Caregiver-child interactions and early literacy development of preschool children from low-income environments

Children growing up in low-income environments have lower-than-average leve ls of reading achievement and higher-than-average rates of special educatio n placement. Research suggests that this discrepancy can be linked to diffe rences in experiences during the early childhood years. A group of Head Sta rt children's (n = 39) early literacy skills (letter-naming, phoneme blendi ng, and onset recognition) and expressive and receptive vocabulary skills w ere assessed and correlated with measures of caregiver-child interactions o bserved in the home. Caregivers also were asked to report rates of early li teracy activities. Results indicated that the children in Head Start demons trated a range of early literacy and language abilities, and variation in t hese skills was related to some aspects of the children's home environments . In particular, degree of caregiver involvement, rate of language interact ions, and participation in early literacy activities were related to early literacy and language skills. This exploratory research provides a basis fo r experimental research to determine the effects of manipulating these care giver variables on early literacy development.