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Children growing up in low-income environments have lower-than-average levels of reading achievement and higher-than-average rates of special education placement. Research suggests that this discrepancy can be linked to differences in experiences during the early childhood years. A group of Head Start children's (n = 39) early literacy skills (letter-naming, phoneme blending, and onset recognition) and expressive and receptive vocabulary skills were assessed and correlated with measures of caregiver-child interactions observed in the home. Caregivers also were asked to report rates of early literacy activities. Results indicated that the children in Head Start demonstrated a range of early literacy and language abilities, and variation in these skills was related to some aspects of the children's home environments. In particular, degree of caregiver involvement, rate of language interactions, and participation in early literacy activities were related to early literacy and language skills. This exploratory research provides a basis for experimental research to determine the effects of manipulating these caregiver variables on early literacy development.
Educators have long been concerned with improving the reading achievement of American schoolchildren and have advocated for the development and support of programs to promote better outcomes (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985; Kozol, 1991; Langer, 1984; National Research Council, 1998; Purves, 1984). Despite this strong commitment to reading improvement, educators have witnessed increasingly larger numbers of children failing to make sufficient progress in basic reading skills and, consequently, entering special education programs (Bowe, 1995; Good, Simmons, & Smith, 1998; Schulte, Osborne, & Erchul, 1998). Even more disconcerting, children growing up in poverty are at risk for lower-than-average levels of reading achievement through primary and secondary grades and are overrepresented in special education classrooms for students with learning disabilities (J. Gottlieb, Alter, B. Gottlieb, & Wishner, 1994; Kozol, 1991; Schorr, 1988).
The discrepancy in reading achievement between children from low socioeconomic status (SES) environments and those from middle to upper SES environments has prompted interest in the source of the achievement gap. Recently, researchers have found these discrepancies as early as preschool age-prior to entry into formal educational experiences (e.g., Bowey, 1995; Hart & Risley, 1992; Juel, 1988; Lonigan, Burgess, Anthony, & Barker, 1998; Raz & Bryant, 1990). A consequence of beginning school with skill deficits is that it makes "catching up"...