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18 - The Literacy Ecology of the Home

The Case of Rural Rwanda

from Part II - Neurobiological and Ecological Markers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2023

Ludo Verhoeven
Affiliation:
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Sonali Nag
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Charles Perfetti
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Kenneth Pugh
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
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Summary

In the present study the effects of the literacy ecology of the home on children’s literacy development in rural Rwanda were examined. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected as part of a larger randomized control trial of a literacy intervention in eastern Africa. First, the Literacy Ecology theoretical framework is described as a frame of reference for the present study. Second, survey, ethnographic, and child-reading data are reported from a rural district in Rwanda; these illustrate connections between home and community literacy and children’s early reading achievement. Finally, future directions and implications of the findings for efforts to improve children's early literacy attainment in lower- and middle-income countries are explored.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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