ROLE OF PARENTAL AGE IN HOME-BASED ENGLISH LITERACY SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN

Abstract

This study examined the role of parental age in shaping home-based English literacy support across four dimensions: formal, informal, digital, and extra literacy support. Drawing on theories of the Home Literacy Environment and demographic perspectives on parenting, the study aimed to determine whether parents from different age groups differ in the literacy opportunities they provide for their children. A quantitative research design was employed, and data were collected from parents representing four age categories (<40, 40–50, 50–60, >60). One-way ANOVA analyses were conducted to assess age-related differences across the literacy support dimensions. The findings revealed that parental age did not significantly influence formal, informal, or digital literacy support. Mean scores were highly consistent across age groups, and effect sizes were negligible, suggesting that core literacy practices are widely shared across different age groups. However, a small but statistically significant difference emerged in the dimension of extra literacy support, where younger and mid-aged parents reported slightly higher engagement in tutoring, extracurricular English activities, and other enrichment opportunities. This result indicates that age may shape parents’ ability or decision to invest in resource-intensive literacy support, even though everyday literacy interactions remain stable across the groups.