Growing up in a house full of books is major boost to literacy and numeracy, study finds | PacificStandard and School of Sociology

A new study by the ANU School of Sociology has found that people who grew up in book-filled homes have higher reading, math, and technological skills.
 

The paper was co-authored by Joanna Sikora, along with colleagues from the University of Nevada.

The researchers analysed data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Competencies. Its surveys, taken between 2011 and 2015, featured adults (ages 25 to 65) in 31 nations, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Singapore, and Turkey.

All participants were asked how many books there were in their home when they were 16 years old. (One meter of shelving, they were told, holds about 40 books.) They chose from a series of options ranging from "10 or less" to "more than 500."...

Numeracy tests measured the "ability to use mathematical concepts in everyday life," while IT-related tests "assessed the ability to use digital technology to communicate with others, as well as to gather, analyze, and synthesize information."...

The original paper was published as 'Scholarly culture: How books in adolescence enhance adult literacy, numeracy and technology skills in 31 societies', Social Science Research, 2018.
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Source: PacificStandard and School of Sociology