The role of family and home in the literacy development of children from low-income backgrounds.
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Child↗
Biomedical subjects
G J Whitehurst
Publications and source records attributed to G J Whitehurst.
Child development and emergent literacy.
Emergent literacy consists of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are developmental precursors to reading and writing. This article offers a preliminary typology of children's emergent literacy skills, a review of the evidence that relates emergent literacy to reading, and a review of the evidence for linkage between children's emergent literacy environments and the development of emergent literacy skills. We propose that emergent literacy consists of at least two distinct domains: inside-out skills (e.g., phonological awareness, letter knowledge) and outside-in skills (e.g., language, conceptual knowledge). These different domains are not the product of the same experiences and appear to be influential at different points in time during reading acquisition. Whereas outside-in skills are associated with those aspects of children's literacy environments typically measured, little is known about the origins of inside-out skills. Evidence from interventions to enhance emergent literacy suggests that relatively intensive and multifaceted interventions are needed to improve reading achievement maximally. A number of successful preschool interventions for outside-in skills exist, and computer-based tasks designed to teach children inside-out skills seem promising. Future research directions include more sophisticated multidimensional examination of emergent literacy skills and environments, better integration with reading research, and longer-term evaluation of preschool interventions. Policy implications for emergent literacy intervention and reading education are discussed.
Achievement↗
Inattention-hyperactivity and reading achievement in children from low-income families: a longitudinal model.
This study examined how preschool inattention-hyperactivity is related to elementary school reading achievement. Prereading skills were hypothesized to be a link between them. This link was explored using longitudinal data on 105 low-socioeconomic-status (SES) children's inattentive-hyperactive behavior and prereading skills in Head Start and in kindergarten and their inattentive-hyperactive behavior and reading skills in first grade. A model of this relationship was tested using structural equation modeling. The results failed to show a significant path between inattention-hyperactivity and prereading skills at both the Head Star and kindergarten levels. A significant path was found between first grade inattention-hyperactivity and reading skills, confirming that the strong relationship between inattention-hyperactivity and poor reading achievement commonly found in children from other SES levels was also significant in this low-SES sample. Strong relationships were found between prereading skills and reading skills, as well as among hyperactivity levels at the three grades. The issue of the direction of the path of influence between attention-behavior and reading achievement is addressed briefly; however, the results indicate that further longitudinal work is necessary to resolve this issue.
Achievement↗
On the origins of misguided theories of naming and other symbolic behavior.
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Journal Article↗
Practitioner review: early developmental language delay: what, if anything, should the clinician do about it?
Early developmental language delay is characterized by slow development of language in preschoolers. The condition is frequent among two- and three-year-olds, causes concern among parents, and generates differences of opinion as to significance among informed professionals. Poorer long-term outcomes are much more likely if language delay persists until the later preschool years, and if the delay is not specific to language and/or includes problems in understanding. Specific language delay in the preschool period is better characterized as a risk factor than a disorder; most children with specific language delay recover to the normal range by five years of age.
Child↗
The continuity of babble and speech in children with specific expressive language delay.
A natural language sample of babble and words was obtained for 37 two-year-olds with severe specific expressive language delay. Variables derived from this sample were used to predict individual differences in expressive language scores 5 months later. The rate of word use was positively related to language outcome, whereas rate of vowel babble was negatively related to outcome. Together, these two variables accounted for 41% of the variance in language outcome test scores. The addition of one nonlinguistic variable, a measure of behavior problems, allowed the prediction equation to account for over 50% of the variance in expressive language outcome. The single strongest correlate of language outcome was the proportion of consonantal to vowel babble. The degree of social responsiveness of babble and the length of babble were not related to later language scores. These findings indicate that for children with specific expressive language delay, vowel babble competes with expressive language, consonantal babble facilitates expressive language, and the length and social responsiveness of babble are independent of expressive language. The continuity between babble and speech is multidimensional and multidirectional.
Child Language↗
Family history in developmental expressive language delay.
Familial aggregation of language deficits has been demonstrated in previous studies. However, researchers have typically failed to differentiate subgroups of language-impaired children. The present study used questionnaire data to assess the family history of speech, language, and school problems in a group of young children with developmental expressive language delay (ELD) and in a sample of normally developing children. In contrast to previous studies of language and speech problems, no strong familial component of ELD was found. Further, family history was not predictive of later language development in ELD children. These findings argue against genetic and familial causes of ELD and attest to the importance of differentiating subtypes of early language problems.
Chi-Square Distribution↗
Behavioral correlates of developmental expressive language disorder.
The association of behavior problems with preschool language disorders has been documented extensively. However, researchers have typically failed to differentiate subgroups of language-impaired children, to use observational data in documenting the behavior disorders, or to study children at the youngest ages. Using a multimodal assessment, this study examined parent-child interaction and behavior problems in a clearly defined subgroup of language-impaired children, those with developmental expressive language disorder (ELD). These children exhibit a delay in expressive language compared with receptive language and nonverbal cognitive skills. Subjects were identified and studied at the youngest age at which the disorder can be assessed. A group of ELD children, averaging 27 months of age, was contrasted with a group of normally developing children, matched for age, sex, and receptive language ability. Groups were compared on observed parent-child interactions as well as maternal responses on the Parenting Stress Index, the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, and a behavior-related structured interview. ELD children, when compared with normally developing children, exhibited higher levels of negative behavior and were perceived as different by their parents.
Child Behavior Disorders↗
Language growth in children with expressive language delay.
Developmental expressive language disorder is a frequently occurring condition in children, characterized by severe delay in the development of expressive language compared with receptive language and cognitive skills. Opinions differ regarding whether expressive language delay is a disorder worthy of active intervention or an indication of normal variation in the onset of expressive language. The purpose of this research was to follow for 5 months 26 2-year-old children in whom expressive language disorder had been carefully diagnosed to discover the rate of improvement and its predictors. Improvement was variable, with approximately one third of the children showing no improvement, one third showing mild improvement, and one third in the normal range at posttest. Nearly two thirds of the variance in improvement could be accounted for by three child variables measured by the pretest: parentally reported vocabulary size, parentally reported problems with having regular meals, and observed frequency of quiet activity not requiring the parent's management. A screening procedure involving only one of those variables, reported vocabulary size, was 81% accurate in identifying children's improvement status. The implications of these results for the management of children with expressive language disorder are discussed.
Child Behavior Disorders↗
The effects of incidental teaching on vocabulary acquisition by young children.
The effects on vocabulary acquisition of child-initiated versus adult-initiated instances of adult labeling were studied. 16 monolingual, English-speaking preschool children were exposed to a Spanish-speaking adult. In order to have access to toys placed out of their reach, children had to request the toys in Spanish. For the experimental group, adult labeling occurred when the children expressed interest in the toy. Control group children were yoked temporally to experimental group children for the purpose of adult labeling. Thus, adult labeling for the control group was randomly related to the children's expressions of interest. Although both groups of children learned some Spanish words, children in the experimental group produced significantly more Spanish words during the training sessions and showed superior performance on posttraining tests of Spanish production. Levels of comprehension of the Spanish words were equivalent for both groups. Results are interpreted in the context of the literature on "incidental teaching" and are viewed as demonstrating the critical role in language acquisition of the timing of exposure to language models.
Attention↗
What is the role of reinforcement in early language acquisition?
Monolingual American and Mexican 2- and 3-year-old children were exposed to a foreign language in a naturalistic but controlled environment. Children were randomly assigned to 2 groups. 1 group was differentially reinforced throughout the study for the use of foreign vocabulary. The control group was first reinforced nondifferentially for use of the native language or the foreign language and later was switched to differential reinforcement for the foreign language. Frequencies of spontaneous foreign word production and other verbal responses were computed, and formal assessments of comprehension and production of the foreign words were conducted. Differential reinforcement resulted in accelerating frequencies of spontaneous foreign language use and better performance on both comprehension and production tests. Under nondifferential reinforcement, rates of spontaneous foreign language use were low and static. Results are interpreted as evidence that the acquisition of expressive vocabulary is a function of socially mediated reinforcement.
Child, Preschool↗
Intraverbal acquisition of semantic concepts by preschoolers.
Intraverbal learning is a process through which semantic knowledge is acquired from purely linguistic information. The concern of this study is to investigate the role of intraverbal learning in the preschool-aged child's acquisition of semantic concepts. Three- and 4-year-old children were either shown pictures illustrating novel concepts or they were told verbal definitions of novel concepts, the definitions containing information about key physical and functional properties. An additional manipulation consisted of including or omitting information about the superordinate category membership of the concept. Concept acquisition was assessed via a battery of comprehension tasks; these tasks assessed both referential and formal knowledge of the concepts. Results indicate a correspondence between the type of information received and the type of knowledge acquired, with intraverbal information resulting in broader knowledge than pictorial information. Purely pictorial information was associated with referential knowledge only, while intraverbal information enhanced both referential and formal knowledge.
Child, Preschool↗
Asymmetrical stimulus control and the mirror-image problem.
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Adult↗
Academic responses and attitudes engendered by a programmed course in child development.
Both a small course section and a large course section were taught with methods that involved breaking material down into weekly units that had to be mastered by students as indicated by weekly tests. Attendance at lectures was voluntary and students were not tested on lecture material. In a system in which a student could receive only an A or an F for a course grade, less than 2% of the students receiving credit failed to master all material and received Fs. Students in the large course performed better on weekly tests and received fewer Fs than their counterparts in the small course, even though they rated their experience less favorably. Within the large course, the methods of tutorial interview, group discussion, and written assignment were compared in terms of their effectiveness in preparing students for weekly tests. Tutorials and written assignments were superior to group discussions in this regard. Students rated the effectiveness and enjoyability of these three methods in the reverse order from their actual effectiveness for test preparation. Some consequences of lack of congruity between attitude measures and performance measures were discussed.
Journal Article↗
A variable influencing the performance of generalized imitative behaviors.
This research attempted to demonstrate some of the conditions that would influence the performance of generalized imitative behaviors in young children. Two experiments were conducted. The results of Exp. I indicated that generalized imitative behaviors can be very durable; only one of three subjects was influenced by a variety of reinforcement-like procedures. Control over the behavior of all three subjects was obtained when a setting event involving the presence or absence of the experimenter was systematically varied. A second test of this variable was carried out in Exp. II. Results showed moderate to strong control over non-reinforced imitations in four preschool children.
Journal Article↗