Associations between Chinese parents’ reading beliefs, home literary practices, children’s reading interests and literacy development

Using a Chinese sample of 795 parents with preschool-aged children, this quantitative study employed multiple regression analyses to test associations between parental reading beliefs, home literacy practices, children’s reading interests, and children’s literacy development within a model based on previous American findings (DeBaryshe, 1995; Newland et al., 2011). With parent gender, employment and socio-economic status controlled, direct and indirect effects on children’s literacy development were found, with both home literacy practices and children’s reading interest mediating the relationships between parental reading beliefs and children’s literacy development. The study demonstrates that associations within the model of parental reading beliefs may be applicable for families in China. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed