In the present study the effects of the literacy ecology of the home on children’s literacy development in rural Rwanda were examined. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected as part of a larger randomized control trial of a literacy intervention in eastern Africa. First, the Literacy Ecology theoretical framework is described as a frame of reference for the present study. Second, survey, ethnographic, and child-reading data are reported from a rural district in Rwanda; these illustrate connections between home and community literacy and children’s early reading achievement. Finally, future directions and implications of the findings for efforts to improve children's early literacy attainment in lower- and middle-income countries are explored.

Chapter 9: Social Contexts of Reading. This chapter focuses on the many social contexts in which reading is carried out and in which reading develops. We learn to read within a family unit, in various school settings (and their associated goals, expectations, and opportunities), in various classrooms, and in interaction with specific teachers and student peers. Students are also influenced by the wider social and cultural expectations of political, religious, ethnic, economic, and social institutions. Social contexts set the stage for successful reading within the first year of life, and language knowledge, as well as beginning reading, is profoundly shaped in the first five years of life. L2 reading, as it often is learned in childhood or adolescence, is also strongly shaped by social contexts in which learning to read is carried out. Four specific issues include the needs for effective teacher training, the status of minority language instruction in K-12 schools, advanced L2 reading instruction, and most importantly, the role of language and reading exposure throughout a learner’s lifetime. The chapter concludes with implications for instruction.