Abstract
School readiness involves the development of foundational skills such as emergent literacy and fundamental movement skills as well as the capacity to attentively engage in instructional situations. Children do not develop these skills naturally; therefore, they need the opportunity to develop these skills in their early years prior to entering school. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of a direct-instruction movement and preliteracy intervention in children aged 3-4 years. A within-subject repeated-measures design, embedded within a wait-list control study, was used to evaluate the intervention. The intervention was run across 10 weeks with 1 h weekly sessions. Each weekly session consisted of 30-min of movement skill instruction (e.g., through single-step acquisition strategies), 15-min of free play during which time children had access to a variety of equipment (e.g., balls, hula hoops, etc.) or toys (e.g., puzzles, building blocks), and a 15-min interactive reading circle during which children read a storybook and were taught 1-2 preliteracy skills (e.g., alphabet knowledge, narrative knowledge, etc.). A convenience sample of 11 children (mean age = 45.6 months, SD = 7.3) was recruited. All children were assessed four times: baseline (Time 1), pre-intervention (Time 2), post-intervention (Time 3), and 5-week follow-up (Time 4). Gross motor skills and preliteracy skills were assessed at each time point. There was a statistically significant effect of time on the change in gross motor skills (Wilks' lambda = 0.09, p = .002), print-concept skills (Wilks' lambda = 0.09, p = .001), and alphabet knowledge (Wilks' lambda = 0.29, p = .046). Post hoc analyses reveal non-significant changes between time 1 and 2 for motor and print-concept skills and significant changes in all three outcomes between time 2 and time 3. Participation in a direct-instruction movement and preliteracy program led to positive improvements in gross motor skills, print-concept knowledge, and alphabet knowledge in 3- to 4-year-old children over time. Future research needs to evaluate the effectiveness of this movement and preliteracy skill intervention on various other indicators of child development and health. Play and Pre-Literacy among Young Children (PLAY) NCT02432443.
Highlights
The definition of school readiness differs depending on one’s theoretical perspective; contemporary developmentalists agree that it is multifaceted and involves readiness of both the child and their environment to receive all available benefits conferred in the school setting
When explicit attention is drawn to developing these emergent literacy skills in early childhood, children are better prepared for later academic interactions in the classroom [5]
The results of the secondary analyses revealed that there was no significant effect of time on parent engagement in movement or Participation in our movement and preliteracy program led to positive improvements in gross motor skills, print-concept knowledge, and alphabet knowledge in 3- to 4-year-old children over time and these gains were sustained over a 5-week followup period
Summary
The definition of school readiness differs depending on one’s theoretical perspective; contemporary developmentalists agree that it is multifaceted and involves readiness of both the child and their environment to receive all available benefits conferred in the school setting. Readiness skills at the level of the child include development in several areas, such as cognitive, socio-emotional, and motor domains. The degree of readiness is dependent on the proficiency level of children in a number of important intellectual and developmental domains, such as movement ability and emergent literacy skills, among others [2]. It is critical that the foundations of these domains are laid before entering school to prepare children for further growth in these areas and facilitate their success in the development of new and complex skills [3]. Two important child-level school readiness skills are movement and preliteracy skills. When explicit attention is drawn to developing these emergent literacy skills in early childhood, children are better prepared for later academic interactions in the classroom [5]. Development of preliteracy skills facilitates these later literacy skills but has been shown to enhance social-behavioral and more general academic achievement [5]
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