Role of executive functioning and home environment in early reading development

We examined the role of executive functioning (EF) and home environment in the prediction of early reading development. In a longitudinal design, we followed 101 Dutch children from kindergarten to second grade. EF (attentional control, action control, short-term memory (STM)) and home factors (reading frequency, reading climate, parent education) were measured in kindergarten. Path analyses showed that EF predicted reading comprehension via decoding. STM predicted reading comprehension both directly as well as via vocabulary. We also found a significant relation between home environment factors and reading comprehension via phonological awareness, word decoding, and vocabulary. Combining the impact of EF and home environment on early reading development showed the role of EF to reduce that of home environment. The data show executive control to be essential in early reading development with additional impact from the home environment, especially when it comes to vocabulary learning in relation to reading comprehension.