Does the home literacy environment matter: Reading achievement of immigrant and emergent bilingual students in Canada

Abstract

As a critical means of communication, literacy is a highly rewarded skill in the workplace. It is widely accepted that literacy development depends on both external and internal factors. One external factor, the Home Literacy Environment (HLE), has been shown to significantly influence literacy growth. Using a student sample (N = 7,552 unweighted observations) from the 2016 Canadian Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS) exam, we conduct a multiple regression analysis to address the following questions: (1) Is there a relationship between the home literacy environment and reading achievement among all students? and (2) Is this relationship different for students with immigrant or emergent bilingual status compared to Canadian-born students who speak the language of the test? Results indicate a positive and significant association between several elements of the HLE and reading achievement – particularly with formal HLE activities, student readiness, and positive student reading perceptions. We found no association between PIRLS scores and informal HLE activities, attending pre-primary education programs, or school context variables. The significance of these findings extends across subgroup status. Our results suggest that policymakers should allocate public resources to programs that support, develop, and sustain the Home Literacy Environment.