code itself. And there is abundant research evidence showing word decoding to play a crucial role in learning to read (National Reading Panel, 2000; Perfetti, 1992). The automation of word recognition skills and the attainment of fluent reading levels are also essential for further reading development (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). That is, children start out acquiring elementary decoding skills, learn to apply these with greater accuracy and speed, and word recognition is increasingly automated via direct
recognition of such multiletter units as consonant clusters, morphemes, syllables, and even whole words (Adams, 1990). The role of mathematics in reading literacy is less prominent than the role of the other school-learned skills. However, a clear relation exists between children’s math and reading abilities in that texts often depart from problem situations and use either graphs or charts as explanatory devices (Lees, 1976; Paul, 1990; Wood, 1992).
In addition to various school-learned skills, reading attitudes have also been found to mediate reading literacy. A distinction can be made between reading motivation and reading self-concept. Reading motivation is considered an active process in which readers construct ideas about language and literacy. That is, readers continuously make predictions, monitor the outcomes of these predictions, and seek solutions to the problems that they encounter while reading. Obviously, the enjoyment that readers derive from reading also motivates them to spend more time reading (Verhoeven & Snow, 2001). Reading self-concept is the unity of thoughts and feelings that a person has about his or her reading ability. Reading self-concept can affect the frequency with which people participate in such literate activities as completing a task, gaining knowledge, or interpreting an author’s perspective. Similarly, reading self-concept can affect the manner in which people participate in literate activities. Students with a low reading self-concept, for example, may attain less social support for the development of their reading comprehension skills (Baker, Afflerbach, & Reinking, 1996). Schunk and Rice (1984) demonstrated a clear relation between student opinions of their own reading competence and their reading achievement. Van Kraaijenoord and Schneider (1999) treated reading self-concept as an aspect of reading motivation and
subsequently found reading motivation to indirectly influence reading comprehension via decoding skills and metacognitive skills (i.e., awareness of reading strategies). Home and school variables may also contribute to the level of reading literacy that children attain. In homes where the relevance and purpose of literacy is emphasized, for example, the development of literacy is positively influenced (cf. Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998). Rowe (1991) similarly found that — regardless of the socio-economic status of a student’s family, the student’s age, or the student’s gender — reading activity at home positively influenced reading achievement, attitudes towards reading, and how attentive the student was in the classroom. Leseman and de Jong (1998) further identified four critical aspects of literacy in the home (i.e., exposure or
opportunity, quality of instruction, parent-child cooperation, and social-emotional quality of literacy interactions) and found these home literacy facets together to bear a clear relation to early reading achievement even after early vocabulary and home language were controlled for. Similarly, Baker, Scher, and Mackler (1997) found those children
with enjoyable early encounters with literacy to be more likely to read frequently and diversely in subsequent years. In addition to the prevalence and quality of literacy activities occurring within the home, those literacy activities undertaken by the children themselves or together with their parents have been found to determine their level of reading motivation. Television watching has also often been examined as a possible predictor of reading literacy. While van der Voort (2001) found television to be responsible for a decline in the amount of time spent reading, he did not conclude that one activity was necessarily better than the other. A balance between reading and television watching appears to be best. Koolstra, van der Voort, and van der Kamp (1997) found a small negative effect of watching entertainment programs on reading comprehension and a positive but nonsignificant effect of watching informative programs.
Another relevant home factor is parental involvement in a child’s school. Children whose parents are involved in their school are more likely to be successful in school (Epstein, 1991). Furthermore, the degree to which parents show an interest in the child’s literacy activities at school has been found to predict a child’s literacy development (Grolnick, Ryan, & Deci, 1991).
Social relations into a school class are yet another important predictor of reading literacy and school success. According to Driessen, van Langen, and Vierke (2003), for example, the social integration of children into a school class can influence their cognitive performance. Similarly, Wigfield, Eccles, and Rodriguez (1998) have studied how the social relations of children can influence their literacy motivation and thereby literacy outcomes. With respect to the school itself, there is evidence that class size influences children’s literacy development (Robinson, 1990). Research and common sense suggest that smaller classes allow teachers to devote more time to each student and thereby promote each student’s learning. When Pritchard (1999) summarized the results of a large number of studies concerned with the influence of class size on student achievement, only reduction of the class size to below 20 students was found to lead to higher student achievement. However, class size reduction can be
undertaken in different manners and, depending on how the reduction is done and the teaching in a smaller class is conducted, the benefits of class size reduction can vary. Another relevant school factor is the didactic procedures followed by the teacher (e.g., Watling, 1996). Several researchers have argued that the teaching of reading comprehension strategies can positively influence reading outcomes (see Pressley, 1998). Aarnoutse and Schellings (2003) found positive effects of an intervention program aimed at knowledge and use of reading strategies in fourth grade. Allington and Johnston (2000) have emphasized the importance of respectful, supportive, and productive communication between both students and teachers and the students themselves as part of good fourth-grade teaching It is further also often claimed that school climate plays a substantial role in learning outcomes with such factors as classroom climate and school team climate as cases in point (Chrispeels, Castillo, & Brown, 2000).