Taalactiviteiten met Jonge Kinderen binnen Kwetsbare Gezinnen: De Invloed van een Lage Sociaaleconomische Status of een Migratieachtergrond

Abstract

Children from families with a low socioeconomic status (SES) and children from migration families have an increased risk of developing a learning disadvantage when entering kindergarten. These families seem to pay less attention to certain language activities at home, such as reading and talking to children. This study investigated to what extent these risk families differ in participating in language activities with their young children aged three to six in their home environment. The study was conducted with a sample of 20 Dutch families with a low SES and 189 families with a Turkish or Moroccan migration background. The mothers of these families were interviewed using a standardized interview questionnaire developed by the ISOTIS-project (www.isotis.org). Although no significant differences between the groups were found, it seemed that Dutch families with a low SES were found to speak less and to read less with their children than the families with a Turkish or Moroccan migration background. Overall, both groups participated more in language activities than would be expected based on the previous literature. Although these findings suggest that both groups pay attention to preschool learning at home, considering the fact that these are risk groups, improvements are still desirable. Future research should focus on other factors that influence both language activities within the home environment and language development of young children.