Review: Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations
M.D.R. Evans a,∗, Jonathan Kelley b, Joanna Sikora c, Donald J. Treiman
Conducted in 27 nations across the globe, this study explored the impact that the presence of books
in the home and growing up with a reading culture had on children’s wider academic attainment.
“Children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years more schooling than children from
bookless homes, independent of their parents’ education, occupation, and class.”
Key facts:

Creating a ‘reading culture’ and having a wide selection of books present in the home
enhances a child’s educational attainment.

Exposure to reading within the home had an effect regardless of where in the world the study
was carried out.

The impact of a home reading culture was strong regardless of other well-known factors in
educational attainment: parents’ education, parent’s occupation, class, gender, nationality and
under all political systems.

Increasing the number of books in the home, even by one title at a time, has a great impact
on a child’s learning and boosts their attainment in the first few years of school.

Evidence of the benefits of a home library can be found in all areas of society. However, the
greatest impact is felt in modest income families and those with lowest levels of education.

The presence of books in the home and the love of reading it creates is something that is
likely to be passed from generation to generation within a family.
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