Pierre Brochu, CMEC Welcome to Kindergarten™ Early Years Family and Community Engagement Symposium May 15, 2014 Does Parental Engagement in Early Literacy and Numeracy Activities Make a Difference in School? Evidence from an International Assessment

Topics The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) Parental engagement before schooling Parents’ reading habits and attitudes Home resources 2

PIRLS 2011 An international reading assessment administered in 45 countries at the Grade 4 level In Canada, nine provinces participated at various levels. 22,800 students from 1,111 schools The assessment was complemented by a: o Student questionnaire o Learning to Read Survey (Parent questionnaire) o Teacher questionnaire o School questionnaire to help explain factors related to reading achievement. The Canadian report is available at: 3

Sample item – literary passage 4

5

PIRLS 2011 international results 6

7

Parental engagement and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 Before your child began primary school, how often did you or someone else in your home read books with him or her? 8

Parental engagement and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 Before your child began primary school, how often did you or someone else in your home tell stories with him or her? 9

Parental engagement and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 Before your child began primary school, how often did you or someone else in your home play with alphabet toys with him or her? 10

Parental engagement and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 Before your child began primary school, how often did you or someone else in your home write letters or words with him or her? 11

Parental engagement and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 Before your child began primary school, how often did you or someone else in your home say counting rhymes or sing counting songs with him or her? 12

Parental reading habits and attitudes and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 In a typical week, how much time do you usually spend reading for yourself at home, including books, magazines, newspapers, and materials for work (in print or electronically)? 13

Parental reading habits and attitudes and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 When you are at home, how often do you read for your own enjoyment? 14

Parental reading habits and attitudes and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 Reading is an important activity in my home. 15

Parental reading habits and attitudes and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 I enjoy reading. 16

Parental reading habits and attitudes and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 My parents like it when I read. 17

Home resources and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 Do you have books of your very own at your home? 18

Home resources and reading achievement of Grade 4 students – PIRLS 2011 About how many children's books are there in your home? 19

Summary From an international perspective, Grade 4 students in Canada have very strong reading skills. Parental engagement in reading before a child starts school has a huge impact on future reading achievement. While having more home possessions is related to higher reading achievement, having even a small number of reading-related resources at home can also make a difference. There is a modest but significant correlation between parents’ reading enjoyment and their child’s reading enjoyment. This is an area requiring further research. 20

Thank you! 21

Girls do better than boys in reading in general and in literary texts in particular 22

Children who like reading show higher levels of reading achievement than those who do not like reading 23