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.
AllenM.B. (2005). Eight questions on teacher recruitment and retention: What does the research say?Education Commission of the States (NJ3).
2.
AndersonR.PearsonP. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading comprehension. In PearsonP. (Ed.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 255–291). Longman.
3.
AndonA.ThompsonC.G.BeckerB.J. (2014). A quantitative synthesis of the immigrant achievement gap across OECD countries. Large-Scale Assessments in Education, 2, 1–20.
4.
AraújoL.CostaP. (2015). Home book reading and reading achievement in EU countries: The progress in international reading literacy study 2011 (PIRLS). Educational Research and Evaluation, 21, 422–438.
5.
BrittM.GoldmanS.RouetJ. (Eds.). (2012). Reading: From words to multiple texts. Routledge.
6.
BurgessS.R.HechtS.A.LoniganC.J. (2002). Relations of the home literacy environment (HLE) to the development of reading-related abilities: A one-year longitudinal study. Reading Research Quarterly, 37, 408–426.
7.
BusA.G.LesemanP.P.KeultjesP. (2000). Joint book reading across cultures: A comparison of Surinamese–Dutch, Turkish–Dutch, and Dutch parent–child dyads. Journal of Literacy Research, 32, 53–76.
8.
BusA.G.Van IjzendoornM.H.PellegriniA.D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research, 65, 1–21.
9.
CaesarL.G.NelsonN.W. (2014). Parental involvement in language and literacy acquisition: A bilingual journaling approach. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 30, 317–336.
10.
ChallJ. (1983). Stages of reading development. McGraw-Hill.
11.
CumminsJ. (2014). To what extent are Canadian second language policies evidence-based? Reflections on the intersections of research and policy. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 358.
12.
De JongP.F.LesemanP.P. (2001). Lasting effects of home literacy on reading achievement in school. Journal of School Psychology, 39, 389–414.
13.
DerwingT.M.WaughE. (2012). Language skills and the social integration of Canada’s adult immigrants (IRPP Study 31). Institute for Research on Public Policy.
14.
DuncanG.J.BergmanL.DuckworthK., et al (2012). Child skills and behaviors in intergenerational inequality. In ErmischJ.JänttiM.SmeedingT. (Eds.), From parents to children: The intergenerational transmission of advantage (pp. 207–234). Russell Sage Foundation.
15.
DuncanG.J.MagnusonK. (2013). Investing in preschool programs. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27, 109–132.
16.
DuncanT.S.ParadisJ. (2020). Home language environment and children’s second language acquisition: The special status of input from older siblings. Journal of Child Language, 47, 982–1005.
17.
DunningD.B.MasonJ.M.StewartJ.P. (1994). Reading to preschoolers: A response to Scarborough and Dobrich (1994) and recommendations for future research. Developmental Review, 14, 324–339.
18.
GoodrichJ.M.LoniganC.J.PhillipsB.M.FarverJ.M.WilsonK.D. (2021). Influences of the home language and literacy environment on Spanish and English vocabulary growth among dual language learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 57, 27–39.
HartB.RisleyT.R. (1992). American parenting of language-learning children: Persisting differences in family–child interactions observed in natural home environments. Developmental Psychology, 28, Article 1096.
21.
HoffE. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental Review, 26, 55–88.
JiangY.LauC.TanC.Y. (2024). Socioeconomic status and children’s English language and literacy outcomes: The mediating role of home literacy environment. Early Education and Development, 35, 588–614.
24.
KintschW. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. Cambridge University Press.
25.
KintschW. (2012). Psychological models of reading comprehension and their implications for assessments. In SabatiniJ.AlbroE.O’ReillyT. (Eds.), Measuring up: Advances in how to assess reading ability (pp. 21–37). Rowman & Littlefield.
26.
KintschW. (2013). Revisiting the construction–integration model of text comprehension and its implications for Instruction. In AlvermannD.UnrauN.RuddellR. (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 807–841). International Reading Association.
27.
LaiJ.JiX.R.JoshiR.M.ZhaoJ. (2024). Investigating parental beliefs and home literacy environment on Chinese kindergarteners’ English literacy and language skills. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52, 113–126.
28.
LaraC.C.VolanteL. (2019). The education and integration of immigrant children in Ontario: A content analysis of policy documents guiding schools’ response to the needs of immigrant students. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 191, 2–21.
29.
LauC.RichardsB. (2021). Home literacy environment and children’s English language and literacy skills in Hong Kong. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article 569581.
30.
LewisK.SandilosL.E.HammerC.S.SawyerB.E.MéndezL.I. (2016). Relations among the home language and literacy environment and children’s language abilities: A study of head start dual language learners and their mothers. Early Education and Development, 27, 478–494.
31.
LiG. (2007). Home environment and literacy engagement. Asian American Education: Acculturation, Literacy Development, and Learning, 105.
32.
LiuC.C.ChungK.K.H. (2024). Impacts of home literacy environment on children’s English language learning as a second language. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 39, 1421–1439.
33.
ManzP.H.HughesC.BarnabasE.BracalielloC.Ginsburg-BlockM. (2010). A descriptive review and meta-analysis of family-based emergent literacy interventions: To what extent is the research applicable to low-income, ethnic-minority or linguistically-diverse young children?Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25, 409–431.
34.
MullisI.V.S.MartinM.O. (Eds.). (2015). PIRLS 2016 assessment framework (2nd ed.). Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. Available at: https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/framework.html (accessed September 2025).
35.
MullisI.V.S.MartinM.O.FoyP.M.Hooper. (2017). PIRLS 2016 international results in reading. Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. Available at: http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results (accessed September 2025).
36.
MyrbergE.RosénM. (2009). Direct and indirect effects of parents’ education on reading achievement among third graders in Sweden. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 79, 695–711.
37.
NiklasF.CohrssenC.TaylerC. (2016). The sooner, the better: Early reading to children. Sage Open, 6(4).
38.
NiklasF.SchneiderW. (2013). Home literacy environment and the beginning of reading and spelling. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 38, 40–50.
39.
O’HaraL.MezaR.A.EatonA.C. (2020). Language and literacy development. In The Wiley encyclopedia of health psychology (pp. 353–359). Wiley.
40.
ParadisJ. (2011). Individual differences in child English second language acquisition: Comparing child-internal and child-external factors. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1, 213–237.
41.
RaikesH.Alexander PanB.LuzeG., et al (2006). Mother–child bookreading in low-income families: Correlates and outcomes during the first three years of life. Child Development, 77, 924–953.
42.
ReeseE.CoxA. (1999). Quality of adult book reading affects children’s emergent literacy. Developmental Psychology, 35(1), 20.
43.
RichesC.Curdt-ChristiansenX.L. (2010). A tale of two Montréal communities: Parents’ perspectives on their children’s language and literacy development in a multilingual context. Canadian Modern Language Review, 66, 525–555.
44.
RuddellR.UnrauN. (Eds.). (2004). Read as a meaning-construction process: The reader, the text, and the teacher. In RuddellR.UnrauN. (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed., pp. 1462–1521). International Reading Association.
45.
RumelhartD. (1985). Toward an interactive model of reading. In SingerH.RuddellR. (Eds.), Theoretical models and the processes of reading (3rd ed., pp. 722–750). International Reading Association.
46.
SchleicherA. (2015). Helping immigrant students to succeed at school–and beyond. OCDE.
47.
SchumannJ.H. (1976). Social distance as a factor in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 26, 135–143.
48.
SénéchalM. (2006). Testing the home literacy model: Parent involvement in kindergarten is differentially related to grade 4 reading comprehension, fluency, spelling, and reading for pleasure. Scientific Studies of Reading, 10, 59–87.
49.
SénéchalM.LeFevreJ.A. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children’s reading skill: A five-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73, 445–460.
50.
SénéchalM.PaganS.LeverR.OuelletteG.P. (2008). Relations among the frequency of shared reading and 4-year-old children’s vocabulary, morphological and syntax comprehension, and narrative skills. Early Education and Development, 19, 27–44.
51.
SilvaM.CainK. (2024). Differential contributions of home literacy, vocabulary, and grammar on narrative production and comprehension. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 39, 1229–1259.
52.
SirinS.R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417–453.
53.
SnowC. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. RAND.
54.
SunB.O’BrienB.A.ArshadN.A.B.SunH. (2024). The contribution of intrinsic motivation and home literacy environment to Singaporean bilingual children’s receptive vocabulary. Reading and Writing, 37, 1849–1877.
55.
TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. (2017). PIRLS 2016 achievement scaling methodology. In MartinM.O.MullisI.V.S.M.Hooper (Eds.), Methods and procedures in PIRLS 2016 (pp. 11.1–11.9). Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. Available at: https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/publications/pirls/2016-methods/chapter-11.html (accessed September 2025).
56.
YeungS.S.KingR.B. (2016). Home literacy environment and English language and literacy skills among Chinese young children who learn English as a second language. Reading Psychology, 37, 92–120.
57.
ZhangA.J.J.WongK.C.W.LeeC.S.W.InoueT. (2024). Moderating factors in the relationship between home literacy environment and early word reading skills: Results from Cantonese–English Bilinguals. Early Childhood Education Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01764-z
