Precursor Skills Research Articles

Effect of the development of precursor skills for literacy in Spanish on learning to read in English

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of Spanish literacy precursor skills on reading learning to read in the mother tongue and their degree of transfer to English. A quasi-experimental design was used, which allowed for a repeated measures comparison between two groups of students, who underwent a follow-up assessment one year after the end of the intervention. A total of 386 schoolchildren, aged 6–7 years at the time of the intervention, who were beginning to learn to read, participated in the study. The results show that the implementation of teaching models that favor the development of precursor reading skills in a first language, such as Spanish, contribute to the literacy process in a second language such as English, and that the benefits acquired are maintained over time.

Synthesising models of primary school mathematicians by putting influencing factors of mathematics performance to the test

The gender-sensitive analysis of influencing factors on mathematical performance of primary school pupils can yield valuable insights into facilitating this vital phase of pupils’ educational trajectory. We view gender-sensitive mathematical performance in primary school based on works of Niklas (Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 62, 106, 2015) and Luttenberger et al. (Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11, 311–322, 2018). All elements of their models can be assigned to structural traits of origin, home learning environment, interacting variables, and mathematics performance. These are presented and described in terms of gender. In our four-year long longitudinal study (n = 239) with four measurement points in primary school, the interplay and predictive power of these elements were analysed with structural equation model. Among the structural traits of origin, socio-economic status and migration background are relevant concerning precursor skills. The home learning environment is not relevant for precursor skills or later mathematics performance. The precursor skills and self-concept appear to be significant for mathematics performance whereas enjoyment of the subject does not matter. Gender affected only two measuring points of mathematics performance, so that the results support the gender similarity hypothesis according to Hyde (The American psychologist, 60, 581–592, 2005.) According to our study, school entry is not shaped by gender differences in social background, affective characteristics, or precursor skills. The results emphasize gender equality at the start of school, so that it is of interest for future studies to determine when and on the basis of which criteria performance differences develop in mathematics.

Early symbolic numeracy and gross, fine, and perceptual-motor skills in Mexican preschool children

The relation between early numeracy and motor skills has previously been examined, however, different results have been obtained depending on whether gross, fine, or perceptual-motor skills were considered in the study and the numeracy outcomes that were analyzed. The goal of the present research was to examine the relation between preschool children’s performance on two assessments of symbolic numeracy and gross, fine, and perceptual-motor skills. A total of one-hundred-and-twenty-three Mexican preschool children were assessed on their gross, fine, and perceptual-motor skills, their numeracy skills (i.e., applied problem-solving and symbolic number comparison) their numeracy precursor skills (i.e., number identification, cardinality and verbal counting), inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory. Results from hierarchical linear regressions showed that applied problem-solving was predicted only by children’s numeracy precursor skills while the ability to compare two symbolic numbers was significantly predicted only by perceptual-motor skills. The study highlights the importance of perceptual-motor skills to children’s early numeracy learning. Keywords: Early numeracy skills; motor skills; perceptual-motor skills; preschool children.

The role of vocabulary components in second language learners' early reading comprehension

BackgroundIn countries with German as an official language, children with German as a second language perform overall worse in school than their German native speaking peers. This particularly affects written language skills, which require advanced language knowledge. The reasons are manifold, but one is prominent, namely poor vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary, however, consists not only of the number of known words but also of a complex and hitherto under‐researched lexico‐semantic framework, which is referred to as vocabulary depth.MethodIn the present study, a sample of 373 children (322 German native speakers and 51 with German as a second language) was examined longitudinally in Grade 2 and 3 for their reading comprehension and vocabulary breadth and depth. Vocabulary depth was defined as relational and semantic word knowledge. Latent change score models on vocabulary breadth and depth development including reading precursor skills, non‐verbal intelligence and SES were conducted.ResultsThe children with German as a second language scored lower than the native German speakers in reading and vocabulary tests, with the difference in vocabulary depth being more pronounced than in vocabulary breadth. Importantly, the differences did not tend to diminish over time, which could have been expected. The differences in reading comprehension can be accounted for mainly by the variations in vocabulary, especially in vocabulary depth.ConclusionsThese findings emphasise the importance of including not only vocabulary breadth but also vocabulary depth in the context of reading research on children who do not speak the majority language.

Learning behaviors, executive functions, and social skills: A meta-analysis on the factors influencing learning development in the transition from kindergarten to elementary school

The linguistic, mathematical, social-emotional, and cognitive precursor competencies are important predictors of learning success already at kindergarten age. A systematic analysis of the state of research on the actual interrelationships of the focused precursor competencies brings together results of a meta-analysis. The literature search yielded 653 hits, which were reduced to 94 hits after applying exclusion criteria. It was possible to perform 271 correlation tests in 39 pathways. Thus, the sample (n = 141,508 [M = 1505, SD = 3930 ]) with an average age of 5.2 years (SD = 0.10 years) is balanced in gender ratio of 48.5 % male and 48.9 % female (2.6 % not specified). The largest correlation between literacy and mathematical precursor skills is r = .65 . With a correlation between r = .17 and r = .60 , executive functions significantly influence the development of literacy and mathematical skills and learning behaviors. Learning behaviors are most strongly related to social skills, with r = .57 . Parental influence turns out to be smaller, with correlations ranging from r = .19 to .55 . The effect of individual pathways is also small, and peer group was not included in the search term combination. Successful educational processes in day care centers can be improved with a focus on the promotion of executive functions and learning behaviors.

Specific predictors of length and frequency effects in German beginning readers: testing component processes of sublexical and lexical reading in the DRC

Reading a word requires several component processes. The dual route cascaded (DRC) model provides a characterization of these component processes and their involvement in different reading routes. We tested how relevant precursor skills associated with these component processes predict the use of the sublexical and lexical route in beginning readers of a transparent orthography. More than 100 German first graders performed a battery of tasks tapping into precursor skills associated with the DRC components. Using factor analysis, we first verified that the tasks can be attributed to three sets of skills, capturing visual, sublexical, and lexico-semantic components, as the DRC suggests. We then used these sets of skills to predict differences in the reliance on sublexical and lexical reading in second grade as indicated by length and frequency effects. Results show that the set of sublexical skills in first grade especially predicts differences in the recognition of long frequent words at the end of second grade, whereas the set of lexico-semantic skills predicts differences in the reading of long infrequent words. The findings corroborate the attribution of specific precursor skills to the sublexical and lexical route and reveal their distinct impact on sublexical and lexical reading in beginning readers. The work thus empirically informs the developmental version of the DRC, especially regarding variability in trajectories of reading acquisition.

Infant communication. How should we define this, and is it important?

Infants born preterm are at high risk of developing speech, language and communication difficulties in their early years. Published literature investigating early parent - infant interaction often describe “communication” with reference to early bonding.Strategies such as bonding, attachment, responsiveness to cues and skin to skin care are essential precursor skills for the development of productive dyadic relationships. However, studies that consider speech, language and communication support for families when receiving care for their infant on a neonatal unit are sparse. This paper discusses communication from a linguistic perspective and the authors argue why this is important.

Longitudinal associations between melodic auditory-visual integration and reading precursor skills in beginning readers

The present study explored longitudinal relations between musical abilities (discrimination, auditory-visual connection) and precursor skills of reading (phonemic awareness, rapid naming, phonological memory, phonemic fluency) in 6–7-year-old children starting primary school. Eighty-five participants were assessed twice over the first school year to estimate the extent to which longitudinal changes in musical and phonological processing are related at the initial stages of formal reading and music instruction. Results of the repeated measures correlation analyses revealed specific longitudinal associations among enhancements in auditory-visual connection skills, pitch discrimination, and components of phonological processing. Moreover, the development of melodic auditory-visual integration appeared to be a relevant indicator of improvements in reading precursor skills. These findings might point to shared integration mechanisms underlying musical and reading development in young readers, which possibly originate in the emergent capability of prosodic reading.

Linking inhibitory control to math achievement via comparison of conflicting decimal numbers

The relationship between executive functions (EF) and academic achievement is well-established, but leveraging this insight to improve educational outcomes remains elusive. Here, we propose a framework for relating the role of specific EF on specific precursor skills that support later academic learning. Starting from the premise that executive functions contribute to general math skills both directly – supporting the execution of problem solving strategies – and indirectly – supporting the acquisition of precursor mathematical content, we hypothesize that the contribution of domain-general EF capacities to precursor skills that support later learning can help explain relations between EF and overall math skills. We test this hypothesis by examining whether the contribution of inhibitory control on general math knowledge can be explained by inhibition's contribution to processing rational number pairs that conflict with individual's prior whole number knowledge. In 97 college students (79 female, age = 20.58 years), we collected three measures of EF: working memory (backwards spatial span), inhibition (color-word Stroop) and cognitive flexibility (task switching), and timed and untimed standardized measures of math achievement. Our target precursor skill was a decimals comparison task where correct responses were inconsistent with prior whole number knowledge (e.g., 0.27 vs. 0.9). Participants performed worse on these trials relative to the consistent decimals pairs (e.g., 0.2 vs. 0.87). Individual differences in the Stroop task predicted performance on inconsistent decimal comparisons, which in turn predicted general math achievement. With respect to relating inhibitory control to math achievement, Stroop performance was an independent predictor of achievement after accounting for age, working memory and cognitive flexibility, but decimal performance mediated this relationship. Finally, we found inconsistent decimals performance mediated the relationship of inhibition with rational number performance, but not other advanced mathematical concepts. These results pinpoint the specific contribution of inhibitory control to rational number understanding, and more broadly are consistent with the hypothesis that acquisition of foundational mathematical content can explain the relationships between executive functions and academic outcomes, making them promising targets for intervention.

Developmental Trajectories of Written Language Precursors according to Socioeconomic Status

There is resounding evidence of the existence of direct precursors of written language, most specifically phonological awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, and oral comprehension. The initial differences identified in the development of written language precursors are directly related to subsequent students’ academic trajectories. Socioeconomic status is a significant source of initial differences in performance, with discrepancies in the development of reading precursors favoring children from more affluent backgrounds. We assessed reading precursors in 176 Chilean children from different socioeconomic levels. Significant differences in performance were found, which tended to favor the higher socioeconomic groups for each precursor we tested. However, the developmental trajectories of skills were similar for phonological awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, and oral comprehension. A compensatory trajectory was observed only in the case of rapid naming. The problem arises from the need for educational systems to adapt to the specific needs of their students, in order to generate compensatory trajectories in all reading precursor skills and enable a decrease in the gaps in reading performance among children from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Preliterate Young Children’s Reading Attitudes: Connections to the Home Literacy Environment and Maternal Factors

Emergent literacy is an umbrella term that encompasses developmental precursor skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to reading and writing. Previous studies have focused on the cognitive aspects of reading, such as word recognition, phonological awareness, and comprehension. However, reading is also an activity that requires effort and involves motivation and attitudes. These affective dimensions are given little attention in the literature on children’s literacy development. To fill this gap, this study investigates preliterate preschoolers’ attitudes toward reading in relation to gender, maternal factors, and home literacy environment. The sample included 261 parents and their 5 year-old children. The data were collected using a preschool reading attitudes scale, a home literacy environment questionnaire, and a parent survey. The findings reveal that gender, time spent watching television, and computer use were unrelated to children’s reading attitudes. However, children’s home literacy environment, the number of books in their household, and maternal reading attitudes and reading habits were significantly related, accounting for 62% of the variance in children’s reading attitudes. These results suggest mothers are role models for children’s attitudes regarding direct literacy experiences and affective responses to reading. Investigating the contribution made by early home literacy experiences to reading attitudes and early literacy skills allows an understanding of how cognitive and motivational factors are involved in the learning-to-read process.

The Predictive Value of Children's Understanding of Indeterminacy and Confounding for Later Mastery of the Control-of-Variables Strategy.

Prior research has identified age 9–11 as a critical period for the development of the control-of-variables strategy (CVS). We examine the stability of interindividual differences in children's CVS skills with regard to their precursor skills during this critical developmental period. To this end, we relate two precursor skills of CVS at age 9 to four skills constituting fully developed CVS more than 2 years later, controlling for children's more general cognitive development. Note that N = 170 second- to fourth-graders worked on multiple choice-assessments of their understanding of indeterminacy of evidence and of confounding. We find relations between these two precursor skills and children's CVS skills 2 years later at age 11 in planning, identifying, and interpreting controlled experiments, and in recognizing the inconclusiveness of confounded comparisons (understanding). In accordance with the perspective that both indeterminacy and confounding constitute critical, related yet distinct elements of CVS, both precursor skills contribute to the prediction of later CVS. Together, the two precursor skills can explain 39% of students' later CVS mastery. Overall, the understanding of indeterminacy is a stronger predictor of fully developed CVS than that of confounding. The understanding of confounding, however, is a better predictor of the more difficult CVS sub-skills of understanding the inconclusiveness of confounded comparisons, and of planning a correctly controlled experiment. Importantly, both precursor skills maintain interactive predictive strength when controlling for children's general cognitive abilities and reading comprehension, showing that the developmental dynamics of CVS and its precursor skills cannot be fully ascribed to general cognitive development. We discuss implications of these findings for theories about the development of CVS and broader scientific reasoning.

Efectos de una intervención de alfabetización en las habilidades lectoras del alumnado de primaria: Proyecto USAID LEER

El proyecto USAID Leer es una intervención de lectura y escritura en escuelas públicas de la República Dominicana en respuesta a sus bajos niveles de comprensión lectora. el objetivo del estudio fue determinar la eficacia del proyecto USAID Leer a través de dos estudios transversales (al iniciar el proyecto y en la mitad). Se realizó un estudio experimental con aleatorización de grupos (experimental vs. control) y una estimación del contrafactual basada en la evaluación de línea base. Participaron 2,399 alumnos de segundo grado para línea base, y 2,359 alumnos de cuarto grado para línea media. Se evaluaron comprensión lectora, habilidades precursoras a la misma (comprensión oral, conciencia fonológica, conocimiento de letras, lectura de palabras por minuto, lectura de pseudopalabras por minuto y fluidez), y habilidades cognitivas generales (memoria de trabajo de palabras y memoria de trabajo de pseudopalabras). Dentro de los resultados se destaca que no hubo diferencias entre los grupos durante la línea base. En la línea media, el grupo experimental obtuvo mejores puntuaciones que el grupo control en comprensión oral, conciencia fonológica, conocimiento de letras, lectura de palabras y pseudopalabras por minuto y memoria de trabajo de pseudopalabras. No hubo diferencias entre los grupos en fluidez ni en comprensión lectora. Se concluyó que la intervención fue efectiva, pero aún no ha alcanzado el umbral necesario para que sus efectos se reflejen más allá de las habilidades precursoras de la comprensión lectora. Los resultados se interpretan desde la teoría de la automatización lectora y la necesidad de mayor práctica lectora de los alumnos en proceso de alfabetización.

Language Growth in Young Children with Autism: Interactions Between Language Production and Social Communication.

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with a broad range of spoken language abilities, as well as delays in precursor skills such as gesture production and joint attention skills. While standardized assessments describe language strengths, the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS-DP) is a particularly robust measure as it additionally characterizes precise aspects of social communication. This study provides a unique contribution by assessing the interactional effects of CSBS-DP Social Composite performance with early language samples on later language outcomes. Our results indicate that multiple social communication elements significantly interact with early spoken language to predict later language. Our findings also highlight the transactional relationship between early spoken vocabulary and social communication skills that bolster language development growth.

Dyslexia in Pediatrics: Simple Practices to Tackle a Complex Issue.

* Abbreviation: SLD — : specific learning disorder It is not uncommon for children with specific learning disorders (SLDs) to go through several years of school without receiving necessary academic support, emphasizing the need for earlier detection. Precursor skills of learning often provide important, early indications about whether a child might be at risk for developing an SLD. In this issue of Pediatrics, Sanfilippo et al1 provide a timely overview of current evidence on precursors of reading and outline how pediatricians can contribute to early identification of children at risk for dyslexia. Sanfilippo et al1 highlight “red flags” that can assist pediatricians in identifying dyslexia, including screening for family history, language development, and early literacy skills. Screening may be composed of cognitive-behavioral assessments that typically focus on phonological awareness, basic letter knowledge, vocabulary size, and language comprehension. Given that SLDs are of neurobiological origin, neuroimaging techniques have been used to investigate neural signatures of these precursor skills.2 Increasing evidence suggests that neurobiological markers can predict individual reading outcomes, outperforming the prediction accuracy of cognitive-behavioral precursors of literacy.3,4 As the authors point out, neuroimaging screenings are not (yet) available, … Address correspondence to Iliana I. Karipidis, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Rd, Stanford, CA 94305, E-mail: ilianak{at}stanford.edu

Predictors for delayed linguistic skills in very preterm infants

Preterm-born children are at higher risk for impaired linguistic abilities than are their term-born peers. The aim of the current study was to determine early predictors for delayed linguistic skills in very preterm-born preschool children. Between January 2005 and November 2010 all very preterm infants born at < 32 weeks gestation in Tyrol were prospectively enrolled (n = 421); 248 of them had a detailed examination at the age of five years including cognitive assessment (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, third edition (WPPSI-III) or Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Tests (SON-R)) as well as a screening test for language skills (Bielefelder screening for early diagnosis of reading problems and weak spelling (BISC)). The association between pre-and postnatal factors and poor performance on the BISC assessment was analyzed by means of logistic regression analysis. Of the 248 children 79 (31.8%) showed delayed literacy precursor skills. Male sex, gestational age, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) grades 3-4 and low maternal education were predictive for delayed linguistic skills at 5 years of age in the multivariate analysis. This study identified predictors for delayed literacy precursor skills. These data support the finding that in very preterm infants pre-and perinatal as well as sociodemographic factors account for linguistic skills in the preschool period.

Exploring the unique contributions of teachers’ syntax to preschoolers’ and kindergarteners’ vocabulary learning

Adult interactions with young children provide important language experiences necessary for children to develop the early precursor skills to be ready to read. This study examines the complexity of preschool and kindergarten teachers’ syntax and the relations between teachers’ syntax and children’s vocabulary development. Thirty-three teachers’ syntax was examined during three instructional contexts: book reading, morning message, and small-group activities. Results suggest that, in general, few teacher background factors were systematically linked to more complex syntax in the classroom, although teachers of minority backgrounds used more complex syntax. Teachers’ syntax was not related to global classroom quality, suggesting that syntax represents a unique facet of the learning environment. Finally, a significant relation emerged between the complexity of teachers’ syntax and children’s vocabulary development, beyond the effects of a series of teacher and child covariates, including classroom quality. This association was driven particularly by the complexity of teachers’ language during morning message and small groups. Together, the results imply that complex syntax is an important source of linguistic information for word learners, and that teachers’ syntax may be another, often overlooked but potentially malleable dimension of classroom quality.

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography shows alterations in children born preterm displaying poor literacy precursor skills.

AimTo assess whether amplitude‐integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) alterations in the newborn period are associated with poor precursor skills of literacy at five years of age in children born preterm.MethodsBetween October 2007 and September 2011 248 preterm infants were eligible for the study at Innsbruck Medical University Hospital. aEEG was analysed for dominating background activity, calculation of the percentage of continuous activity, the Burdjalov scoring system, the minimum, mean and maximum amplitude. At the age of five years, we evaluated preterm born children by the Bielefelder screening (BISC) to assess for early diagnosis of reading problems and weak spelling and classified them as normal performers (n = 64) or poor performers (n = 20). Completion of testing was not possible for one infant.ResultsThe minimum amplitude was significantly lower in the poor BISC performance group as compared to the normal BISC performance group at postnatal week two. The percentage of continuous background activity was significantly higher in infants with normal BISC performance than in infants with poor BISC performance at postnatal week three.ConclusionChildren with poor developed precursor skills of literacy showed alterations in aEEG signals. The aEEG could be useful in further diagnosing preterm infants at risk for developmental complications.

Differential Development of Children's Understanding of the Cardinality of Small Numbers and Zero.

Counting and the understanding of cardinality are important steps in children’s numerical development. Recent studies have indicated that language and visuospatial abilities play an important role in the development of children’s cardinal knowledge of small numbers. However, predictors for the knowledge about zero were usually not considered in these studies. Therefore, the present study investigated whether the acquisition of cardinality knowledge on small numbers and the concept of zero share cross-domain and domain-specific numerical predictors. Particular interest was paid to the question whether visuospatial abilities – in addition to language abilities – were associated with children’s understanding of small numbers and zero. Accordingly, we assessed kindergarteners aged 4 to 5 years in terms of their understanding of small numbers and zero as well as their visuospatial, general language, counting, Arabic number identification abilities, and their finger number knowledge. We observed significant zero-order correlations of vocabulary, number identification, finger knowledge, and counting abilities with children’s knowledge about zero as well as understanding of the cardinality of small numbers. Subsequent regression analyses substantiated the influences of counting abilities on knowledge about zero and the influences of both counting abilities and finger knowledge on children’s understanding of the cardinality of small numbers. No significant influences of cross-domain predictors were observed. In sum, these results indicate that domain-specific numerical precursor skills seem to be more important for children’s development of an understanding of the cardinality of small numbers as well as of the concept of zero than the more proximal cross-domain abilities such as language and visuospatial abilities.

Fostering Precursor Skills to Word Reading of Children with Hearing Loss

Fostering Precursor Skills to Word Reading of Children with Hearing Loss