The impact of parental level of education on the ability of children to learn and use new vocabulary

Abstract EN

Vocabulary plays a vital role in the reading and learning process because it is crucial for comprehension.

Suffice to say, a student with stronger vocabulary is more likely to understand a given text better than one with very poor vocabulary.

In turn, the issue can have a significant impact on performance.

This basic qualitative study sought to determine the impact of parental level of education on the ability of children to learn and use new vocabulary.

Using semi-structured interviews, data was collected from 15 Saudi teachers with no less than 3 years of teaching experience.

Results indicated that children of well-educated parents, like those from well off families, generally have stronger vocabulary and can use it more smoothly.

Moreover, these children were shown to read and use new vocabulary more often than those with less educated parents.

Lastly, results showed a strong correlation between vocabulary, comprehension, and performance with lack of resources and poor motivation being reported as some of the main factors affecting the ability of children to learn new vocabularies.

These findings reveal the role that parental level of education plays in the existing word-gap.

However, it is also evident that with the appropriate resources and constant motivation, children of less educated parents can improve in these areas which can in turn help minimize the gap.