PATHWAYS TO EARLY LITERACY:THE COMPLEX INTERPLAY OF CffiLD,

FAMILY, AND SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS

Megan M. McClelland.DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ANDFAMILY SCIBNCBS. OREOON STATE UNIVERSrrY

CORVALLIS. OREGON 97330.Maureen Kessenich

DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRJaPERINATAL CENrER/NEONATAL DBVEWPMENTAL

FOLLOW-UP CUNIc. WYOLA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENl'ERMA YWOOD. ILUNOIS 60153

Frederick J. Mo"isonDBPARTMBNT OF PSYCHOWOY

UNIVERSI1Y OF MICHIGANANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48109

I. INTRODUcnONA. VIEWING DEVELOPMENT FROM A DYNAMIC SYSTEMS PERSPEcnVE

B. THE NATURE OF EARLY LITERACY DEVELOPMENTC. THE EARLY EMERGENCE OF V ARIA nON IN CHILDREN'S LITERACY

SKILLS

II. CHILD FACTORS AND EARLY LITERACY DEVELOPMENTA. IQB. LANGUAGE AND PHONOLOGICAL SKILLSC. SOCIAL SKILLSD. LEARNING-RELATED SOCIAL SKILLS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTE. TEMPERAMENT

ill. PARENTING AND EARLY In'ERACY DEVEWPMENTA. FAMILY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTB. COONI11VE mMUI.A110NC. P AREN11NG SIYLE

.

D. mE IMPACT OF PARENI1NG ON EARLY Ln"ERACY SKILLS:.A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL

IV. SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS AND EARLY Ln'ERACY DEVEWPMENTA. SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

411COP7riPt D3, ~ ~ (USA).

AD ript8 as-2A07,., 135.00

ADV ANCBS IN am.o DBVBLOPMEN1'AND BEHAVIOR, VOL. 31

MeglJn M. McCleillDld et aI.412

B. RA CB/BTHNI CITYC . CHILD CAllE

SCHOOLING INFLUENCES AND OfILDREN'S EARLY LrrERACYDEVELOPMENT

VI. DYNAMIC RELAll0NS BETWEEN CHILD, FAMILY, AND SOCIOCUL'nJRALFAcroRS, SCHOOUNG INFLUENCES AND EARLY LrTERACY SIC.n..I.SA. A COMPLEX MODEL OF CillLD LI1'ERACY ACQUlSmONB. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN cmLD, FAMILY, AND SOCIOCULTURAL

FAcroRS, AND EARLY LI1'ERACY SK.IL~C. INrBRVENING RELA noNS BETWEEN CHILD, FAMILY, AND

SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS AND EARLY LITERACY SKILLSD. mE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CHILD TEMPERAMENT, PARBNI1NG, AND

LEA RNING- RELATED SOCIAL SKIL~E. CHILD-SCHOOUNG INTERACTIONS IN CHILDREN'S FARLY Ln"ERACY

GROwmF. COMBINING VARIABLE-BASED AND PERSON.QRIENTED ANAL Y'nC

METHODS IN EARLY LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

VII. CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

I. Introduction

Modem conceptualizations in developmental science suggest that ourunderstanding of children's early growth and learning will be enhancedby viewing development from a dynamic, multilevel, and interactiveframework (Cairns, Elder, &:. Costello, 1996; Gottlieb, Wahlsten, &:.Lickliter, 1998; Thelen &:. Smith, 1998). As a consequence, research hasbegun to move away from a focus on primarily microanalytic, laboratory-based methodologies to incorporate a more applied and dynamic ecologicalmodel of development.

This paradigm shift has stemmed, in part, from a growing appreciation ofthe complex relations that exist between many levels of influence that shapechildren's development. As the need to see development from a multilevel,interactive framework has grown, researchers have sought ways to bring thisperspective to life. This has led to advances in methodologies and analytictechniques, which have allowed researchers to examine complex relationsamong different factors affecting children's development.

In the present chapter we use the ecological and dynamic system per-spectives as a framework for describing the nature and sources of children'searly literacy development. We discuss important child, family, socio-cultural, and schooling factors influencing children's literacy acquisition

413Patllways to Early Literacy

such as children's social skills and temperament, the family learningenvironment and aspects of parenting, soci~nomic status, and racelethnicity, and the effect that classroom instruction has on children's literacyskills. We outline the multiple pathways to literacy development as well asthe dynamic relations among these factors. Finally, we provide examplesof how the pathways to literacy can be described using a combination ofvariable-based and person-oriented analytic procedures..

A. VIEWING DEVELOPMENT FROM A DYNAMIC

SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE.At the end of the 20th century, the field of developmental psychology

underwent a paradigm shift. moving away from a static view of humandevelopment and toward a dynamic, interactive, and multilevel framework(Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Gottlieb, Wablsten, & LickJiter, 1998; Thelen &Smith, 1998). This change in coD<%ptualization arose partly from limitationsin seeing development as a set of universal and unchanging properties andfrom a growing appreciation of context and environmental inftuencesshaping development (Cairns, Elder, & Costello, 1996; Morrison & Ornstein,1996). For example, research focusing on aspects of children's cognitiveskills such as memory, literacy, and academic skills indicate that culture andcontext playa large role in the trajectory of children's learning and thatgrowth in these areas depends in part on being in a formalized educational~tting (Ceci & Roam, 1994; Rogoff, 1998).

Moreover, environmental influences on children's development areweD documented. Researchers have demonstrated the importance forchildren's early literacy development of family factors such as parentingand tJte family learning environment (Griffin & Morrison, 1997; Hart &Risley, 1995; McCleDand, Morrison, & Holmes. 2000; Morrison & Cooney,2002), sociocultural factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity (Bachman, Morrison, & Bryant, 2002; Jencks & Phillips, 1998),and schooling influences such as amount and type of instruction (Freeseet oJ., 2002; McDonald Connor, Morrison, & Katch, 2002).

As theoretical perspectives have embraced dynamic and ecological viewsof development, researchers have focused on variables that interact onmultiple levels to determine development. Appreciation of the complexrelations among variables has challenged researchers to find ways toadequately capture the complexity of development that incorporates thesemultilevel relations.

In the remainder of the chapter we examine the nature and sources ofearly literacy acquisition as a way to illustrate the multiple child, family, andsociocultural factors influencing development. In addition, the focus on

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Megms M. McCkl/mrd et al.414

literacy will illuminate some of the complex dynamic pathways shapingdevelopment that emerge from the application of recent variable-based andperson-oriented strategies.

B. THE NA TUR.E OF EARLY LJ1"EI.ACY DEVELOPMENT

It is clear that significant numbers of children and adults do not acquire theliteracy and numeracy skills needed for sua:ess in school and in the workplare(Mullis & Jenkins, 1990; Rayner el aI., 2001; Steinberg, 1996; US Departmentof Education, 1991). Moreover, substantial variability in children's earlyliteracy skills emerges even before fonnal schooling begins (Alexander &Entwisle, 1988; Hart & Rjs1ey, 1995; Morrison, Griffith, ct Williamson, 1993;Morrison el aI., 1995; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Stevenson el al., 1976;Weinert & Helmke, 1998). As a consequence, a solution to America's literacyproblems must address the mosaic of interrelated forces in the child, family,school, and sociocultural environment that shape early literacy a<XIuisitionwell before children enter kindergarten.

Accumulating evidenre points to a number of characteristics of childrenthat predict later academic achievements such as IQ (Morrison. Griffith,& Williamson, 1993; Seigel, 1981; Smith el aI., 1972), language andphonological skills (Rayner el aI., 2001), learning-related social skills(Agostin & Bain, 1997; Bronson, Tivnan, & Seppanen, 1995; Frosch el al.,1998; Green & Francis, 1988; McClelland el al., 2<XX» and temperament(Kagan, 1998; Rothbart & Bates, 1998). Furthermore, parenting factors suchas cognitive stimulation and the family learning environment, parentalwarmth, ~sitivity, and responsivity, as well as control and discipline arerelated to children's early cognitive and language growth and academicperfonnance at school entry (Bradley & Caldwell, 1984; Coates & Lewis,1984; Estrada el aI., 1987; Gottfried, 1984; Hess el al., 1984; Kessenich &Morrison, 2002; Morrison & Cooney, 2002; Olson, Bates, & Bayles, 1984;Roberts, Burchinal, & Durham, 1999). Sociocultural factors such associoeconomic status, race/ethnicity, as well as amount and quality of childcare have also been linked to children's preschool cognitive and languageskills (Bachman, Morrison. & Bryant, 2002; NICHD Early Child CareResearch Network, 2<XX>; Walker el aI., 1994). Moreover, researchers havebegun to demonstrate relations between the quality of early schooling andamount of direct instruction, and children's literacy outcomes (Freese el aI.,2002). Emerging research indicates that it is the complex interactions amongthese sources of variability that combine to influence children's early literacydevelopment (Molfese, DiLalla, & Lovelare, 1996; Morrison el aI., 2002).The impact of child, family, schooling, and sociocultural factors on children'sliteracy skills is best understood within the context of each of the other

Pathways to EIrly Ut~acy 41S

imposing factors. Once we identify the complex array of mediational andmoderational relations among these various influences, we will have a morecomprehensive appreciation of the origins of children's literacy development.

C. THE EARLY EMERGENCE OF VARIA 110N

IN CHILDREN'S LITERACY SKILLS

Early elementary school children vary considerably in their academiccompetence (Alexander & Entwisle, 1988; Morrison, Griffith, & Williamson,1993; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Stevenson, Chen, & Lee, 1993). By the timechildren complete first grade, they are already demonstrating a broad rangeof skills in subjects such as vocabulary, reading, general knowledge, andmathematics. Morrison, Griffith, and Williamson (1993) discovered thatindividual differences in children's early literacy skills either remain unchan-ged or are magnified as children progress through early elementary ~hool.

Yet few researchers have focused on the degree of variability in earlyliteracy skills prior to school entry. Morrison, Griffith, and Williamson(1993) also detected substantial individual differences in vocabularycomprehension at kindergarten entry, with age equivalencies on thePeabody Picture Vocabulary Test ranging from 2 to II years of age.

Using a large national sample of children from the NICHD Study ofEarly Child Care and Youth Development, Raviv, Kessenich, and Morrison(2002) found substantial individual differences in cognitive and languageskills as early as 2 and 3 years of age. For example, at age 3, developmentalage equivalencies on the Reynell Expressive Language and VocabularyComprehension subsca1es ranged from I to 5 years of age. Moreover, scoreson the Bracken Basic Concepts Scale, which measures recognition ofletters, numbers, shapes, and colors, also demonstrated a wide range of skilllevels. Also notable was the stability in cognitive and language skills foundbetween 2 and 3 years of age. Twenty-four-month Bayley and 36-monthBracken scores, which both measure cognitive skills, were strongly correla-ted (r= .53, p < .<XX>I), as were 24-month MacArthur (a language measure)and the 36-month Reynell Developmental Language subscales (r = .32 forExpressive Language, and r= .41 for Receptive Language, p < .<XX> I).

In summary, sizeable individual differences in children's early literacyskills emerge before school entry and are reasonably stable from 2 to 3 years(Shonkoff & Phillips, 2<XX». Clearly, the next important question centerson the sources of this early emerging variability. In fact, a growing bodyof research indicates a variety of characteristics in the child, family, school,and sociocultural environment that combine to shape children's earlyliteracy outcomes (Morrison et aI., 1995; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2<XX». It isimportant to explore both the individual and interactive influences that

.

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416 AI".. M. McClelll11ld et aI.

these various factors have on children's academic skills in order tosuccessfully address the nation's literacy problem.

ll. Child Factors and Early Literacy Development

A child's individual characteristics exhibit a large influence on his or herliteracy development and help determine whether that child will make asuccessful transition to kindergarten. HistoricaUy, the discussion of childfactors affecting early literacy development has focused on cognitivecharacteristics such as intelligence and IQ, as well as other factors such aslanguage and phonological skills (Adams, 1990; Rayner et aI., 2001).However, other factors such as temperament and social skills alsocontribute to literacy development (Kessenich & Morrison, 2002;McClelland &; Morrison, 2003; Morrison et al., 2002).

A. IQ

A large body of evidence has documented the relation between child IQand cognitive, literacy, and academic skills (Morrison, Griffith, &Williamson, 1993; Seigel, 1981; Smith et aI., 1972). For example,Morrison, Griffith, and Williamson (1993) found that children's IQexhibited a strong influence on reading, vocabulary, general knowledge,and mathematics between kindergarten and second grade. In addition, IQ at24 months (measured with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II)was significantly predictive of cognitive and language skills at 36 months(measured with the Bracken Basic Concept Scale and the ReynellDevelopmental Language Scales; Kessenich & Morrison, 2002).

SKILLSB. LANGUAGE AND PHONOLOGICAL

There is a substantial literature documenting the influence of children'slanguage and phonological skills in children's reading and literacy acquisition(Adams, 1990; Hart & Risley, 1995; Rayner et al., 2001; Snow, Burns, &Griffin, 1998). As we have already noted, there are large individual differencesin children's language and vocabulary skills prior to school entry (Hart &Risley, 1995; Stipek & Ryan, 1997). This variability in language sk:ills hasimportant implications for children's phonological awareness and, in turn,for learning to read: phonological awareness is the most important prcdictorof early reading skills (Adams, 1990; Rayner et aI., 2001).

Phonological awareness is defined as the extent to which a childrecognizes the internal structure of words and can perform tasks such as

Pathways to Emly Uteracy 417

identifying the beginning or ending sounds of words. Children who havestrong phonological skills have an easier time learning to read thanchildren with weak phonological skills (Rayner et aI., 2001). The relationbetween a child's phonological skill and reading ability is bidirectional.Children's phonological awareness enables them to learn to read moreeasily and as they are exposed to instructions in spelling and sound,they continue to refine their understanding of phonology. Moreover,reading programs that provide direct instruction in phonological skillscan improve children's reading skills (Blachman, 1989; Wise, Ring, &Olson, 1999).

~

C. SOCIAL SKILl5

A growing body of research has indicated the importance of children'searly social behavior on school adaptation and achievement (DeRosier,Kupemnidt, &; Patterson, 1994; Dishion, 1990; Ladd, 1990; Ladd & Price,1987). Children entering school with poor social behavior often have aplethora of problems including peer rejection, behavior problems, and lowlevels of academic achievement (Alexander, Entwisle, & Dauber, 1993;Cooper & Farran, 1988; McClelland, Morrison & Holmes, 2<MX». Inaddition, teachers report that children come into school with differinglevels of social skills and that these skills are critical for early school sua:ess(Foulks & Morrow, 1989). For example, in one study some teacheR reportedat least 50% of children entering kindergarten did not have the basic socialcompetencies needed to do well in school, such as following directions,working independently, and having adequate academic skills (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta. & Cox, 2000).

Most research focusing on children's early social behavior and schoolachievement has concentrated on social behavior in general, withoutspecifying the aspects of social behavior that are especially important inschool performance. However, increasing evidence suggests that aspects ofchildren's learning-related social skills, which tap the domains of indepen-dence, self-regulation, responsibility, and cooperation, are particularlyimportant for early school performance and the transition to school(Bachman &; Morrison, 2002a; Cooper & Farran, 1988; Cooper & Speece,1988; McClelland, Morrison & Holmes, 2fm).

D. LEARNING-RELATED SOCIAL SKILLS

AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.There has been an increased interest in how to define learning-related social

skills with researchers from a number of theoretical perspectives labeling

Merma M. McCkllmtd el aI.418

these sk:.ills differently. For example, some of the terms used include executivefunctioning skills (Bronson, 2<XX>; Karmiloff-Smith, 1993), self-regulation(Bronson, 2<XX>; Shonkoff &; Phillips, 2<XX», mastery skills (Bronson, 1994;Bronson, Tivnan, &; Seppanen, 1995), and social competence (Rose-Krasnor,1997; Wentzel, 1991, 1993). Although these terms come from a variety ofperspectives, they reBect a similar constellation of sk:.ills and encompass anumber of behaviors relating to attention, self-regulation, independence,organization, and cooperation. For simplicity, in the present chapter we usethe term /earning-related social skills to describe behaviors such as listeningand following directions, participating appropriately in groups (such astak:ing turns), staying on task, and organizing work materials (Cooper &Farran, 1991; McClelland, Morrison &; Holmes, 2<XX».

Existing ~h has pointed to the importance of children's learning-related social skills for early school success and school adjustment.For example, Ladd, Birch, and Bubs (1999) found that children'sclassroom participation and their ability to be cooperative and independentin k:indergarten was an important predictor of early school achievement.In addition, Bronson, Tivnan, and Seppanen (1995) found that prekinder-garten children who spent more time uninvolved in the classroom andhad difficulty with rules or the teacher scored lower on a standardizedcognitive achievement measure. These children also exhibited more riskindicators such as family problems, lower parental education, andbehavioral or emotional problems.

Once children make the transition to school, learning-related social skillscontinue to be linked to a child's academic success. These early skills can besaid to "set the stage" for later social behavior and academic performanceby providing the foundation for positive classroom behavior. In a studyexamining the relation between classroom behavior and school perform-ance, Alexander, Entwisle, and Dauber (1993) found that children who wereinterested in classroom activities and were able to focus and pay attentionperformed significantly better on academic outcomes in the first grade andfourth grade.

In addition, McOeUand, Morrison, and Holmes (2<XX» studied theunique contribution of learning-related social skills to children's academicachievement at the beginning of kindergarten and at the end ofsecond grade. They found that learning-related sk:.ills uniquely predictedliteracy and academic outcomes at both time points after controllingfor the effects of children's IQ, age at school entrance, amount of pre-school experience, ethnicity, parents' education, and family learningenvironment.

These investigators also examined characteristics of those children withpoor learning-related skills, and the relation of poor learning-related sk:.ills

Pathway" to Early Lit~racy 419

to academic achievement at school entry and at the end of second grade.Children with poor learning-related skills were found to differ from theoverall sample on a number of child, family, and sociocultural variablesincluding: significantly lower IQs, more behavior difficulties, poorerfamily learning environments, and more medical problems such as hearingand language problems. Finally, children with low learning-relatedskills scored lower on academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergartenand at the end of second grade, and learned at significantly slower ratesthan their peers between school entry and second grade on measures ofreading recognition and mathematics (McClelland, Morrison & Holmes,2000). They continued to perform poorly on reading and mathematics at theend of sixth grade and fell increasingly more behind their peers in readingand mathematics between kindergarten and sixth grade (McClelland &Hansen, 200 I ).

Children with poor learning-related skills evidently start formal schoolingbehind their peers on many literacy indices and continue to perform at lowerlevels in reading and mathematics between kindergarten and sixth grade.These results also support the importance of learning-related social skills atthe beginning of school and continuing to sixth grade (McClelland,Morrison & Holmes, 2(MM); McClelland & Hansen, 2001).

Given evidence pointing to the importance of children's learning-relatedsocial skills for early literacy and academic achievement, it is important tolook at factors that influence the development of early social behavior. Onefactor that has emerged as being particularly salient for children's socialskills is child temperament.

E. TEMPERAMENT

Rothbart and Bates (1998) have defined temperament as a subset ofpersonality that describes individual differences in self-regulation, emotion-ality, motor activity, attention, and reactivity, which are relatively stableover time. Most of the research in temperament has looked at the relationsbetw~ children's temperament and social behavior. The literature has notfound much evidence for direct links between children's temperament andearly literacy skills, but instead has focused on support for indirect andinteracting relations between temperament, social behavior, and literacy oracademic achievement (e.g., Rothbart & Bates, 1998). To better understandhow children's temperament and social behavior may indircctIy orinteractively influence literacy skills, it is useful to examine the relationbetween temperament and social behavior.

Temperament is linked consistently to social behavior and adjustment(Kagan, 1998; Rothbart & Bates, 1998). In one study, Rothbart. Ahadi, and

Megan M. McCklkllld et al.420

Hershey (1994) examined relations between measures of temperament andsocial behaviors defined by empathy, guilt/shame, aggression, help-seeking,and negativity for 80 6- to 7-year-olds. Children scoring high ontemperamental traits such as irritability, anger, and discomfort exhibitedmore antisocial behavior in elementary school (Rothbart, Ahadi, & Hershey,1994). The results of this study and other research (see Rothbart & Bates,1998) have linked temperament to children's social adjustment and havealso demonstrated how aspects of temperament can be linked to children'ssocial skills as they develop over the preschool and early school years.

One temperamental component, emotion regulation, is specifically relatedto the development of social skiDs (Kopp, 1989; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2(XX».Emotion regulation, defined as the ability to cope with high levels of positiveand negative emotions (Kopp, 1989), is related to social adjustment(Rubin et aI., 1995). In addition, researchers have argued that a child'sself-regulation is an important aspect of social adjustment (Bronson,2000; Kopp, 1982, 1989, 1991; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Self-regulation has been identified as occurring when a child "goes along withthe caregiver expectations in the absence of external monitors" (Kopp, 1989,p. 350).

The link between temperament and literacy skiDs is probably complex,and likely works through a child's social skiDs. For example, McClelland(2002) found that the effortful control temperament dimension (character-ized by behaviors relating to inhibitory control, attention, and perceptualsensitivity) was related to early learning-related social skills in 3- to S-year-olds, with the relation strengthening over time.

Taken together, the contribution of children's temperament and socialskills to early literacy development is complex and most likely involvesinteracting and/or intervening relations. Although there are direct linksbetween cognitive development and literacy skiDs, and between social skiDsand literacy skills, examining interacting and intervening relations as well asother factors such as temperament provides for a more complex, multilevel,and interactive framework describing children's literacy development.

m. Parenting and Early Utency Development

Parenting comprises a constellation of factors such as parental style,warmth/sensitivity, control/discipline, cognitive stimulation, and the familylearning environment that combine to shape academic growth through avariety of direct and indirect pathways (Collins et al., 2(XX); Morrison &Cooney, 2002). To better understand children's literacy development, it isnecessary to explore the effects these parenting factors have on children'semerging skiDs.

421Pathways to Early Uteracy

A. FAMILY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The most obvious aspect of parenting to influence early literacy outcomesis the family learning environment. The family learning environmentwas originally defined in the literature by the frequency of paRnt-childbook reading (Bus, van Ijzendoorn, & PeUegrini, 1995), but it has beenextended to include measures such as the number of reading materials athome (e.g., newspapers, child and adult magazines and books), frequency oflibrary visits, parents' independent reading, duration of parent-child sharedbook reading, and frequency of nonliteracy related activities such as TV

viewing (Griffin & Morrison, 1997).The family learning environment is predictive of children's early literacy

skills in preschool and early elementary school. For example, research byMorrison and coUeagues found that the literacy environment (e.g., number ofreading materials at home, frequency of library visits, paRnts' independentreading and parent-child shared book reading, and frequency of nonliteracyrelated activities) predicts children's reading and vocabulary ski Us, but notmathematics skills, at age 5 (Griffin & Morrison, 1997; Morrison & Cooney,2002). In addition, Teale (1986) has documented an association betweenthe family learning environment and children's literacy development;and Payne, Whitehurst, and AngeU (1994) found that the family learningenvironment explained 12-19% of the variance in children's language skills.

Many researchers have documented the relation between one componentof the family learning environment, namely parent-child book reading, andlater literacy skills (Bus, van Ijzendoorn, & Pellegrini, I99S; Haden, Reese,& Fivush, 1996; Havlik & Haden, 2002; Reznick, 1997; Whitehurst et al.,1994). During book reading, paRnts have the opportunity to engage invarious behaviors that facilitate learning, such as labeling, open-endedquestioning, and elaboration. Parents who engage in such activities fosterbetter literacy development in their children (Haden, Reese, & Fivush, 1996;Havlik & Haden, 2002; Whitehurst et aI., 1994). For example, in a study byWhitehurst et aI. (1994), Head Start children whose parents participated ina book-reading intervention performed better in tests of emergent literacyskills. In a study of 3- to S-year-olds, Haden, Reese, and Fivush (1996)identified three distinct maternal styles of reading-Describers,Comprehenders, and Collaboraton-and these styles were related differen-tially to children's later literacy skills at age 6 for unfamiliar books."Describer mothers" emphasized descriptions of objects and charactersin the story. "Comprehender mothers" embellished and expanded onindirectly specified information, linking the text to real world knowledgeand experiences. '.Collaborator mothers" combined frequent higher-levelcomments relating to inferences, predictions, and print knowledge with

Mega/! M. McCkUmrd et aI.422

some lower-level descriptive comments. Children with Comprehendermothers scored higher on a measure of story comprehension as comparedto children of mothers who were Deacribers or Collaborators. Childrenwith Collaborator mothers scored higher on the WRA T, which assessesletter and word recognition and pronunciation. And children withDescriber mothers scored lower on measures of receptive vocabulary,word recognition, and story comprehension. Thus, different maternal stylesduring mother-child book reading apparently are associated with distinctliteracy outcomes in young children.

B. COONl11VE mMULA nON

Maternal cognitive stimulation is associated directly with children's earlycognitive, academic, and language abilities (Bomstein, 1985; Bradley &CaldweU, 1984; Coates & Lewis, 1984; Elardo, Bradley, & Caldwell, 1975;Hess et aI., 1984; Kessenich & Morrison, 2002; Landry et aI., 1997; Olson,Bates, & Bayles, 1984; Siegel, 1981; Tamis-LeMonda & Bomstein, 1989).Cognitive stimulation refers to activities such as labeling, scaffolding, andelaboration, and has been measured using tools such as the HOMEInventory checklist (Caldwell &:. Bradley, 1984) and observations of parent-child structured interactions.

Using the HOME Inventory, which measures the general cognitiveenvironment in the home using a standard checklist, Bradley and CaldweU(1984) found that Total HOME scores at 6, 12, and 24 months correlatedwith IQ scores at age 3 (rs=.50, .58, and .71; p < .05) and age 4Yl years(rs = .44, .53, and .57; p < .05). The association between the HOMEInventory and children's cognitive and language competencies during thepreschool years has been documented in numerous other studies.Furthermore, the HOME continues to predict developmental outcomesfrom first grade through age 10 (Bee et aI., 1982; Bradley, CaldweU, & Rock,1988; Elardo, Bradley, & Caldwell, 1975).

Whereas the HOME Inventory assesses components of the family learningenvironment other than direct parental cognitive stimulation (e.g., number ofbooks and educational toys at home), a new structured interactionobservation measure was used in the context of the NICHD Study of EarlyChild Care and Youth Development in order to evaluate cognitive stimula-tion independent of these other aspects of the family learning environment.Using data from the NICHD study, Kessenich and Morrison (2002) foundthat this observation measure of cognitive stimulation, which was basedon a structured play interaction between mother and child at age 2,significantly predicted cognitive and language outcomes at age 3. Thus,measures of the home environment that assess behaviors such as parental

PalhwaY$ 10 Early literacy G3

involvement and stimulation demonstrate strong relations to both cognitiveand language skills, even at 2 and 3 years of age.

In attempting to understand the relation between parenting practices andearly literacy, researchers have focused almost exclusively on the familylearning environment and cognitive stimulation as predictors of literacyoutcomes. These are important influences, but children's academicoutcomes are also affected by other parental factors that, on the surface,might not have such obvious links to literacy, such as parenting style.

STYLEC. PARENTING

The concept of parenting style was originally developed by Baumrind(1971) and comprised of three distinct types: authoritarian, authoritative,and permissive parenting. These dimensions were identified on the basis ofvarying degrees of parental warmth and control. Maccoby and Martin(1983) subsequently expanded this configuration by distinguishing betweenpermissive parenting that was indulgent versus neglectful.

Most studies with Caucasian-American samples and ethnically diversesamples as a whole have demonstrated a positive relation between authori-tative parenting and higher levels of academic achievement (Dornbusch et aI.,1987; Glasgow et aI., 1997; Lamborn et aI., 1991; Steinberg et al., 1994). Incontrast, in studies of Asian, Asian-American, and Black populations inisolation better school perfonnance has been associated positively with moreauthoritarian parenting (Chao, 1994; Darling & Steinberg, 1993; Dornbuschet al., 1987).

Researchers have proposed ~veral hypotheses regarding the so~ ofthese ethnic differences. One view is that more authoritarian parentingpractices may be adopted by socioeconomically disadvantaged Blackfamilies living in unsafe neighborhoods in order for parents to betterensure the safety of their children by insisting on strict obedience andadherence to rules. With regard to Asian and Asian-American parenting,Chao (1994) pointed to the emphasis on authoritarian-like principles such aschiao shun and guan in the Chinese culture. The concept of chiao shun refersto "training" children in appropriate or expected behaviors, and theterm guan means "to govern" as well as "to love." Thus, parental controland authority appear to be synonymous with expressions of love and concernin Asian cultures (Chao, 1994). Furthermore, Darling and Steinberg(1993) hypothesized that differences in parenting style may be linked tocultural variations in the goals parents have toward socializing theirchildren. There is much reaearch to be done in order to fully understandthe differences in effective parenting styles across cultures, as well as acrossvarious ages.

Mqml M. McClellmId el aI.424

Little research has attempted to look at the effect of parenting styleon early literacy prior to school entry. Such research might lead to inter-esting findings regarding the learning patterns that develop in early child-hood as a result of various parenting styles and levels of control and

responsivity.The impact of parenting style on literacy can also be understood by

examining the two components-warmth and controi-separately.

1. Parental Warmth/Sensitivity/ ResponsivityParenting style is, in part, defined by various levels of warmth, sensitivity,

and emotional responsivity, as measured by positive, affectionate, respon-sive, and nonintrusive bebavion of mothers toward their children. Suchbehavion have emerged as salient influences on children's cognitive andlanguage outcomes. Parenting behaviors have been reliably examined usingstructured measures such as the HOME Inventory checklist (Caldwell &Bradley, 1984) as well as through observed interactions bet~ parents andchildren. Interaction patterns between mothers and children aged 12-48months have been identified as significant predictors of concurrent cognitiveand language skills as well as subsequent academic achievement (Estradaet aI., 1987; Hess et aI., 1984; Kessenich & Morrison, 2002; Murray &Hornbaker, 1997; Olson, Bates, & Kaskie, 1992). Coates and Lewis (1984)found that a mother's responsivity and sensitivity to the distress of her3-month-old infant accounted for more than 25% of the variance in thechild's verbal IQ score at 6 years of age.

In addition, Kessenich and Morrison (2002) determined that an observa-tional measure of maternal warmth and sensitivity predicted equallysignificant amounts of variance in Bracken Basic Concept scores andReynell Developmental Language scores at 3 yean of age as compared to ameasure of maternal cognitive stimulation. Both cognitive stimulation andwarmth/sensitivity were assessed using qualitative ratings of explicit maternalbehaviors (I = Not at all characteristic, 4 = Highly characteristic) observedduring a structured play interaction between mother and child. Cognitivestimulation was defined as behaviors such as describing, labeling, or askingquestions about toys, objects, attributes of objects, or experiences; sensitivitywas characterized in terms of positive emotional regard, lack of intrusivebehavior, and awareness of the child's affect, interests, or response tostimulation.

In general, research suggests that parenting qualities such as warmth,sensitivity, and responsivity during the first few years of life are related tochildren's later cognitive and language development. In order to establishthe mechaniSIDS through which maternal warmth and sensitivity influencechildren's cognitive and language outcomes, it is necessary to investigate the

Pathways to Early Ut~ 425

role of mediating factors. For example, waml, sensitive parenting may giveyoung children a sense ofsecurlty, stability, and self-assurance which in turnenables them to comfortably explore their world-providing them with a"secure base" from which to interact and learn from their environment(Ainsworth et a/., 1978; Bowlby, 1988; Main & Solomon, 1986).

2. Parental Control and Discipline

Parental control is the second of two components incorporated withinBaumrind's representation of parenting style. A large part of parenting hasto do with the methods used to manage and discipline a child. Setting andmaintaining consistent rules and limits helps to provide a supportive,structured environment in which children can develop. For example,Morrison and Cooney (2002) demonstrated an indir~t relation betweenchildren's literacy skills and parental control/discipline by way of a child'slearning-related social st.iUs (e.g., listening and following ~ons,cooperation, independence, self-regulation). Thus, a child's ability to listenand follow directions, mediated the relation between parental control/discipline and a child's acquisition of literacy skills. It is posited that higherlevels of consistent, authoritative parental control promote more coopera-tion, compliance, and independence in young children. These learning-related social behaviors, in turn, enable children to acquire the importantliteracy skills they need to sua:eed in the classroom (McClelland, 2002;McClelland, Morrison & HoImes, 2000).

THE IMPACT OF PARENnNG ON EARLY Ln'ERACY SKJLLS:

A roMPREHENSIVE MODEL

D.

Several parenting factors have demonstrated significant direct or indirectassociations with children's literacy stills. Yet evidence suggests that specificdimensions of parenting may be differentially related to various literacyskills. Morrison and Cooney (2002) used an a priori structural equationmodel to examine different aspects of parenting and their influence onchildren's literacy and social skills. Four aspects of parenting were assessed:Parental Warmth and Responsiveness, the Strength of Parental Beliefsabout Child Qualities, Parental Control, and the Quality of the FamilyLearning Environment. Parenting factors were significantly associated withchildren's academic and social skills at the beginning of kindergarten. Forexample, the Quality of the Family Learning Environment was related tochildren's vocabulary, general knowledge, reading, and mathematics skills;Parental Warmth and Responsiveness was associated with children'svocabulary and general knowledge skills; and the Strength of Parental

426 Megan M. McClelland et at.

Beliefs about Child Qualities was related to children's learning-related socialskills at the beginning of kindergarten.

These results suggest that multiple pathways simultaneously influencechildren's literacy growth. For example, Parental Warmth and Responsive-ness was related to children's vocabulary and general knowledge skills, skillswhich are not directly taught in the classroom like reading and mathematics,but which are indirectly taught by parents. In addition, the Quality of theFamily Learning Environment, which assesses characteristics of the homesuch as number of books owned, and hours of TV watched by the child, wasrelated to all of the academic outcomes. Thus, a global conceptualization ofparenting is useful for specifying how aspects of parenting affect literacyskills differentiaUy, making it important to examine the dynamic andcomplex paths through which parenting impacts children's early literacydevelopment.

IV. Sociocultural Factors and Early Literacy

A. SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

Development.

Socioeconomic status (SES) has long been considered as an importantbackground variable when conducting research on human development.Traditional indicants of SES, including income, education level, andoccupational status, have continually demonstrated associations withchildren's cognitive, language, and literacy development (Brooks-Gunn,Duncan, & Britto, 1999; Dodge, Petit, & Bates, 1994; Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov, 1994; Lempers, Clark-Lempers, & Simons, 1989; Smith& Dixon, 1995). For example, in a meta-analysis of over 100 studies, theaverage correlation between SES indices and children's IQ scores was .40,and the average correlation between SES and verbal achievement was .31(White, 1982).

When the focus is shifted to literacy skills per se, SES remains inftuential.In a study by Walker et al. (1994), SES indices such as maternal education,family income, and occupational status were significantly associated withexpressive language at 36 months, and receptive language through thirdgrade. Furthermore, a review of numerous longitudinal studies determinedthat income level predicted children's verbal and intelligence test scoresfrom age 2 to 5, even after controlling for other family characteristics suchas parental education level and family structure (Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, &Britto, 1999). In addition, Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, and KJebanov (1994)found that income-to-needs ratio and maternal education level weresignificant predictors of children's IQ at age 5. Hart and Risley (1995)discovered that the size and richness of children's vocabularies at age 3

427Pathways 10 Early Ulergcy

varied substantially as a function of their socioeconomic status. Finally,Stipet. and Ryan (1997) found that economically advantaged preschoolersoutperfonned economically disadvantaged kindergartners on a number ofcognitive tests.

Although the association between SES and developmental outcomes iswell documented, the particular mechanism by which SES exerts itsinfluence is less clear. A distal factor such as socioeconomic status mayshape literacy outcomes by influencing more proximal factors at home or tothe child, such as parental behaviors and children's learning-related socialskills. Yet, ~h rarely integrates proximal child and parenting factorsand distal socioeconomic variables into a comprehensive conceptual model.Such a model would better clarify the relations among child, parenting, andsocioeconomic characteristics that combine to influence children's literacy

development.

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B. RACE/EmNlCffY

Significant racial differences in academic skiDs such as vocabulary,general knowledge, mathematics, and reading are evident among Black andWhite children at the elementary and high school levels (Applebee, Langer,& Mullis, 1989; Bachman, Morrison, & Bryant, 2002; Jencks &Phillips, 1998; Phillips, Crouse, & Ralph, 1998; Stevenson, Chen, & Uttal,1990). Even at kindergarten entry, Black children demonstrate poorerliteracy skills than White children, and this discrepancy is either maintainedor magnified over the school year (Cooney, 1999). Yet after controllingfor variables such as parental education, chi1dren's IQ, and the familylearning environment, the unique effect of race on kindergarten reading,mathematics, and general knowledge scores disappears, which is consistentwith research on school-aged children (Alexander & Entwisle, 1988;Stevenson, Chen, & Uttal, 1990). Thus, it is possible that socioeconomicfactors and the family learning environment may mediate the effect of raceon literacy outcomes.

However, Bachman, Morrison, and Bryant (2002) found that the familylearning environment significantly mediated the effect of parental educationon children's literacy skiDs for White families, but not for Black families. InBlack families, the mediational relation broke down in terms of the weakerlink between parental education level and the family learning environment.Whereas 79°/. of White parents with higher levels of education (morethan 12 years) reported average or above average family learningenvironment scores, only 21% of Black parents with higher educationlevels scored average or above average on the family learning environment

questionnaire.

428 Megan M. McClelland et aI.

Research comparing Asian and Americandemonstrated differences in academic outcomes,

schoolchildren has alsowith Asian and Asian-

American children outperforming their White and Black peers (Stevenson,Chen, & Lee, 1993; Stevenson, Lee, & Stigler, 1986). Again, this discrepancyis thought to be due, in part, to differences in parental behaviors and thehome environment. For example, Asian and Asian-American parentsexhibit greater control and involvement over their children's educationaldevelopment than White or Black parents (Chao, 1994; Dornbusch et aI.,1987; Jose et a/., 1995; Steinberg, Dornbusch, & Brown, 1992).

In summary, significant differences in children's literacy skills clearly ex-istacross various racial and ethnic groups (Cooney, 1999; Jencks & Phillips,1998). What is not yet clear is whether these differences are the result ofvariations in socioeconomic factors, parenting behaviors, cultural beliefs, ora combination of these influences. Further research is needed in order todecipher the myriad of possible mediational and moderational relationsamong this complex array of factors.

C. CHILD CARE

The number of young children in child care settings increaseddramatically at the end of the 20th century, with almost 75% of childreninvolved in full or part-time care. In studies examining the effects of daycare on children's outcomes, research has often focused on the amount oftime spent in child care. However, quality of child care, as indicatedby caregiver-child ratios, group size, resources, environment, and caregivertraining, is likely to be more revealing. Several studies have investigatedthe impact of early child care on later literacy outcomes. Although someresearchers have found no significant associations between quantity orquality of child care and later cognitive and academic outcomes (Chin-Quee& Scarr, 1994; Howes, 1988; Larsen, Hite, & Hart, 1983), others havefound that involvement in child care can have a compensatory effect on theoutcomes of at-risk children from disadvantaged families (Burchinal, Lee, &Ramey, 1989; Christian, Morrison, & Bryant, 1998; Desai, Chase-Lansdale,& Michael, 1989; Golden et al., 1978; McCartney, 1984; NICHD EarlyChild Care Research Network, 2000). For example, O'Brien Caughey,DiPietro, and Strobini (1994) found that children from impoverishedenvironments who were involved in child care had higher mathematicsand reading scores than impoverished children who were not involvedin child care. After distinguishing between various types of child care(e.g., center-based, home-based, family care), O'Brien Caughey, DiPietro,and Strobini (1994) discovered that this compensatory effect was specific to

Pathways to Early literacy 429

center-based care for children from impoverished homes. However, O'BrienCaughey, DiPietro, and Strobini (1994) also discovered that childrenfrom middle<lass backgrounds who were enrolled in child care duringinfancy exhibited poorer reading skills in kindergarten than their home-reared peers. This discrepancy in the compensatory effects of child careis believed to be due to variations in the amount of cognitive stimulationand learning opportunities that children receive in child care, withimpoverished children experiencing more than they would at home, andchildren from middle<lass families receiving less than they would at home(Desai, Chase-Lansdale, & Michael, 1989).

Similar results were obtained by Christian, Morrison, and Bryant (1998):the amount of time spent in child care was positively associated withkindergarten mathematics skills, but only for children from low literacyenvironments with less educated mothers. Thus, the effect of child care onchildren's mathematics skills was moderated by the level of maternaleducation and the quality of the family learning environment. Unfortunately,information regarding the quality of the child care was not gathered for thisstudy. In the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development(2(XX», at-risk children from poor home environments who were enrolled inday care perfonned better on cognitive and language measures than childrenraised at home.

In addition to quantity of child care, quality of child care-based oncharacteristics such as caregiver-<hild ratios, group size, resources, environ-ment, and caregiver training-has been shown to relate to children's latercognitive, language, and social skills. McCartney (1984) found that childrenenrolled in child care programs with poorer environments and resources andfewer language learning opportunities demonstrated inferior language skillsas compared with children from better child care environments. Ruopp et al.(1979) discovered that children from child care environments with bettertrained teachers were more cooperative and more persistent on assignedactivities, and obtained higher scores on a standardized measure of preschoolskills. Furthermore, Ruopp et at. (1979) ascertained that children from childcare settings with smaller group sizes perfonned better on tests of kinder-garten and first-grade readiness. Finally, Burchinal et al. (2(xx) foundthat higher quality child care was related to higher scores on measures ofcognitive and language development, even after adjusting for important childand family factors. Specifically, child care settings with professionallyrecommended caregiver-<hild ratios had children with better languageskills, and those that met recommendations regarding teacher educationhad girls with better cognitive and receptive language skills.

In summary, both the amount and the quality of child care influencechildren's cognitive, literacy, and language outcomes. Amount of child care

430 MqOII M. McC/elI-' et aI.

is associated with positive influences on later cognitive, academic, andliteracy outcomes for children from disadvantaged homes, yet this positiveinfluence is not as clear for children from more economically advantagedhomes. Quality of child care, as measured by teacher training, group size,resources and environment, has also demonstrated significant relations withchildren's literacy-related outcomes.

Early Literacy Deyelopment

Thus far, our discussion of pathways to early literacy acquisition hascentered on relations between child, family, and sociocultural influencesand children's literacy skills. However, given the large variability inchildren's literacy skills prior to formal schooling, it is important todocument what happens to children's skills once they enter kinder-garten. The influence that schooling and classroom instruction have onchildren's literacy development is another level of influence that must beexamined within the ecological paradigm of early literacy development. Forexample, schooling may reduce, maintain, or increase the variability inchildren's literacy skills evident before children enter kindergarten. Ifschooling and classroom instruction exerts a positive influence on children'sliteracy development then it may be possible to decrease the amount ofvariability in children's skills and ensure that more children succeedacademically.

Obviously, schooling exerts a strong effect on children's literacy skills. Forexample, classrooms differ substantially in the amount and type of timespent on instructional activities, which directly affects children's earlyliteracy development (Pianta et aI., 2002; Pressley et al., 1998). In addition,the type of instruction combined with the individual characteristics of achild exerts a strong impact on the development of children's literacy skills(McDonald Connor, Morrison, & Katch, 2002).

This variability across classrooms is evident in study by Freese et aI. (2002)of 58 kindergarten and first-grade classrooms within a single school district.Classrooms--particularly those in kindergarten-difIered substantially inthe time spent on noninstructional activities. One kindergarten classroomwas engaged in noninstructional activities for an average of 83 minutesper day, whereas another kindergarten classroom spent an average of167 minutes in noninstructional activities. Differences in time spent onnoninstructional activities were smaller in first grade, although still apparent.

In addition, substantial variability was found for time spent on languagearts and mathematical instruction across kindergarten and first grade. For

Pathways to Early Literacy 431

example, one kindergarten teacher spent an average of 20 minutes per dayteaching language arts while another kindergarten teacher spent an averageof 90 minutes per day on language arts instruction. In the first grade, oneteacher spent an average of 57 minutes per day teaching language arts whileanother teacher spent an average of 134 minutes teaching language arts(Freese et al., 2002).

These findings suggest that kindergarten and first grade students inthe same school district were receiving quite different educationalexperiences. While some children were spending more time engaged ininstructional activities, particularly language arts activities, other childrenwere spending considerably more time in noninstructional activities suchas transition time and behavior management. These results demonstratethat in addition to other important child, family, and socioculturalfactors, children's developmental trajectories in literacy skills may differbased on the amount and type of instruction given in kindergarten andfirst grade.

VI. Dynamic Relations Between Child, Family, and SocioculturalFactors, Schooling Influences and Early Literacy SkiDs

In general, research has primarily focused on separate links betweenchild, family, and sociocultural factors and children's literacy acquisition(Kessenich & Morrison, 2002; Morrison et al., 2002). However, todescribe and explain pathways in children's early literacy development,researchers must examine complex relations between child, family,and sociocultural factors and children's literacy skills. A growing bodyof evidence indicates that children's literacy acquisition is the result ofdynamic direct, indirect, and interacting relations between these variables.Moreover, advances in analytic tools such as structural equation modeling(SEM) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) allow researchersto better examine multiple factors influencing literacy skills and thecomplex relations among them. Thus, research that incorporates a dynamicsystems perspective with new analytic tools furthers the understandingof literacy development and the processes underlying children's academictrajectories.

CHILDA. A COMPLEX MODEL OF LITERACY ACQUISmON

Bachman and Morrison (2002a) identified important child, family, andsociocultural factors in order to develop a complex model of child literacyacquisition using a sample of 382 kindergarten children (see Figure I). They

..32 Megan M. McClelland et oJ.

Fig. I. Model of child, family, and sociocultural factors related to child literacy outcomes at

killdergartm. Direct effects of race, parental education, and family learlling ellllirolUnellt 011 tire10lIl' child outcomes are not inclllded ill tire figure for clarity of presentation.

found that seven core child, family, and sociocultural variables accountedfor a large portion of the variance across four literacy outcomes of readingrecognition, receptive vocabulary, general knowledge, and mathematics.These variables included three child factors (IQ, school entrance age, andlearning-related social skills), one family factor (family learning environ-ment), and three sociocultural factors (racefethnicity, amount of preschoolexperience and parents' education). Specifically, at the beginning ofkindergarten, these seven variables accounted for 64% of the variance inchildren's receptive vocabulary skills, 55% of the variance in generalknowledge skills, 34% of the variance in reading recognition skills, and 49%of the variance in mathematics skills.

Using these seven variables, Bachman and Morrison (2002a) usedSEM to test a model predicting children's literacy skills at the beginningof kindergarten (see Figure I). SEM is a family of statistical techniquesthat define and estimate general models of variables including chartingcause and effect relations (Klem, 2000). When examining direct effectsbetween predictors and outcomes, using SEM is ~nalogous to conduct-ing a series of simultaneous multiple regressions and allows researchersto directly estimate measurement error and increase the power of theanalysis compared with more basic regression techniques (Kline, 1998).

PathWYI to &riy Iiltraey 433

In addition, SEM allows for examination of indirect (mediator) andinteractive (moderator) relations among variables in the model.

Results of the Bachman and Morrison (20023) study revealed that theseven variables had both direct and indirect influences on children's literacyskills at kindergarten (see Figure 1). For example, direct relations werefound between parents' education, children's IQ, learning-related socialskills, entrance age, and the four literacy outcomes of receptive vocabulary,general knowledge, reading, and mathematics. Direct links were also foundbetween race/ethnicity and receptive vocabulary and general knowledge;between the family learning environment and aU literacy skills exceptmathematics; and between the amount 9f preschool experience andmathematics skills. All relations were positive with the exception of racelethoicity, where being African-American was related to lower receptivevocabulary and general knowledge scores.

In addition to direct effects, race/ethnicity and parents' education inftuen-<:cd child literacy skills indirectly through other variables (see Figure 1).For example, race/ethnicity operated indirectly through the family learningenvironment, child's IQ, and children's learning-related social skills toinfluence children's literacy skills. In addition, parents' education operatedthrough children's IQ and the family learning environment to influenceliteracy skills. Together, the results from this study demonstrate that thepathways to child literacy skills are complex and involve multiple variables(Bachman &; Morrison, 20023).

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B. INTERAcnONS BETWEEN CHILD, FAMILY, AND SOCJOCUL TURAL

FACTORs, AND EARLY LrrERACY SDu.s

Researchers have also found evidence for complex interacting relationsbetween child, family, and sociocultural factors and children's early literacyskills. For example, McClelland, Morrison, and Bryant (2(KX}) found thatparents' education interacted with children's learning-related skills toincrease children's vocabulary and general knowledge skills at kindergarten.In addition, a child factor, IQ, interacted with children's learning-relatedskills to inftuence reading skills at the faU of kindergarten.

These interactions were found to have an augmenting effect in which highlearning-related skills were associated with stronger academic perfonnancewhen combined with high levels of IQ and parents' education. Furtheranalysis of the interactions between parents' education, learning-relatedskills, and literacy outcomes suggested that high learning-related skillshelped children in academic areas such as vocabulary and generalknowledge, which are not directly focused on in the school environment,

434 Megan M. McClelland et al.

but are learned in the home environment and are affected by parents'education.

Less fino interpretations could be made about the interaction betweenIQ and learning-related skins and reading because there was little actualdifference in the reading scores of children with high or low learning-relatedskills and a high or low IQ. In addition, children's age equivalents betweenthe groups for reading scores were similar. Having high learning-relatedskills and a high IQ may help children listen and sit still when learning aboutreading more than just having a high IQ. However, the interaction alsoshowed that children with high learning-related skills and a low IQ didsimilarly to children with low learning-related skills, and a high IQ. Havinga high IQ may help children even if they have low learning-related socialskills, but if children had a lower IQ, having strong learning-related skillshelped them perform better on reading in kindergarten.

This study found that high learning-related skills and parents' educationwere associated with stronger vocabulary and general knowledge skillsin kindergarten. The interaction between learning-related social skillsand children's IQ on reading skills in kindergarten indicated thathaving either a high IQ or strong learning-related social skills helpedchildren perform better on reading. Overall, results from this study addto our understanding of variables influencing literacy skills and helpto characterize the relations between child and family factors and early

literacy acquisition.

C. INTERVENING RELAll0NS BETWEEN CHILD, FAMILY, ANDSOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS AND EARLY UTERACY SKILLS

Although some research has documented interactions, or moderationalrelations, among child, family, and sociocultural variables, other studieshave demonstrated mediational, or intervening, relations between suchvariables and children's early literacy-related skills. Raviv, Kessenich, andMorrison (2002) found that the influence of socioeconomic factors suchas income-to-needs ratio and maternal education on children's expressiveand receptive language skills at 3 years of age was partially mediatedby parenting behaviors such as cognitive stimulation and sensitivity.Furthermore, cognitive skills at age 3 partly mediated the relation betweenparental behaviors (i.e., cognitive stimulation and sensitivity) and 3-year-oldexpressive and receptive language skills. This study provides additionalevidence of the complex and indirect relations linking parenting, socio-cultural factors and children's early literacy development.

Pathways to Early Uteracy 435

D. mE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CHILD TEMPERAMENT,

PAR.ENrING, AND LEARNING-RELATED SOCIAL SJULLS

In addition to studying the complex factors contributing to literacydevelopment, researeh has found evidence for dynamic relations betweenchild and family factors and children's social skills. As discussed previously,children's learning-related social skills are significant predictors of children'sacademic and literacy outcomes (McClelland, Morrison &; Holmes, 2~).For example, McCleUand (2002) examined the emergence of children's earlylearning-related social skills in preschool and found that the relationbetween aspects of parenting, child temperament, and child social skills iscomplex and changes over time. In the study, the effortful control dimensionof temperament, which compri~ of behaviors relating to inhibitorycontrol, attention, and perceptual sensitivity, moderated, or interactedwith, parental warmth to influence children's ]earning-related skiDs. Whenparental warmth was high, a child's temperament was not related to his orher learning-related skiDs, but when parental warmth was low, effortfulcontrol became an important indicator of learning-related skills at 3-4 yearsof age.

The longitudinal nature of the study highlighted how the relation betweenchild temperament, parenting, and children's learning-related social skillschanged with age. The moderating interaction between child temperamentand parenting found when children were 3-4 years old changed to amediated or indirect effect when children and their families were studiedagain one year later, when children were 4-5 years of age. A child's effortfulcontrol significantly mediated the relation between the parental warmthand learning-related skills at 4-5 years of age after controlling forbackground characteristics such as child age, patents' education, preschoolexperience, and ethnicity. Specifically, at ages 4 and 5, higher levels ofparental warmth were related to higher levels of effortful control in children,which were then related to higher learning-related skills in children(McClelland, 2002).

These results demonstrate how characteristics of children andparenting are part of dynamic and complex pathways of development.Although a moderational interaction between child temperament andparental warmth on children's ]earning-related skills was found whenchildren were 3-4 years old, this relation changed to be mediationalwhen children and their families were studied one year later. Takentogether, the complex relations between child and family factors suggestthat the pathways to children's early social and literacy development aredynamic and change over time.

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436 Megan M. McCkllond et aI.

E. CHILD-SCHOOLING INTERACTIONS IN

EARLY Ln-ERACY GROwrn

IREN'SCHILD

In addition to links between child, family, and sociocultural factors andliteracy skills, different instructional practices benefit children in differingways depending on their entering language and reading skills. For example,in a study of growth in word-decoding in first grade, McDonald Connor,Morrison, and Katch (2002) examined the impact of three instructional

teacher-managed versus child-managed, explicit versus implicit,and changes in instruction over the school year. Different instructionalvariables were most effective for children with specific combinations ofskills upon entering first grade. Specifically, for children with lowvocabulary and low word-decoding skills, the more teacher-managedexplicit instruction they received in first grade, the higher their springscores. Conversely, the more child-managed explicit instruction theyreceived, the worse they performed. Finally, teachers who started withlow amounts of child-managed implicit instruction in the fall but increasedsteadily in winter and spring produced higher performance in their lowvocabulary, low word-decoding children.

A contrasting pattern emerged for children who started first grade withhigh vocabulary and high word-decoding skills. For these children.increasing amounts of teacher-managed explicit instruction had nodiscernible effect, but increasing amounts of child-managed implicitinstruction yielded higher spring first grade scores. Finally, steady amountsof child-managed implicit instruction produced greater spring word-decoding scores.

Thus, children's growth in word-decoding skills in first grade apparentlydepends on the match between the child's level of beginning skill and thetype of instruction presented by their teacher. One interpretation is thatthe teacher's change in instruction is in response to the child's progress,but the reverse may also be true and children are responding to changes inteacher's instruction. Regardless of the direction of the association, thisfinding is consistent with the view that children's pathways to early literacyacquisition may depend on a "goodness-of-fit" match of children'scharacteristics with the type and amount of instruction provided by theteacher (Foorman et al., 1998; Juel & Minden-Cupp, 2000). Althoughthe concept of goodness-of-fit has historically been used to describe thefit between a child's temperament or characteristics and a parent'scharacteristics (e.g., Rothbart & Bates, 1998), it is also relevant in describ-ing children's literacy skills trajectories. For example, childrenwho started first grade with low vocabulary and word-decoding skillsbenefited the most over the year when paired with teachers who used

Pathway" 10 EGrly Utnacy 437

more teacher-managed explicit instruction. In contrast, children who cameto first grade with strong vocabulary and word-decoding skills showed moregrowth in word-decoding when allowed more child-managed implicitinstruction. Thus, classroom instruction that can better match the needsof children and that takes into account children's entering vocabulary andword-decoding skiD level can optimize children's learning over the courseof the year.

F. COMBINING VARIABLE-BASED AND PERSON-oRiENTED

ANAL Y11C ME1HODS IN EARLY LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

Advances in statistics have allowed researchers to increasingly rely onanalytic strategies that combine variable-based and person-orientedprocedures to better examine the dynamic relations between child, family,and sociocultural factors and how they influence early literacy skills.Variable-based procedures are correlational methods that attribute sig-nificant associations between variables to a general linear model for allindividuals in a sample (Bachman & Morrison, 2002b; Magnusson &Bergman, 1988). Examples of variable-based analytic procedures areregression analyses, discriminant analysis, SEM, and growth curve analysesusing hierarchical linear modeling.

A limit of variable-based procedures is that significant relations maybe due to extreme individual scores rather than reflecting a general patternfor the sample as a whole. Consequently, many researchers advocate theuse of person-oriented approaches in addition to variable-based proce-dures (e.g., Bachman & Morrison, 2002b; Magnusson & Bergman. 1988;Roesner, Eccles, & Sameroff, 1998). Person-oriented procedures focus onlocating meaningful subgroups of individuals and examining relationsamong individuals. Examples of person-oriented procedures includeclustering methods, latent class analysis, and the homogeneous groupingstrategy.

A particularly useful strategy is to combine variable-based procedureswith person-oriented methods. For example, Morrison et al. (2002) usedthe homogeneous grouping strategy, a person-oriented procedure, andHLM, a variable-based method, to examine the unique and interactiveinfluences of child and family variables on children's literacy developmenLThe homogeneous grouping strategy is a person-oriented procedurethat creates subgroups or clusters of individuals prior to data analysisbased on theoretically driven questions. In contrast, HLM is a variable-based method that incorporates multiple levels of analysis, modelingindividual growth curves at the first level, and variations in individual'sgrowth curves using other predictor variables at the second level

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438 Megan M. McClel1alld et aI.

(Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992; Weinfurt, 2000). When combining thehomogeneous grouping strategy with HLM, individuals are dividedinto similar subgroups on the basis of theoretically driven questions andthe growth curves of those subgroups on outcome variables are then charted(Morrison et al., 2002).

In Morrison et al.'s (2002) study, the influences of children's IQ andfamily learning environment scores were examined to determine their effecton children's early literacy skills from kindergarten through the end ofsecond grade. Using the homogeneous grouping strategy, two similargroups of children with higher and lower IQ scores were created and thendivided again on the basis of high versus low family learning environmentscores. This strategy was then combined with growth curve analysis usingHLM to examine the independent and combined influence of children'sIQ and family learning environment on the growth of reading recognition,mathematics, receptive vocabulary, and general knowledge skills betweenkindergarten and second grade.

Morrison et al. (2002) found that children's literacy skills followed specificdevelopmental pathways. For example, although children's IQ and familylearning environment exerted strong influences on child literacy skills, thepattern of influence was not the same. There was an additive effect of child'sIQ and family learning environment on children's vocabulary and reading,but an interactive effect between children's IQ and family learningenvironment on children's general knowledge skills at kindergarten. [nthis interaction, the effect of a higher family learning environment onchildren's general knowledge skills was stronger for higher IQ children thanfor lower IQ children at kindergarten.

In addition, different relations were found for the influence of children'sIQ and family learning environment on children's literacy growth over thefirst 3 years of schooling. For general knowledge, only a child's familylearning environment affected growth rates, with children in higher familylearning environments growing more rapidly in general knowledge thanchildren in lower family learning environments. [n contrast, a distinctpattern emerged for children's growth in vocabulary where only children'sIQ affected growth rates. Lower [Q children grew faster in receptivevocabulary between kindergarten and second grade compared with higherIQ children, whereas the influence of the family learning environment wasmaintained over time but did not predict growth rates. As a result,vocabulary in the higher and lower IQ children had converged slightly bythe end of second grade.

A separate pattern of results also emerged for growth in children's readingskills. Both [Q and family learning environment affected growth rates:children with higher IQs grew more in reading than children with lower IQs,

Pathways to Early Literacy 439

and children from higher family learning environments experienced moregrowth in reading than children from lower family learning environments.Finally, for mathematics, only IQ affected growth rates during the first3 years of school, where children with higher IQs grew at a faster rate inmathematics than children with lower IQs.

The results of the Morrison et a/.'s (2002) study point to the specific andcomplex influence of child and family factors on the growth of children'searly literacy skills. Both children's IQ and the family learning environmentstrongly influenced children's literacy skills, but the pattern of the influenceon children's growth differed across the literacy skills. For reading, both IQand family learning environment influenced growth, whereas for generalknowledge, growth rates were due mostly to the family learning environ-ment. In addition, for mathematics, only child IQ affected growth ratesbetween kindergarten and second grade.

These findings point to the high degree of specificity present in thedevelopmental trajectories of children's early literacy skills, which wereinfluenced by children's IQ and the family learning environment. Thispattern of results would not have been uncovered if the data were analyzedfrom just a person-oriented procedure such as the homogeneous groupingstrategy, or solely from a variable-based method such as growth curveanalyses.

VII. Conclusion

Children's early literacy development is not a static or one-dimensionalprocess but instead involves complex relations between multiple levels ofinfluence. At one level, child, family, sociocultural factors influence literacyskills directly as well as more complex ways involving interacting andintervening variables. At another level, aspects of instructional influencessuch as the amount and type of instruction influence literacy development.Specifically, pathways to early literacy acquisition differ based on a child'scharacteristics such as IQ, language, social skills, and temperament; familycharacteristics such as the quality of the family learning environment andparenting; sociocultural factors such as parents' education and ethnicity;and instructional dimensions such as teacher-managed versus child-managed, explicit versus implicit, and changes in instruction over theschool year. Furthermore, the optimal literacy development may involve amatch between child, family, and sociocultural characteristics, and the typeof instruction provided by the teacher.

Research must utilize advances in analytic techniques that reflect variable-based approaches such as SEM and growth curve analyses (HLM), as

Megan M. McCk//ond et aI.440

well as person-oriented procedures such as the homogeneous groupingstrategy. Moreover, the analytic techniques that show the most promiseare those that combine variable-based and person-oriented proceduressuch as the homogeneous grouping strategy combined with HLM.Together, these methodological and analytic techniques are importanttools that can help disentangle the multiple layers of influence in literacydevelopment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The research presented in this chapter was completed with funding from grants NICHDROI-HD27176 and NSF BC8-.0111754 to Frederick J. Morrison.

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