Examining the Interaction Between Parents' Education Level and Children's Books and its Impact on Early Literacy Skills

In this study, it is aimed to investigate the individual and interactive impact of the number of children's books at home and the educational background of parents on the Skill of Phonological Awareness and Alphabet Knowledge, which have a critical influence on the reading skills of children in the preschool period. This study examines the variables Family and Reading Skills in a sample composed of 149 children and their parents in a locality in the capital of Turkey. The Literacy Skills Survey Test (LSST) to assess Phonological Awareness and Alphabet Knowledge skills and the general information form to establish the number of children's books and parents' education levels were employed. The between-group differences and interactions were analyzed with multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The analysis of the number of books and education level revealed a significant difference only in Phonological Awareness. No interaction effect on alphabet knowledge was identified. However, the main effects of the Number of books and Education level variables on Alphabet Knowledge were significant. The group of parents with a university degree with a small number of books accounted for the difference in Phonological Awareness and had the highest Phonological Awareness points. The combination of the Parents ' education level and the Number of children's books at home variables can affect Phonological Awareness. These variables also have personal effects on Alphabet Knowledge. However, what renders the number of books more effective in Phonological Awareness is the parents' education level.