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A Home Library’s Educational Edge

» A Home Library’s Educational Edge

After examining statistics from 27 nations, a group of researchers found the presence of book-lined shelves in the home — and the intellectual environment those volumes reflect — gives children an enormous advantage in school.

“Home library size has a very substantial effect on educational attainment, even adjusting for parents’ education, father’s occupational status and other family background characteristics,” reports the study, recently published in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. “Growing up in a home with 500 books would propel a child 3.2 years further in education, on average, than would growing up in a similar home with few or no books.

“This is a large effect, both absolutely and in comparison with other influences on education,” adds the research team, led by University of Nevada sociologist M.D.R. Evans. “A child from a family rich in books is 19 percentage points more likely to complete university than a comparable child growing up without a home library.”

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373 notes

1. aeonra liked this
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5. lotusohm reblogged this from booksinthekitchen and added:

   I just had my boyfriend read this and told him that my book collection will be worth it when we have children. He said:...

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13. cu3421 reblogged this from aliform and added:

    hmm, found interesting:)

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24. aliform reblogged this from equivoque and added:

    But. But. This explains why I was reading college level work at ten-ish.

25. andrebob liked this
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27. librarianista reblogged this from austinkleon and added:

    Being surrounded by people who have learned to value books, learning, and reading is the important factor… which is why...

28. stacig liked this
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30. xdoriangray liked this
31. natknox reblogged this from austinkleon and added:

    Don’t think my family home could be any other way!

32. olga-aglow reblogged this from austinkleon and added:

    this might also be linked to the parents’ level of education though, because people who are more intellectual and...

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43. hashii reblogged this from austinkleon and added:

    After examining statistics from 27 nations, a group of researchers found the presence of book-lined shelves in the home...

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48. amycarr reblogged this from austinkleon and added:

    I grew up in a home where books were damn near worshiped. There were books in every room, but there was also one room...

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