Family and reading in 41 countries: Differences across cultures and students

Ming Ming CHIU, Catherine McBRIDE-CHANG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

50 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Family characteristics' links to literacy learning and their differences across macrosystems (economic and cultural contexts) were explored in multilevel analyses of the reading tests and questionnaire responses of 193,841 fifteen-year-olds across 41 countries. Students who had two parents, had higher family socioeconomic status (SES), were native born, had more books at home, had more cultural possessions at home, had more cultural communication at home, had no resident grandparents, or had fewer siblings (especially older ones) often had higher reading scores. However, country-level factors moderated these results. In richer countries, blended families (one parent and one stepparent) and cultural communication at home were more strongly linked to reading scores. In egalitarian cultures, SES had a stronger link to reading scores. In collectivist cultures, single parent status, SES, and resident grandparents had weaker links to reading scores. Thus, macrosystems are crucial to consider for understanding how family characteristics might impact reading achievement. Copyright © 2010 Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)514-543
JournalScientific Studies of Reading
Volume14
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2010

Citation

Chiu, M. M., & McBride-Chang, C. (2010). Family and reading in 41 countries: Differences across cultures and students. Scientific Studies of Reading, 14(6), 514-543.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Family and reading in 41 countries: Differences across cultures and students'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.