Volume 29, Issue 4 e2183
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Father–child literacy teaching activities as a unique predictor of Chinese preschool children's word reading skills

Nan Xiao

Nan Xiao

Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China

Search for more papers by this author
Yishu Che

Yishu Che

Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China

Search for more papers by this author
Xiao Zhang

Corresponding Author

Xiao Zhang

Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China

Correspondence

Xiao Zhang, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.

Email: xzhang1@hku.hk

Yuanyuan Zhang, Faculty of Education, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China.

Email: oneone@live.cn

Search for more papers by this author
Zhanmei Song

Zhanmei Song

School of Early Childhood Education, Shandong Yingcai University, Jinan, China

Faculty of Education, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China

Search for more papers by this author
Yuanyuan Zhang

Corresponding Author

Yuanyuan Zhang

Faculty of Education, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China

Correspondence

Xiao Zhang, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.

Email: xzhang1@hku.hk

Yuanyuan Zhang, Faculty of Education, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China.

Email: oneone@live.cn

Search for more papers by this author
Shaoqing Yin

Shaoqing Yin

Faculty of Education, Chuxiong Normal University, Chuxiong, China

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 29 April 2020
Citations: 9

Nan Xiao and Yishu Che contributed equally to this article.

Funding information: National Social Science Fund of China, Grant/Award Numbers: BBA170071, BHA160085; Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, Grant/Award Numbers: 17603817, 28404114

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the frequency of mother–child and father–child literacy teaching activities and the reading skills of Chinese preschool children. A total of 105 Hong Kong Chinese preschoolers and their fathers and mothers were involved. Fathers and mothers independently reported the frequency of their own literacy teaching activities (i.e., reading Chinese characters, recognizing Chinese characters based on their pronunciations and writing Chinese characters). Children were tested individually on their Chinese word reading skills, receptive vocabulary and verbal memory. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the relations between mother–child and father–child literacy teaching activities and children's reading skills. The results showed that, although mothers engaged in home literacy teaching activities more frequently than did fathers, the participation of fathers—and not mothers—in Chinese literacy teaching activities significantly predicted their children's Chinese reading skills after controlling for vocabulary, verbal memory and demographic variables (i.e., parental education, the child's age and gender). The results highlight the importance of paternal involvement in home education for Chinese preschoolers' literacy learning.

Highlights

This study examines the relation between mother–child and father–child literacy teaching activities and preschoolers' reading skills.

Based on parental questionnaires and children's individual tests, the participation of fathers in Chinese literacy teaching activities significantly predicts their children's reading skills.

The results highlight the importance of paternal involvement in home education for Chinese preschoolers' literacy learning.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data available on request from the authors: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.