Examining sociocultural factors in assessing vocabulary knowledge of children from low socio-economic background

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this evaluation study was twofold: to evaluate the overall impact of an intensive early childhood literacy project on children’s vocabulary knowledge and to examine the sociocultural context of the vocabulary assessment for the early literacy project. Children’s language development and vocabulary knowledge was measured with PPVT-IV and TOPEL at two time points. Significant gains were found in children’s print knowledge, but no significant difference was found with the definitional vocabulary and phonological awareness. Deductive content analysis was conducted to examine the sociocultural context of the standardized vocabulary test showing discrepancy between children’s responses and standard answers. Results from the current study provide helpful information for researchers to pay closer attention to the cultural and social context beyond the validity and reliability of a standardized assessment.