Young Learners: The Home Literacy Environments of Australian Four-Year-Olds

This study investigated the home literacy environments (HLEs) of 4-year-old children attending an early childhood program prior to school entry and the association between the HLE and children's interests in and attitudes to literacy. One hundred and thirty-eight parents and 140 children participated in the study. Parents completed a questionnaire and children were interviewed. Results showed that, generally, these parents created “somewhat rich” literacy environments, and that traditional literacy (as opposed to techno-literacy) materials predominated. Frequency of the parents' own reading was positively associated with the frequency with which parents read to their children. Richness of parents' reading habits was positively associated with the frequency with which parents read to their children, but not necessarily associated with the children's own interests in or orientation to literacy.