The long-term role of the home learning environment in shaping students’ academic attainment in secondary school
| Date | 21 September 2015 |
| Published date | 21 September 2015 |
| Pages | 189-201 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-02-2015-0007 |
| Author | Pam Sammons,Katalin Toth,Kathy Sylva,Edward Melhuish,Iram Siraj,Brenda Taggart |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Children's services |
The long-term role of the home learning
environment in shaping students’
academic attainment in secondary school
Pam Sammons, Katalin Toth, Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Iram Siraj and Brenda Taggart
Professor Pam Sammons,
Dr Katalin Toth and Professor
Kathy Sylva, all based at
Department of Education,
University of Oxford,
Oxford, UK.
Professor Edward Melhuish
is based at Department of
Education, University of Oxford,
Oxford, UK and Institute for the
Study of Children, Families and
Social Issues, Birkbeck,
University of London,
London, UK.
Professor Iram Siraj and
Brenda Taggart, both based at
Early Years and Primary
Education, The UCL Institute of
Education, UCL, London, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between the characteristics of the home
learning environment (HLE) and students’academic attainments in secondary school in England at age
14 and 16.
Design/methodology/approach –This research study uses multilevel statistical models to investigate the
strength and significance of relationships between various measures of the HLE at ages three, six, 11 and 14,
and students’academic attainment in secondary school.
Findings –Multilevel models show that early years HLE and specific dimensions of later HLE are positive
predictors of students’later academic attainment at age 14 and 16, when the influence of various individual,
family and neighbourhood characteristics are controlled.
Originality/value –The paper presents unique findingson the role of the HLE in shaping students’academic
success atsecondary school, includinga range of measures of the HLEobtained at different ages.The results
show that the early yearsHLE measured at age three continuesto show effects on later attainment, overand
beyond the effects of later HLE and other significant influences such as family socio-economic status
and parents’qualification levels.
Keywords Academic attainment, GCSE, Home learning environment
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The family represents the first and probably most influential learning context where very young
children typically acquire language, knowledge, skills, and behaviours. This has the potential to
shape their readiness for school, attitudes toward learning, and their later academic attainment.
The home learning context has been studied extensively, especially in the area of developmental
psychology, and has been linked to the child’s cognitive and social development (Bradley, 1994).
Much attention has been given to the relationship between the home learning environment (HLE)
and the development of language and vocabulary (Rodriguez and Tamis-LeMonda, 2011; Son
and Morrison, 2010) or early cognitive attainment like early literacy and numeracy in pre-school
(Anders et al., 2012; Hartas, 2011; Skwarchuk, 2009). The important role of HLE was also linked
with later school readiness (Forget‐Dubois et al., 2009), pre-reading and reading, spelling, and
mathematics attainment at primary school age (Hartas, 2012; Sammons et al., 2004; Melhuish
et al., 2008; Niklas and Schneider, 2013). In a longitudinal study of pre-school in England,
Sammons et al. (2002, 2004) and Melhuish et al. (2008) showed that their measure of early years
HLE had an independent influence on the educational outcomes, with strong positive effects in
predicting later attainment at school that were above and beyond the effects of parental
Received 19 February 2015
Revised 22 June 2015
Accepted 8 July 2015
This study is part of a research
project funded by the Department
of Education, UK
DOI 10.1108/JCS-02-2015-0007 VOL. 10 NO. 3 2015, pp. 189-201, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660
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JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES
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