Maternal reading and teaching patterns: Associations with school readiness in low-income African American families

THIS STUDY explored the congruence in reading and teaching patterns of low-income, young African American mothers while interacting with their preschool-age children in their homes (N= 126). Survey and standardized test data were collected on maternal education and language ability, and videotape data were collected, transcribed, and coded on shared book-reading and puzzle-solving sessions, using validated coding procedures. Two reading patterns (Story-Readers and Story-Tellers) and three teaching patterns (Low Support and Low Teaching; Support and Low Teaching; and Support and Teaching) were identified based on maternal verbal and nonverbal interactions during these sessions. Children whose mothers were identified as Story-Tellers and the Support and Teaching group of mothers had better language skills than children whose mothers were not in these groups, controlling for maternal education and verbal skills.