Publications

Publication details [#62463]

Loboda, Liudmila, Markus Vogelbacher and Ira Gawlitzek. 2017. The role of ethnic differences, structural background and process characteristics in the family in preschool children’s language proficiency. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38 (6) : 558–572.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Place, Publisher
Routledge

Annotation

Whereas novel inquiry has displayed a positive connection between stimulating family activities and children’s abilities, little is known about the moderating role of the parenting style in the effect of the familial socioeconomic status (SES) and the impact of the family language on children’s language competence. This paper sets out to explore the influence of structural and process features in the family on children’s language proficiency. The sample covers 314 six-year-old children with and without a migration background. The results of a path analysis via multiple linear regressions disclose parenting style as a mediator of family structural background. Structural equation models show that in native German families the SES accounts children’s verbal abilities, whereas in migrant families stimulating activities are more essential. Moreover, parenting style affects verbal skills independently of the family language. This is of methodological pertinence as in operationalisations parenting style is often inadequately distinguished from stimulating activities.