Author(s)

Nan Wang, Jinhui Yu

Corresponding Author

Nan Wang

ABSTRACT

Reading is the most important foundation of lifelong education. Based on this context, taking the improvement of children’s reading ability in rural areas as the starting point, a field study was conducted on 9730 primary school students and their families in J Province to systematically and rigorously describe the status of children’s reading ability. The influence of family environment on children’s reading ability was analyzed by OLS regression in this research, and the intrinsic mechanism of family environment affecting children’s reading ability was explored using structural equation models. The research results are as follows: First, the father’s education level, the main caregivers’ interest in reading, the family book collection, and the purchase of extracurricular books for children have significantly positive effects on children’s reading ability. Second, the influences of family environment on children’s reading ability are achieved through reading interest, reading confidence and reading behaviour. This research helps to fill the gaps in education, promote the improvement of the family environment, and provide an actionable empirical basis for improving the quality of rural children’s education and ensuring their growth and development.

KEYWORDS

Family environment, Reading ability, Reading interest, Reading confidence, Reading behaviour, Mediation effect