Home literacy environment. Profile analysis by socio-economic status

Abstract

The confinement resulting from the COVID-19 health crisis limited opportunities for social interaction and access to formal schooling, particularly affecting children of low socioeconomic status. In this context, the family was the only agent of socialisation and direct interaction with written culture. Because of its importance in literacy development, this study aimed to identify profiles of the literacy home environment. In addition, the relationship between these profiles and the family's socioeconomic level was assessed. The home literacy environment (HLE) questionnaire was administered to 326 families of kindergarten students in urban and rural schools of high, medium, and low socioeconomic levels. Based on a cluster analysis, the results show the existence of two groups of families, characterised by a high and a low level of literacy practices, beliefs about literacy, and the value of reading, respectively. Contrary to expectations, the reading profiles at this stage of development do not show any association with the socioeconomic level of the families. Finally, the implications of these findings for educational interventions in the post-pandemic period are discussed.