Knowledge of phonics and phonological awareness in parents with diverse linguistic backgrounds and their self-rated confidence in supporting their children’s reading practice at home

Parents play a crucial role in children’s reading success through home support. Given the diversity of heritage languages in English-speaking countries such as Australia, this study examined parents’ reading-related knowledge, confidence in supporting their children’s reading, and whether this is influenced by their language background. Fifty‑two monolingual and 50 multilingual parents with Kindergarten (first year of schooling) to Year 2 children completed an online survey on confidence levels of supporting their children’s reading practice at home, knowledge of phonics, phonological awareness, and school support needs. Overall, parents reported moderate confidence levels (mean = 3.76) and demonstrated moderate knowledge of phonics and phonological awareness (69% accuracy), with multilingual parents scoring significantly lower than monolingual parents. Qualitative results suggest that support and resources needed from schools may differ between the two parent groups. The findings suggest that more inclusive support for parents with diverse language backgrounds may be needed.