Emergent literacy profiles among prekindergarten children from low-SES backgrounds: Longitudinal considerations

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.03.007

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Volume 28, Issue 3, 3rd Quarter 2013, Pages 608-620

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.03.007 Get rights and content

Highlights

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We identified fall and spring preschool emergent literacy profiles.
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We examined changes in profile patterns and stability of membership.
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Over half of children remained in similar profiles over time.
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Children who made desirable shifts had higher initial language skills.

Abstract

This study represents a longitudinal follow-up to a prior investigation that identified five profiles of emergent literacy skills among children in the fall of their prekindergarten year. Here, we examined: (a) how profile patterns changed from fall to spring, (b) the extent to which children remained stable in their profile membership, and (c) possible factors that may explain children’s movement in profile membership from fall to spring. Participants were 484 children enrolled in needs-based programs. Eight measures of emergent literacy, across oral language and code-related domains, were administered in both the fall and the spring of the prekindergarten year. Latent profile analysis was used to classify children into fall and spring profiles (N = 484, 369, respectively). Although there were fewer profiles identified in the spring, children’s membership within the profiles was characterized by a degree of stability, especially in the extremes of performance. Among children who shifted membership from fall to spring (35%), movement to a more desirable profile was primarily associated with children’s emergent literacy skills, particularly oral language, at the beginning of the prekindergarten year.

Section snippets

Theoretical model of emergent literacy

Emergent literacy skill is a general term that describes specific competencies of young children that are precursors to future reading achievements in either word recognition or comprehension (National Early Literacy Panel [NELP], 2008). These foundational skills can be divided into two domains, or strands, namely, oral language skills and code-related skills (Storch and Whitehurst, 2002, Whitehurst and Lonigan, 1998, Whitehurst and Lonigan, 2001). Oral language skills include grammar and

The stability of children’s literacy skills

As used in the field of developmental science, stability generally refers to the progress children make in relation to their peers from one year to the next (i.e., relative rank; Wagner et al., 1997). The question of whether pre-k children’s emergent literacy skills exhibit stability over time is an important one, as research on reading achievement in the primary grades, when formal reading instruction begins, has clearly documented that children’s literacy skills and ranking against peers are

Aims of this study

This study builds upon a recent work describing profiles of emergent literacy skills across an array of oral language (i.e., receptive/expressive grammar and receptive/expressive vocabulary) and code-related skills (i.e., print concepts, alphabet knowledge, name writing, rhyme awareness) among 492 low-SES pre-k children in the fall of the academic year (Cabell et al., 2011a). Through cluster analysis techniques, five psychometrically sound profiles were empirically derived and ordered for

Participants

Participants were 484 children from 93 classrooms enrolled in two larger intervention studies of teaching practices within preschool classrooms (N = 665 children from 106 classrooms) in a single mid-Atlantic state. Of the children for whom parental consent was received, approximately six to eight were randomly selected from each classroom. Participants were enrolled in preschool programs serving children considered at-risk for later academic difficulty, with a majority of children from low-SES

Results

Overall, children exhibited a wide range of ability across all emergent literacy skills. Table 2 displays raw-score means and standard deviations across skills during both the fall and spring time-points. Children’s standard language scores at both fall and spring time-points fell below the mean of the more general population (i.e., CELF composite language scores were 29th, 36th percentiles, respectively). With regard to code-related skills, children recognized about 8 letters in the fall and

Discussion

The year prior to kindergarten entry is a period during which policymakers and researchers alike have focused attention as an optimal time for interventions aimed at reducing children’s risk for later academic difficulties. There is a particular emphasis on enhancing the emergent literacy skills of children from low-SES backgrounds who often enter kindergarten behind their more advantaged peers, and a closer look at children’s performance over time is needed to understand the meaningful

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Moreover, the authors found that the children who advanced to higher-performing profiles came from higher SES backgrounds. Regarding socioeconomic factors, there is also evidence on the impact of low SES background on emergent literacy skills that generate a pattern of poor performance, particularly when children (English-speaking preschoolers) come from families with low incomes (Cabell et al., 2013). Cabell et al. (2013) found relatively stable patterns of low oral language skills (receptive and expressive vocabulary, and receptive and expressive grammar), that were −1 to −1.5 SD of the mean, and broad code-related (word and PhA awareness) weaknesses between −0.5 and −1 SD of the mean in a sample associated to a need-based program.
The aim of the present study was to compare emergent literacy profiles among Spanish-speaking preschoolers with and without developmental language disorders (DLD), based on phonological and lexical skills, working memory (WM), and analogical reasoning (AR, including verbal and nonverbal). The study sample was composed of 123 children aged 47- 62 months (age group 1 or G1:M = 55.09, SD = 4.52; 61 boys, 62 girls) and 115 children aged 63–78 months (age group 2 or G2:M = 69.27, SD = 4.16; 54 boys, 61 girls). We compared the performance by age group in all measures, after which hierarchical cluster analyses using emergent literacy scores were performed for each age group. The linguistic and cognitive factors of the resulting clusters were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test and pairwise comparison. Cluster analysis yielded 3 clusters in each age group that significantly differed on linguistic and cognitive measures. The groups were identified as high, mid, and low performance. DLD groups were associated with low performance in listening comprehension, lexical decision, and syllabification in G1 and lexical repetition and final sound in G2. The high-performance groups were associated with higher performance in syllabification, initial sound, and lexical repetition in G1 and listening comprehension in G2. The main differences between age groups were observed in syllabification and lexical decision. Furthermore, the results suggest that verbal AR and WM are positive markers of linguistic profiles in the youngest group, while only verbal AR appears relevant in the oldest group. These findings highlight the heterogeneity of emergent literacy profiles and may enhance the understanding of language and literacy development in typical and DLD Spanish-speaking children.
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Children enter school with different patterns of strength and weakness. The progressive universal preschool attendance advancement in China has raised a burning and important question: Are these young children ready for preschool? By taking an interpersonal perspective, this study examined Chinese young children's preschool readiness profile and explored its association with family socioeconomic status, home learning environment, parenting, and child care. The class teachers rated preschool readiness on 765 young children (M age = 43.4, SD = 3.63, Boy = 51.8%) one month after they entered preschool, using the Chinese Preschool Readiness Scale (CPRS). Latent profile analysis (LPA) examined preschool readiness profiles across domains of self-care abilities and emotional maturity, cognitive and communications skills, social competence, learning dispositions, and classroom rules. LPA revealed three distinct profiles that described differentiated patterns of strength and weakness: (1) Low Selfcare Ability and Emotional Maturity (17%), (2) Balanced Average (34%), and (3) Overall High (48%). The home learning environment predicted children's likelihood of being in the Low Selfcare Ability and Emotional Maturity group compared to the Balanced Average group, and the children from higher SES families were more likely to be in the Low Selfcare Ability and Emotional Maturity group than in the Overall High group. The findings indicated the need for providing differentiated support to children with distinct patterns of strength and weakness.
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^⋆: We thank the many teachers, children, and research staff who made this study possible, with special mention to Amy Sofka, Alice Wiggins, Elizabeth Cottone, Khara Pence Turnbull, and Sarah Friel. This research project was supported by Grants R305G050057 and R305F050124 from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Institute of Education Sciences, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education.

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Emergent literacy profiles among prekindergarten children from low-SES backgrounds: Longitudinal considerations⋆

Highlights

Abstract

Section snippets

Theoretical model of emergent literacy

The stability of children’s literacy skills

Aims of this study

Participants

Results

Discussion

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

A latent class analysis of illicit drug abuse/dependence: Results from the national epidemiological survey of alcohol and related conditions

Addiction

The impact of teacher responsivity education on preschoolers’ language and literacy skills

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology

Emergent literacy profiles of preschool-age children with Specific Language Impairment

International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology

The rhetoric and reality of gap closing: When the have-nots gain but the haves gain even more

American Psychologist

Reading achievement gaps, correlates, and moderators of early reading achievement: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) kindergarten to first grade sample

Journal of Educational Psychology

Recent research on the language and literacy skills of African American students in the early years

Age and schooling effects on emergent literacy and early reading skills

Journal of Educational Psychology

Experimental validation of a preschool emergent literacy curriculum

Early Education and Development

Teachers’ language practices and academic outcomes of preschool children

Science

Speaking out for language: Why language is central to reading development

Educational Researcher

The comprehensive language approach to early literacy: The interrelationships among vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, and print knowledge among preschool-aged children

Journal of Educational Psychology

The creative curriculum for preschool

Reducing poverty through preschool interventions

The Future of Children

Peabody picture vocabulary test—Third edition (PPVT-III)

Phonemic awareness instruction helps children learn to read: Evidence from the National Reading Panel’s meta-analysis

Reading Research Quarterly

Developmental lag versus deficit model of reading disability: A longitudinal, individual growth curve analysis

Journal of Educational Psychology

Introduction to response to intervention: What, why, and how valid is it?

Reading Research Quarterly

Teacher education, book-reading practices, and children’s language growth across one year of Head Start

Early Education and Development

Training day care staff to facilitate children’s language

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology

Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children

The use of longitudinal data and person-centered analyses in the study of cognitive and language development

Merrill-Palmer Quarterly

Educating young children

The structure of genetic influences on general cognitive, language, phonological, and reading abilities

Developmental Psychology

Phonological awareness literacy screening for preschool: Teacher’s manual

Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades

Journal of Educational Psychology

Measuring preschool attainment of print-concept knowledge: A study of typical and at-risk 3- to 5-year-old children using item response theory

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools

Emergent literacy intervention for vulnerable preschoolers: Relative effects of two approaches

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology

Accelerating preschoolers’ early literacy development through classroom-based teacher-child storybook reading and explicit print referencing

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools

Language and literacy curriculum supplement for preschoolers who are academically at-risk: A feasibility study

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools

Learning new words from storybooks: Findings from an intervention with at-risk kindergartners

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools