A map of factors influencing reading literacy across European countries: Direct, indirect and moderating effects

PIRLS 2006 collected data about reading literacy and various factors connected to educational policies and school, family and student contexts, using a large sample of European fourth grade students. The aim of the present study is to examine, for European data (N = 96177), the interplay between educational policy, school, teacher, family and student factors, and their relationships to reading literacy. A structural equation model (SEM) comprising school, teachers, parents, and pupils variables is developed and tested. The influence of curriculum policies in various European countries was tested in terms of an interaction effect by means of multiple samples SEM. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.