Parents’ perceptions of home reading activities: comparing children with and without learning disability

Abstract

The early reading process can be viewed as triadic, encompassing the child, the parents and the environment. We examine the impact of each of these three components on children’s participation in home reading activities as perceived by their parents. The results obtained from a questionnaire completed by parents of Grade 1 children, with and without learning disability, support findings of previous studies that home reading environments of both groups and their parents’ role in story book reading are not significantly different. The main finding was that children’s responses during story book reading and their engagement in independent reading differ. Children without learning disability are more involved in the reading process and independent reading than children with learning disability. This implies that teachers need to encourage parents of Grade 1 children to continue to actively engage in reading activities with their children despite their children becoming independent readers, and to also assist them in the selection of appropriate reading material.