The Study
In this study, Victoria Purcell-Gates, professor in the Department of Teacher Education, seeks to document and describe the ways in which print is used in the homes of low-income families, and explores the relationships between home/community learning and school learning by young children learning to read and write.

The Findings
Purcell-Gates followed 24 children ages 4 to 6 for a year. All the children were in families that were low income, or what is referred to as low socioeconomic status (SES). Research assistants visited the homes of the children documenting the uses of printed material within the families. The researchers noted such things as reading, writing, looking at print, and talking about print. In addition, found out how much the children knew about reading and writing. Each child was administered a set of written language assessments. Purcell-Gates found that the families used print mostly for entertainment, reading such things as television listings or movie information in the newspaper and in their daily routines, such as cooking, cleaning, etc. She also found that the children had near complete understanding that printed words symbolize meaning, an important first step in literacy development. However, the children trailed behind well-read-to children in terms of their breadth of knowledge about reading and writing. For instance, the children did not totally grasp the notion of writing as composed of letters arranged in a linear fashion. Purcell-Gates also was able to document some general patterns that capture the intricate relationship between the children¹s emerging knowledge of written language and the home literacy context in which they developed. One pattern involved the children¹s ability to grasp the signifying nature of print and the ways it can be used. This important knowledge was learned more by children in homes in which print was used to a greater degree and who experienced more interactions with their mothers around print. Another pattern that emerged was that parents in the sample with children who had begun formal literacy instruction (kindergarten or first grade) engaged in four times as many literacy events that focused on teaching and learning of reading and writing. Parents of these children were also observed reading to their children 10 times more than parents of preschoolers. Purcell-Gates concludes that home literacy in low-income homes is more complicated than had been previously assumed. It is too easy to say that lower literacy achievement by low income children is due to the scarcity of experience with print in general and complex print in particular. "I believe that we can conclude from the descriptions that result from this study that children from low-SES homes, despite their relatively low showing on reading and writing achievement measures as they progress through school, are learners and do learn about the ways in which written language functions to the degree to which they experience it in their lives."

What It Means to You
Parents in the study found the start of school was the appropriate time to increase their involvement in their children¹s literacy learning. Does your school district encourage or support parents in this effort?

More Information
Purcell-Gates, V. (1996). Stories, coupons, and the TV Guide: Relationships between home literacy experiences and emergent literacy knowledge. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(4). 406- 428.

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