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2026-07-30
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jiahui Huang, Dr. Adelina A. Sebastian

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How to Cite
An assessment of parent-child reading program and the children's reading literacy skills: Basis for an action plan
Jiahui Huang
College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, Trinity University of Asia, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines
Dr. Adelina A. Sebastian
College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, Trinity University of Asia, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v11i3.4787
Keywords: parent-child reading; emotional interaction; reading self-efficacy; social development; literacy; family reading environment; lower primary grades
Abstract
This study examines associations between five dimensions of family reading programs and three sub-dimensions of literacy development among lower primary school children in China. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was adopted. A total of 675 parents of Grade 1–3 students at the Second Experimental Primary School in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, completed a self-developed five-point Likert scale questionnaire. The instrument assessed five family reading program dimensions: availability of reading materials, frequency of shared reading, print-rich home environment, parental modeling behaviors, and access to technological tools. Children's literacy was measured across three sub-dimensions: reading comprehension, reading skills, and reading motivation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results show that parental modeling behaviors demonstrated the strongest association with literacy outcomes overall (ρ= 0.707, p < 0.001), while the print-rich home environment showed the strongest link to reading motivation specifically (ρ = 0.669, p < 0.001). Access to technological tools produced the lowest correlation coefficients across all literacy sub-dimensions, and significant age-group differences emerged on this dimension (p < 0.001). These findings establish a consistent positive relationship between family reading program quality and multidimensional literacy outcomes in young children, offering practical evidence for the design and improvement of family reading intervention programs.
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