Development of reading attitudes in preschool children: Trajectories, antecedents and consequences

Abstract

The cultivation of positive attitudes toward reading is an important goal in early childhood education. This study examined the developmental trajectories of reading attitude in institutional contexts (IRA) and global reading attitude (GRA), their antecedents, and their associations with later literacy outcomes including word reading and vocabulary. One hundred and ninety-seven children (mean age = 52.72 at the first wave of data collection) were assessed individually for four times on their reading attitudes at 6-month intervals across their last two years in preschool. Information on home literacy environments was obtained from both parents, and data was also obtained on children's performance on several cognitive-linguistic tasks. Children's word reading and receptive vocabulary were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study. The results showed that, on average, children's IRA did not change across the two-year follow-up, whereas their GRA declined in a linear fashion. Paternal home literacy environment variables played unique roles in predicting the initial level and growth rate of IRA and the growth rate of GRA. In terms of developmental outcomes, the initial levels of IRA and GRA predicted children's receptive vocabulary at the end of preschool after baseline performance, background variables and cognitive-linguistic skills were controlled for. Chinese word reading was predicted by IRA but not GRA; however, this prediction did not sustain after baseline performance was entered. The findings suggested that different aspects of reading attitudes overlapped greatly, yet were somewhat dissociated in terms of developmental trajectories, antecedents, and consequences.