading and writing activities, the amount of progress they were thought to have made in the past year, and the future expectations of the respondents in this area. Overall, the respondents for children with special education needs appeared to place the lowest priority on literacy development and have the lowest expectations in this regard. These respondents also reported providing fewer types of early literacy experiences to the children at home. Possible explanations are provided for the results. Implications for early childhood special education (ECSE) personnel are discussed.There has been a recent upsurge of attention to literacy development in young children over the past decade, due in large measure to concerns about the high rate of illiteracy in the adult population. Estimates of the problem indicate that in the United States approximately 20% of adults/high school graduates have difficulty with common reading tasks; 13% cannot read at all (Applebee, Langer, & Mullis, 1986; Ferraro, 1986; National Assessment of Educational Progress, 1985). The data for school-age individuals suggest that this problem continues in the current generation of adolescents; for example, it appears that 40% of 13-year-olds in U.S. schools are unsuccessful at grade-level reading assignments (Stedman & Kaestle, 1987). These statistics suggest that the literacy experiences offered to many children in school or home settings may be inadequate or misdirected.Some of the environmental factors that appear to be correlated with reading acquisition in young children include socioeconomic level

Rhyme and Alliteration Sensitivity and Relevant Experiences among Preschoolers from Diverse Backgrounds

“…The results revealed that middle-income children engaged in such activities more frequently than low-income children. This is consistent with many other studies showing that middle-income children have more exposure to books than low-income children (Bus, van Ijzendoorn, & Pellegrini, 1995;Scarborough & Dobrich, 1994), as well as recent evidence of income-related differences in exposure to rhyming activities (Chaney, 1994;Elliott & Hewison, 1994;Marvin & Mirenda, 1993). In our sample, African-American and European-American children of the same income level participated in relevant activities with about the same frequency.…”

“…In answering this question, it makes sense to consider factors in the home that may influence sensitivity to rhyme and alliteration. Recent evidence suggests that many preschoolers are exposed to linguistic games involving rhyme and alliteration, as revealed through parental reports that children regularly engage in activities involving songs, rhymes, and rhyming games (Baker, Fernandez-Fein, Scher, & Williams, in press;Chaney, 1994;Marvin & Mirenda, 1993;Raz & Bryant, 1990). Young children appear to enjoy listening to rhymes and often pro-duce them in their own poems and songs, as Dowker (1989) discovered through analysis of poems composed by 2-to 6-year-old children from various sociocultural groups.…”

Home and community literacy experiences of individuals with Down syndrome

“…Marvin (1994) examined the priorities of parents whose children had either single or multiple disabilities and found that less than half of respondents in both groups selected learning to read and write as top priority goals. Similarly, Marvin and Mirenda (1993) compared the priority goals of parents of preschoolers with disabilities, 'at risk' preschoolers, and typical preschoolers. They reported that the top three priority goals of parents of preschoolers with disabilities were communicating effectively, learning self-help skills and making friends.…”

“…Studies of the home literacy experiences of children with general intellectual disabilities (Marvin, 1994;Marvin & Mirenda, 1993;Marvin & Wright, 1997), severe speech and physical impairments (Light & Kelford Smith, 1993), visual impairments (Craig, 1996(Craig, , 1999Stratton, 1996), and learning disabilities (Rashid, 2002;Scarborough et al, 1991) suggest that individuals in these disability groups share a number of common literacy experiences, especially in their early years. However, almost nothing is known about the relationship between home and community literacy environments and literacy ability in individuals with Down syndrome.…”

Professionals' perceptions of the role of literacy in early intervention services

“…Research indicates that preschool children with special needs may experience fewer home literacy activities than other preschoolers (Light & Kelford Smith, 1993;Marvin & Mirenda, 1993;McVicker & Thatcher, 2005), yet one study indicated that parents of infants and toddlers with developmental delays reported positive views toward home literacy experiences as well as their children's abilities to engage in literacy (Goin, Nordquist, & Twardosz, 2004). It should be noted that the parents in this study were relatively well educated.…”