Parents' perceptions of factors affecting the reading development of intellectually superior accelerated readers and intellectually superior nonreaders

Abstract

The study investigates differences in written language experiences of intellectually superior nonreaders and intellectually superior accelerated readers. The subjects were 30 four‐ and five‐year‐old children, 15 nonreaders and 15 accelerated readers. The mothers responded to a 269 item questionnaire designed to assess the home environment with respect to print concepts and a variety of literary experiences. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups, F (4, 25)=7.39, p < .0004. Univariate tests were statistically significant for two of the four major questionnaire constructs, story recall and concepts about print. The major conclusion is that accelerated readers in this age group tend to have mothers who have deliberately provided their children with reading instructions.