Year Of Primary School Research Articles

UNDERSTANDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THINKING IN CHILDREN OF PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE

The development of thinking in children of primary school age is a complex and fascinating process that has intrigued psychologists and educators for decades. This article aims to provide an overview of the key theoretical perspectives and empirical findings regarding cognitive development during the primary school years. By examining the interplay between biological, cognitive, social, and environmental factors, this article sheds light on how children's thinking abilities evolve and mature during this critical period of development.

Executive functioning predicts development of reading skill and perceptual span seven years later

What is the role of executive functions in longitudinally predicting reading success in general and perceptual-span size in particular? We present two new waves of our sequential-cohort longitudinal study of perceptual-span development, including five waves totally spanning grades 1 to 10. Using nonlinear mixed effects growth-curve modeling we here show that executive functioning measured in the early primary-school years predicts reading performance seven years later, even if controlled for initial reading performance. Moreover, the two variables exerted an interactive influence, suggesting mutual benefit. Effects of initial executive functioning on the final perceptual span were even more pronounced than on reading rate, suggesting a substantial contribution of executive processes to perceptual-span development. Perceptual-span development is critical for successful reading: The initial reading-rate difference between slower and faster readers diverged at the point when perceptual-span development was fastest, and stabilized at inflated differences thereafter. In an educational setting, early tests of executive functioning may be useful for identifying children who are likely to need intervention to become proficient readers.

Writing and Power

The primary aim of this theoretical and methodological paper is to conceptualise early school writing instruction (with 6 and 7-year-old students) through a critical discourse analytical (CDA; Fairclough, 2003) perspective. By drawing on empirical examples from two L1 classrooms, the paper provides an example of how a CDA analysis may be operationalised, particularly in an educational setting in primary school years. In doing so, the paper unveils how social power permeates the discourse practices of early school writing and how its effects on writing instruction may be understood. The data consists of video-recorded observations of writing instruction in two classrooms and transcribed semi-structured interviews with two teachers. The conceptualisation shows major differences in the effects of power in discourse in the two classrooms, shaping the discourse practice in various ways. It furthermore becomes evident that these classrooms are sites of power struggles with effects on discourse and where discourse practices, in various ways, (re)construe both the social world of the classroom as well as what is being taught. However, rather than reproducing social power structures per se, this paper suggests that the classroom holds potential for contestation and transformation of structural power, not least dependent on the actions of the teacher.

The Mediating Roles of Mindfulness in Marriage and Mindfulness in Parenting in the Relationship Between Parents’ Dispositional Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation of Their Children

The fact that primary school is a pre-adolescent period makes it important in terms of regulating emotions. The beginning signals of adolescence occur during this period. It is clear that this challenging process of emotion regulation is linked to age and development, along with parental characteristics and the interactions of the child with the parent. It is believed that researching the variables that influence emotion regulation can help individuals maintain healthy social interactions throughout their journey from childhood to adulthood. In this context, parents’ mindfulness levels, which include both intrapersonal and interpersonal processes, play a crucial role in helping their children regulate their emotions. The current study aims to ascertain the serial mediating role of mindfulness in marriage and mindfulness in parenting in the relationship between parents’ dispositional mindfulness and the emotion regulation of their children aged 6–10. A total of 333 parents, all of whom were married and had children ranging from 6 to 10 years old, participated in the study. “Emotion Regulation Checklist”, “Mindfulness in Marriage Scale”, “Mindful Attention Awareness Scale” and “Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire” were used in the study. To determine the mediating role, the bootstrap method was used via structural equation modeling (SEM) to ascertain the mediating role. The SEM and bootstrap method revealed that there was a serial mediation effect between parents’ dispositional mindfulness and emotion regulation of their children. This effect was attributed to mindfulness in marriage and mindfulness in parenting. Given that the primary school years are a critical developmental stage in improving emotion regulation skills, family-based interventions supporting parents’ mindfulness in three important areas (dispositional, marital, and parental) may help to improve the children’s capacity to regulate their emotions.

Reading profiles in secondary school: concurrent language and cognitive abilities, and retrospective and prospective reading skills.

We examined the concurrent language and cognitive abilities in a group of Swedish students with different reading profiles in secondary school, and the retrospective (primary school) and prospective (upper-secondary school) reading skills of each reading profile. Seventy-nine students participated in data collections in primary (grade 2: age 8), secondary (grade 8: age 14) and upper-secondary school (year 2: age 17). Independent variables included measures of word recognition, and vocabulary and text comprehension in secondary school. Dependent variables included measures of phonemic awareness, verbal fluency, listening comprehension, spelling, verbal working memory and nonverbal reasoning skills in secondary school, and word recognition and reading comprehension in primary and upper-secondary school. When exploring the concurrent language and cognitive abilities of the reading profiles in secondary school, spelling emerged as a weakness and listening comprehension as a strength for students with poor decoding. Students with poor comprehension experienced weaknesses in spelling, and non-verbal reasoning. Students with both poor decoding and comprehension displayed a multi-deficit profile in language and cognition. As regards the retrospective and prospective reading skills, the relative ranking of the reading profiles was rather consistent in both primary and upper-secondary school. The findings suggest that limitations in phonological awareness may not be a prominent feature of secondary school students with poor decoding in more transparent orthographies. From an educational perspective, spoken sources may support learning among students with poor decoding, whereas students with poor comprehension or combined difficulties in decoding and comprehension need support when learning from both spoken and written sources.

Children’s Thoughts on Wonder in Fairy Tales

AbstractFairy tales are a means to introduce the Polish language and social education exercises in Polish kindergartens and schools (early childhood literature education). In their methodological proposals, authors of school handbooks use fairy tales as a medium for teaching moral values. The Goldfish is an example of such an approach (Fałdzińska and Rączyńska, 2017). This article presents the thoughts of children aged six to nine (Polish kindergarten and primary school years one to three) constructed around the fairy tale in question, which, on the one hand, can be understood as a cautionary lesson about the importance of remaining satisfied with one’s station (Tatar 2014), and on the other serves as a meta-tale, exposing a rule of the genre’s poetics (Somoff, 2019). Assuming the role of observer-as-participant, intent on providing interpretations, the author of this study aims to identify children’s categories of wonder occurring in Aleksandr Afanasyev’s The Goldfish (Afanasyev, 1984). It was observed that children reflect on the rules of wonder in fairy tales (as culture-specific texts) and derive social meanings significant from the viewpoint of fairy tale categories. As such, they were not only limited to the lesson of condemning greed, which is often assigned to The Goldfish.

The internal structure of handwriting proficiency in beginning writers.

Fluent and automatized handwriting frees cognitive resources for more complex elements of writing (i.e., spelling or text generation) or even math tasks (i.e., operating) and is therefore a central objective in primary school years. Most previous research has focused on the development of handwriting automaticity across the school years and characteristics of handwriting difficulties in advanced writers. However, the relative and absolute predictive power of the different kinematic aspects for typically developing beginning handwriting remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether and to what extent different kinematic aspects contribute to handwriting proficiency in typically developing beginning handwriters. Further, we investigated whether gender, socioeconomic background, or interindividual differences in executive functions and visuomotor integration contribute to children's acquisition of handwriting. Therefore, 853 first-grade children aged seven copied words on a digitized tablet and completed cognitive performance tasks. We used a confirmatory factor analysis to investigate how predefined kinematic aspects of handwriting, specifically the number of inversions in velocity (NIV), pen stops, pen lifts, and pressure on the paper, are linked to an underlying handwriting factor. NIV, pen stops, and pen lifts showed the highest factor loadings and therefore appear to best explain handwriting proficiency in beginning writers. Handwriting proficiency was superior in girls than boys but, surprisingly, did not differ between children from low versus high socioeconomic backgrounds. Handwriting proficiency was related to working memory but unrelated to inhibition, shifting, and visuomotor integration. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of considering different kinematic aspects in children who have not yet automatized pen movements. Results are also important from an applied perspective, as the early detection of handwriting difficulties has not yet received much research attention, although it is the base for tailoring early interventions for children at risk for handwriting difficulties.

Facilitation of practical work in Natural Sciences: experiences and approaches of junior teachers.

This paper explored junior teachers' experiences and approaches when facilitating practical work in Natural Sciences during teaching and learning. Grade 7 is the final year of primary school in South Africa, with students between the ages of 11 to 13. The researchers observed that there are enormous challenges encountered by junior grade 7 teachers when preparing, designing and conducting practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning. A qualitative multiple case study design was used. Three grade 7 Natural Sciences junior level teachers were selected purposively as participants. Data was collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings of this study revealed that some grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers were overwhelmed when facilitating practical work during teaching and learning. In addition, some of the grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers were unable to maintain discipline inside and outside the classroom environment when conducting practical work and demonstrations. The grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers had to use mechanism to cope with the demands associated with facilitation of practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning. Some of the approaches adopted by the grade 7 junior Natural Sciences teachers when facilitating practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning included group work, observations, demonstration, illustrations, projects and inquiry-based scientific investigations. It is recommended that teachers be professionally trained on how to facilitate practical work to advance the new ways of teaching and learning as advocated by per the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement document while empowering them with pedagogical content knowledge to enable them to achieve the aim and objectives of practical work in Natural Sciences teaching and learning.

An implementation case study for the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach for oral language and reading instruction in the early years of primary school

ABSTRACT In this paper, we report the initial stages of Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation in one school that participated in the Getting it Right from the Start (GIRFTS) pilot study. Implementation of an RTI framework for oral language and reading was supported by teacher professional learning and a dedicated Implementation Support Partner (ISP). Participants were interviewed to explore their perceptions of the change process and identify barriers and enablers to implementation. Thematic analysis was used to identify factors that supported the implementation of RTI, including strategic collegial relationships, teacher motivation, and a desire to achieve consistency of assessment and instruction. The ISP was seen as a crucial coaching role for keeping implementation on track, providing feedback and advice, and helping teachers translate professional learning into their school context. This study highlights some key factors that schools and policy-makers should focus on to promote successful early implementation of RTI approaches.

Défi de l'apprentissage du français au Maroc : Une étude des compétences en lecture

The study aims to evaluate the reading skills of Moroccan high school and university students using the Alouette test, a widely used tool for measuring reading fluency and accuracy. The primary objective is to compare the performances of these two groups and highlight any delays relative to the established norms for their age. For this study, 160 participants were tested: 80 high school students and 80 university students. All participants were native Moroccan speakers who began learning French from the third year of primary school. The Alouette test, which involves reading aloud a 265-word text in three minutes, was used to measure the number of words read, the number of errors made, and reading speed. Errors and reading performance were recorded and analyzed quantitatively. The differences between the two levels are statistically significant, indicating that university students have better reading skills. However, the performances of both groups remain below the expected norms for their age, with an average delay of -78 months for high school students and -69 months for university students. These results highlight significant gaps in reading skills among Moroccan learners despite ongoing educational reforms.

Design and Evaluation of a Set of Methodological Strategies for Learning a Second Language in Students With Down Syndrome Using Computer-Based Instruction

This paper introduces a set of teaching strategies to enhance second language learning for students with Down Syndrome (DS) enrolled in an English course covering material from the first two years of Primary School. A set of instructional support strategies have been defined and integrated into an <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">online</i> learning software, developed <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">ad-hoc</i> to teach the basic vocabulary of the English subject syllabus of the two first courses of Primary School. A controlled experiment was carried out with 20 students with DS, who were divided into two groups: control and experimental. The control group was given a simplified version of the software, while the experimental group had access to the complete software with personalized instruction. Prior to the experiment, all participants undertook the same level test (pre-test) in order to assess their initial knowledge level of English. After finishing the learning stage, a post-test was provided to the students to assess their learning. In both groups, results in the post-test were consistently better than in the pre-test, supporting the positive effect of the learning software as an instructional tool. In addition, learning gains were significantly higher in the experimental group, that used the proposed instructional aids.

Examination of Mechanical Writing Skills of Primary School Students

The foundations of writing, one of the four basic language skills, are laid in the primary school years and this skill is formally acquired during the first literacy teaching process in the 1st grade of primary school. Analyzing the writing skills of primary school students is essential for detecting weaknesses in their writing abilities, preventing potential writing difficulties in subsequent years, and designing intervention programs to enhance their writing competencies. In this context, this study aimed to examine the writing skills of primary school 1st through 4th grade students in terms of mechanics. The students’ notebook writings were assessed based on the following criteria: the size and shape of the letters, the alignment and order of the writing, the spacing between words and letters, the layout and neatness of the paper, the quantity and quality of the writing on the page and in the notebook, and the expression and meaningful coherence of the writing. The sample of the study, which was conducted with a descriptive survey using quantitative methods, consisted of a total of 807 primary school students studying in districts of different socioeconomic levels in Istanbul and the students’ writing notebooks. The “Writing Achievement Assessment Form,” which was prepared by the researchers and revised following the opinion of a classroom education specialist, was used as a data collection tool in the study. As a result of the study, it was determined that the writing skills of primary school students were at different levels in terms of mechanics. In addition, it was observed that the deficiencies in students’ mechanical writing skills were included in different criteria items. Based on the results obtained, the researchers have made suggestions to contribute to the field.

School Curriculum of Technology in Primary Schools in Slovakia – A Case Study

Since 2008, schools in Slovakia have been able to adapt the curriculum of each subject according to the requirements of the school, pupils or parents. Only the content and performance standards of the subject are binding for them. In this article, we publish an analysis of three school curricula and thematic educational plans. Through content analysis of the documents, we investigated how primary schools implement the content of the subject of technology. We analysed the differences in the thematic units, common features and the number of lessons each topic implements. We found differences in the thematic units that primary school teachers include in teaching technology, although they are insignificant. We identified the most considerable differences in the seventh year of primary school. Also, the thematic units taught in the subject area of Household economics are very heterogeneous in schools.

Literacy instruction and lexicon size determine bilingual reading development of Russian-German children

Research question: How does Russian and German reading comprehension develop during the first 3 years of primary school in Russian heritage speakers and which factors predict performance in each language? Methodology: 40 Russian-German children were tested annually from first to third grade (age in grade 1 M = 7; 1 years). Reading was assessed with comparable Russian and German word and sentence reading comprehension tests. The Russian test was available in Cyrillic and Latin script (the latter for children who could not read Cyrillic letters). Potential predictors included lexicon size in Russian and German and rapid automatized naming (RAN) of numbers (both assessed in primary school). Other factors were assessed in kindergarten, that is, nonverbal reasoning and, derived from a parents’ questionnaire, their socioeconomic status and language input in the family. Data and analysis: Linear regressions were used to compare the development of Russian and German. Stepwise regression analyses identified predictors for reading comprehension in each language. Findings: German reading ability improved faster than that of Russian, likely due to the increasing amount of German input outside the family, literacy instruction in German at school, and the large variance in Russian literacy abilities. Children who could read Cyrillic script, who likely received some form of Russian literacy instruction, and who had a larger Russian lexicon size exhibited better reading performance. These results are discussed regarding the divergent attainment trajectories. Decisive factors for German were German lexicon size and RAN. Originality: This longitudinal study tracked Russian and German reading development over 3 years in primary school, assessed Russian reading in Cyrillic and Latin scripts, and identified predictors for bilingual reading development in both languages. Implications: To become proficient readers in their heritage language, children need to have a substantial lexicon size and receive literacy instruction.

The causal role of numerical and non-numerical order processing abilities in the early development of mathematics skills: Evidence from an intervention study

Understanding the basis of mathematical development is essential for supporting mathematics learning and to develop efficient interventions for remediating early problems. In the past decade, evidence has accumulated in support of the importance of ordering skills (i.e., tasks that tap into children's ability to recall the order of items or to judge the correctness of the order of items) in predicting early mathematics performance. Nevertheless, so far these studies have only provided correlational evidence, and intervention studies are lacking. The aim of the current study was to fill this gap by investigating the potential causal role of three types of ordering abilities (number ordering, daily event ordering and order working memory) in the development of mathematics skills during the first year of primary school. Children participated in six brief training sessions over a three-week period, and their mathematics skills and mathematics anxiety were measured before and after the training. In addition to the three training conditions, an active control group was also involved, with children completing reading comprehension exercises. Our findings showed that children's performance improved substantially on all ordering tasks as a result of training. Additionally, training in daily event ordering and number ordering has led to large increases in children's formal mathematics skills. Mathematics anxiety was not affected by the interventions. The current results provide initial evidence for the usefulness of order processing training in developing children's early mathematics skills. They also show that these results are not specific to the domain of numerical ordering.

Developmental links between well-being, self-concept and prosocial behaviour in early primary school.

Well-being is a key aspect of children's education, yet measurement issues have limited studies in early primary school. The current 12-month longitudinal study assesses the temporal stability of child- and parent-reported school well-being and examines developmental links with academic self-concept and parent-rated prosocial behaviour. We tracked a sample of 206 children across the transition from the first (T1) to the second (T2) year of primary school (T1 child Mage = 5.3, SD = .46, 54.3% girls) and gathered ratings of well-being, prosocial behaviour and academic self-concept at both timepoints. We used cross-lagged analyses to investigate developmental links between these three constructs. Parent and child reports of children's well-being showed similar temporal stability and converged over time, such that informants' reports showed a modest but significant correlation at T2. Girls reported greater well-being than boys at both timepoints and received higher parental ratings of well-being than boys at T2. For both girls and boys, associations between the constructs were asymmetric: early well-being predicted later self-concept and prosocial behaviour, but the reciprocal associations were not significant. These findings support the validity of young children's self-reported well-being, highlight the early onset of gender differences in school well-being and demonstrate that early well-being heralds later prosocial behaviour and positive academic self-concepts.

Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei: A journey of pursuing aspirations for bilingual tamariki

My husband and I are parents of four beautiful bilingual tamariki. When our children started primary school, we chose the local school, which is very good but, at the time, the provision of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori was lacking. I am also a kaiako and academic within the realms of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori, particularly in the contexts of whānau and education. Informed by my dual role as parent and educator, this reflection shares some of our experiences throughout our children’s primary school years. I also highlight the challenges we faced in the pursuit of our aspirations. Utilising the Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners framework, I discuss the progress and shifts in attitudes regarding bicultural and bilingual teaching and learning (Education Council Aotearoa New Zealand &amp; Ministry of Education, 2011). I conclude by sharing my vision for my future mokopuna.

Pengembangan Bahan Ajar Modul PPKn Kelas 1 Sekolah Dasar

This research aims to create a product in the form of a civic education module for learning civic education in the first year of primary school on the material for recognizing the symbols and precepts of Pancasila. This study uses the 4D (Define, Design, Develop and Disseminate) research model, which is a type of research and development (R&amp;D). Three specialists were involved in the study: materials experts, design experts and linguists. In this research, the data collection tool was a questionnaire with an evaluation on a Likert scale. Aiken's V formula was used to analyze the data.. From the calculation results, the following research results were obtained: (1) The average value of the validity test in terms of overall material is 0.892857 with valid status. (2) The average value of the validity test in terms of overall design is 0.964286 with valid status. (3) The average value of the validity test in terms of language as a whole is 0.714286 with valid status. Thus, the Civics module in learning Civics grade 1 elementary school material recognizing the symbols and precepts of Pancasila has good validity and is suitable for use.

Primary–secondary school transition experiences and factors associated with differences in these experiences: Analysis of the longitudinal Growing Up in Scotland dataset

AbstractPrevious research suggests that primary–secondary school transitions can be problematic, with some children experiencing a negative impact on academic outcomes and a decline in wellbeing. The negative impact of primary–secondary transition experiences can be long term and lead to young people not completing high school with implications for their subsequent education and employment. However, there are several gaps in existing studies as a result of weak research designs, small samples and the timing of data collection. To better understand children's primary–secondary school transition experiences and the factors which may impact on them, we undertook secondary analysis of data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study. The analysis focused on data collected when children were in the penultimate year of primary school (Primary 6/P6) and then when they were in the first year of secondary school (Secondary 1/S1). This led to a final sample size of 2559 children and their parents. Results contradict many previous studies which tend to find primary–secondary transitions as overwhelmingly negative. In contrast, we found that 36% of children experienced a positive transition and 42% a moderately positive transition, with only 22% children experiencing a negative transition. This is the first large‐scale, longitudinal and contemporaneous study able to provide a clear proportion of children with positive, moderate and negative transition experiences. Several factors seemed to play a part in children's transition experiences, namely gender, religion, household composition, socioeconomic status, child expectations, schoolwork, and relationships. Implications and recommendations for research, policy and practice have been outlined. Context and implications Rationale for this study: Primary–secondary school transitions are considered to have a detrimental impact on educational and wellbeing outcomes. However, previous studies have several limitations and a more robust analysis of a longitudinal dataset with a large sample was required. Why the new findings matter: This study has highlighted that the majority of children had a positive or moderately positive transition experience. It clarified which factors might influence whether children will have positive or negative transitions. Implications for practitioners, policy makers and researchers: Findings suggest the importance of practitioners and policy makers acknowledging the myriad factors occurring alongside and potentially influencing a child's transition experiences. Similarly, it is important to be mindful of strategies to promote children's positive relationships in both primary and secondary school, especially with their teachers. Further, children's participation in sports, clubs and youth groups should be encouraged. Children's anxieties and misconceptions about transitions should be addressed in a timely manner, including enhanced transition for those with higher levels of concern or anxiety. Fostering and maintaining good school–parent relationships, through timely and relevant communication can facilitate positive transitions.The findings suggest the importance of undertaking research to understand how children from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds can be better supported. Similarly, research should be undertaken to understand why some children have negative expectations and are less positive about secondary school. Further, future research should focus on analysing GUS data, including that from S3 and S6, and linking it with administrative data related to attainment and wellbeing.

Healthy Eating at School: Pedagogical Proposal for the Sixth Year of Primary School

This manuscript describes a pedagogical proposal for the adherence to healthy eating in sixth-grade schoolchildren. The reason for the design lies in the high prevalence of overweight and obesity together with a growing current sedentary lifestyle, aspects that constitute a serious public health problem worldwide with an upward trend and pandemic character. Therefore, we carried out six sessions in which schoolchildren participated in different activities for the knowledge of a varied and balanced Mediterranean diet, as well as for its reflection and practice outside the educational center that allows a greater didactic transposition between the school and the educational center. We are born with a body and it has to last us in good condition for the rest of our lives. For this reason, physical activity practiced regularly and in the appropriate way, together with dietary control, is the best tool available today for the promotion of health and quality of life of school-children. In this sense, acquiring such habits from a young age is not of little importance: It is of absolute importance (Aristotle 384–322 BC).