Development of Component Skills in Reading Chinese

Development of three component skills in reading Chinese was examined in primary school children in Hong Kong. Feature analysis skills, syntax knowledge, and semantic analysis skills were found to differ in their contribution to reading proficiency at different grades. Visual processing skill was not at all a good predictor for reading proficiency, but the phonological access skill was important in predicting children's reading proficiency before grade three. It was an ineffective predictor beyond grade three. Skill in semantic analysis, on the other hand, was insignificant as a predictor at younger grades but it became an important predictor after grade two. Syntax knowledge was an important predictor of reading proficiency in the first grade and remained a significant predictor of reading proficiency right up to grade six. The present data support the idea that some preliminary component processes of reading may become automatic with increasing experience in reading and that this automatization of component processes will leave more resource capacity for higher-order analyses. Chinese reading shares much in common with English reading in terms of the component processes involved at different stages of reading proficiency.     

汉语儿童英汉语语音意识和英语单词认读能力的关系

本研究考察了小学儿童语音意识和英语单词认读的关系。一系列相关和回归分析发现,英、汉语语音意识与英语单词认读有密切关系,但这种关系随年级变化而变化,英语语音意识对汉语儿童英语单词认读并不具有稳定的预测力;而且并不总是最有预测力的因素。结果说明,与英语本族语儿童相比,语音意识在汉语儿童的英语单词认读学习中起了不同的作用。     

Predictors of Reading Comprehension in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Typically Developing Children

Predictors of reading comprehension were evaluated in 41 children with cerebral palsy and 74 typically developing children between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the relative contributions of measures of phonemic awareness, receptive vocabulary, and general reasoning to variance in reading comprehension. All three independent variables were statistically significant predictors of reading comprehension in both groups of participants. The impact of phonemic awareness on reading comprehension was moderated by age, but only in the typically developing group. Within the group with cerebral palsy, there was an indirect effect of functional expressive ability on reading comprehension, mediated by phonemic awareness. It is concluded that largely the same variables predict reading comprehension in children with cerebral palsy as in typically developing children, but that children with cerebral palsy continue to rely on phonological processing for a more protracted period of time.     

小学低年级儿童阅读流畅性的发展轨迹及其对阅读理解的预测作用

对149名小学一年级儿童的阅读流畅性进行历时三年五次的追踪测试,采用潜变量增长模型探索了儿童阅读流畅性的发展轨迹,并在控制相关变量后,考察了阅读流畅性的起始水平和发展速度对阅读理解的预测作用。结果发现：（1）小学低年级儿童字词阅读流畅性呈非线性发展,其中一年级快速发展,二、三年级时进一步发展,但发展速度变缓,起始水平低的儿童其后发展速度快,表现出补偿模式;句子阅读流畅性呈线性发展,儿童个体之间的差异随时间逐渐增大,表现出马太效应;（2）控制一般认知能力、家庭社会经济地位及相关语言认知技能后,字词阅读流畅性的起始水平和发展速度均可预测儿童三年级时阅读理解水平,而句子阅读流畅性的起始水平不能预测,但发展速度有显著预测作用。结果说明字词阅读流畅性和句子阅读流畅性有不同的发展轨迹和发展模式,在小学低年级阶段,相比句子阅读流畅性,儿童字词阅读流畅性的起始水平对阅读理解有预测作用,且两者的发展速度均对阅读理解有预测作用。     

Reading and Phonological Awareness Skills in Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

This study examined whether children exposed to domestic violence perform worse on tests of reading and phonological awareness than children from nonviolent homes. Forty children, ages 6 to 9 years, were divided into control or domestic violence groups based on their mothers' responses on the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2). The groups were matched on age, gender, nonverbal IQ, and socioeconomic status. The domestic violence group performed worse than the control group on all measures of reading and phonological awareness. Significantly more children in the domestic violence group were identified as having reading difficulties compared to the control group. The results suggest that domestic violence may negatively impact children's reading skills, and appropriate intervention techniques should be developed.     

Family Background and Individual Measures as Predictors of Turkish Primary School Children's Academic Achievement

The primary purpose of this study was to predict academic grade point averages (GPAs) of Turki primary school children, using family background and individual measures (sociometric standing, self-reported loneliness, and social efficacy) as predictors. We hypothesized that these two measures would explain the wide variation in GPA for samples differing with respect to sex and paternal education. Regression analyses with male and female subsamples revealed that the background measures explained twice as much variance in GPA, popularity, and loneliness for girls as for boys. Another finding was that the background measures explained a greater proportion of the variance in GPA for children with less-versus more-educated fathers, whereas individual measures explained a greater proportion of the variance for children with more as opposed to less educated fathers.     

Cognitive Predictors of English Reading Achievement in Chinese English-Immersion Students

This study investigated the effects of English and Chinese phonological awareness (PA) and naming speed (NS) on English reading achievement and the evidence for cross-linguistic transfer in Chinese English-immersion students. English PA was a significant predictor of English reading achievement for immersion students in Grades 2 and 4. There was little evidence of cross-linguistic transfer from Chinese PA and NS to English reading achievement. English immersion students performed equal to non-immersion students on NS and mathematics in both grades, and in Chinese PA in Grade 4. Results are discussed in terms of theories of reading development in second language.     

识字量和词汇知识在儿童阅读发展中的相对重要性

本研究基于简单阅读观理论,以两个样本共计666名大班至四年级的汉语儿童为研究对象,探索了识字量和词汇知识在儿童阅读能力发展中的作用及相对重要性的变化。结果显示,在阅读学习早期,识字量对阅读理解的重要性高于词汇知识。随着年级的升高,识字量的重要性降低,而词汇知识的重要性增加。这一发现证实简单阅读观理论也适用于解释汉语阅读能力的发展,并对今后的语文教学具有重要的启示意义。     

Kinematic Measures of Imitation Fidelity in Primary School Children

We sought to develop a method for measuring imitation accuracy objectively in primary school children. Children imitated a model drawing shapes on the same computer-tablet interface they saw used in video clips, allowing kinematics of model and observers' actions to be directly compared. Imitation accuracy was reported as a correlation reflecting the statistical dependency between values of the model's and participant's sets of actions, or as a mean absolute difference between them. Children showed consistent improvement in imitation accuracy across middle childhood. They appeared to rationalize the demands of the task by remembering duration and size of action, which enabled them to reenact speed through motor-planning mechanisms. Kinematic measures may provide a window into the cognitive mechanisms involved in imitation.     

Therapist Interventions and Skills as Predictors of Dropout in Outpatient Psychotherapy

The current study employed machine learning to investigate whether the inclusion of observer-rated therapist interventions and skills in early sessions of psychotherapy improved dropout prediction beyond intake assessments. Patients were treated by postgraduate clinicians at a university outpatient clinic. Psychometric instruments were assessed at intake and therapeutic interventions and skills in the third session were routinely rated by independent observers. After variable preselection, an elastic net algorithm was used to build two dropout prediction models, one including and one excluding observer-rated session variables. The best model included observer-rated variables and was significantly superior to the model including intake variables only. Alongside intake variables, two observer-rated variables significantly predicted dropout: therapist use of feedback and summaries and treatment difficulty. Although not retained in the final prediction model, the observer-rated use of cognitive techniques was also significantly correlated with dropout. Observer ratings of therapist interventions and skills in early sessions of psychotherapy improve predictors of dropout from psychotherapy beyond intake variables alone. Future research could work toward personalizing dropout predictions to the specific dyad, thereby improving their validity and aiding therapists to recognize and react to increased dropout risk.     

小学生和成人不同注意条件下的感数与计数加工的比较研究

采用经典的空间线索范式,以成年人和小学二、四、六年级的学生为研究对象,考察了内、外源注意对感数和计数加工过程的影响。结果表明：（1）六年级学生和成人的感数范围为1-3或4,计数范围为4或5以上,二、四年级学生的感数范围在1-3,计数范围在4以上,支持感数和计数分离的观点。（2）对感数加工,成人和六年级学生均不受两种注意条件的影响,而对计数加工,外源性注意条件下的反应比内源性注意快;二年级学生1-6的数量加工受两种注意条件的影响,四年级学生1-5的加工不受两种注意条件的影响。（3）成人和小学生在感数和计数加工上都存在线索效应。以上结果说明：二-四年级是发展的关键期,随着年龄的增加,儿童逐渐有意识地有效利用内源和外源性线索进行数量加工,其注意指向性更明确;从发展的角度为选择注意加工理论提供了发展证据。     

Oral Reading Skills of Children with Oral Language (Word-Finding) Difficulties

We examined how children with and without oral language (word-finding) difficulties (WFD) perform on oral reading (OR) versus silent reading recognition (SRR) tasks when reading the same words and how lexical factors influenced OR accuracy, error patterns, and nature of miscues. Primary-grade students were administered an experimental reading measure. Words were controlled for lexical factors known to influence oral language, such as frequency, lexical neighborhood, familiarity, and phonotactic probability. For learners with WFD, SRR was superior to OR; lexical factors predicted OR success; WF error-patterns emerged in OR; and miscues were higher in frequency, more familiar, and from denser neighborhoods than targets.     

Personality and Communication Skills as Predictors of Hospice Nurse Performance

Based on a detailed job analysis, job-related personality dimensions and communication skills were used as predictors of hospice nurse performance. In particular, it was predicted that communication/social competence and certain dimensions of empathy (empathic concern, perspective-taking) would be positively related to hospice nurse performance, and that another type of empathy, personal distress, and trait dogmatism would be negatively associated with performance. Ninety-two hospice nurses were administered the battery of tests, and file drawer assessments of their performance were obtained. Possession of communication/social competence and certain dimensions of empathy led to good prediction of job performance. Implications for personnel screening and selection are discussed.     

Children's Classification Skills as Predictors of Their Referential Communicative Encodings

Younger and older children's classification skills were assessed, and their classificatory performance was used as a predictor variable in a multiple-linear-regression analysis to determine whether their classificatory skills accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in their performance on referential communication tasks. We tested 10 boys and 10 girls at each of six age levels between 5 and 10 years individually on a vocabulary test, four classification tasks, and six referential communication tasks. Order of task presentations was counterbalanced; reliabilities for all tasks were high. A series of related multiple-regression analyses showed that grade and vocabulary accounted for a significant proportion of the variance on the referential communication tasks; the series also showed a large decrease in the F value for grade and vocabulary when the contribution of the classification variables was partialled out. No evidence for an independent contribution of the classification variables was found.     

小学儿童在空间概念中的内隐学习

本研究以一、三、五年级小学儿童为被试,探查小学儿童在不同学习模式下空间概念的发展情况。研究结果如下:(1)不同学习模式下,儿童的认知发展呈现不同的趋势;(2)随认知任务难度的增加,不同学习模式的成绩出现差异;(3)不同学习模式下,不同难度任务的成绩存在差异。     

Teaching Creative Writing Skills to Primary School Children in Hong Kong: Discordance Between the Views and Practices of Language Teachers

Although creativity has been valued in ancient and contemporary Chinese literature, the degree to which creativity is valued and incorporated into teaching by Chinese language teachers is not known. This information is important given that creativity has been increasingly recognized in the education literature as a component of effective writing. The purpose of this study was to compare the views of Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong about creativity and the acquisition of creative writing skills by primary school children, and their teaching practices. A total of 449 Chinese language teachers, employed at primary schools throughout Hong Kong completed a survey questionnaire. The 14‐item questionnaire focused on teachers' views of creativity, their perceptions of how to develop students' creativity, their awareness of creative writing strategies, and teaching practices related to creative writing. With respect to the definition of creativity, teachers identified imagination foremost, followed by inspiration, and original ideas. Teachers identified developing students' confidence, and providing an open atmosphere as essential means of fostering creativity. Despite the apparent value of creativity expressed by the teachers and their familiarity with methods for enhancing creativity, the majority reported using traditional methods of teaching writing. Strategies are recommended for reconciling this discrepancy, and promoting creative writing skills by primary school teachers in Hong Kong and other Chinese speaking societies.     

An Examination of Lexical and Sublexical Reading Skills in Children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an inherited neurocutaneous disorder associated with a high frequency of cognitive and learning difficulties. Based on discrepancies between IQ and academic achievement, approximately 17% of children with NF1 have been classified as having reading impairments. In this study, the lexical and sublexical reading skills of children with NF1 (n = 30) were examined using the Castles' Word/Non-Word Test (modified version), together with measures of neuropsychological functioning and academic achievement. Twenty children (67%) demonstrated deficits in one or more reading subskills, with 75% of these meeting criteria for phonological dyslexia and 20% classified with mixed dyslexia. These findings indicate that a large proportion of children with NF1 may be characterized by a specific difficulty with the sublexical procedure, suggesting a difficulty employing spelling-to-sound rules to assemble a pronunciation when reading. In line with previous studies, the present findings also suggest that discrepancy-based methods may not be sufficiently sensitive to identify children who experience reading difficulties.     

小学儿童情绪理解的发展特点

本研究以170名二、四、六年级小学儿童为对象,运用情境故事法,从情绪状态理解、情绪原因理解和情绪调控理解三个维度探讨其情绪理解的发展特点.结果发现:小学儿童情绪理解的发展是一个平缓而渐进的过程;小学儿章能够对情绪原因做出情境性解释和心因性解释;小学儿童情绪状态理解和情绪凋控理解性别差异不显著,六年级女生情绪原因理解水平显著高于男生;小学儿童情绪理解成分的发展具有层次性.     

汉语语音型阅读障碍儿童的范畴知觉技能

选取汉语中存在语音意识缺陷的阅读障碍儿童、正常儿童和成人各25名为被试,考察了语音型阅读障碍儿童是否存在言语知觉缺陷.言语知觉任务采用范畴知觉范式,要求被试识别合成或自然的语音范畴连续体.结果发现语音型阅读障碍儿童识别合成和自然的刺激都表现出范畴知觉缺陷,对范畴内刺激的识别缺少一致性;个体分析表明大部分语音型阅读障碍儿童有较低的识别函数斜率;回归分析表明言语知觉技能通过语音意识的中介作用于阅读能力的发展.     

Parents as Social Skills Trainers and Evaluators of Children

This study evaluated the effects of a 4-week group parent training program on parents' conceptual knowledge regarding social skills and perceptions of their children's social competence and psychosocial adjustment. It also examined the concordance prior to parent training between the parent measures and independent sociometric measures of children's acceptance by peers. Participants were 79 normal children enrolled in second grade and 45 parents. A group pretest-posttest design compared experimental and wait-list control parent groups before and after parent training for the experimental group. Parent training produced a significant effect in parents' conceptual knowledge and perceptions of children's social skills over time, and follow-up assessment 6 weeks later suggested maintenance of training effects. Psychosocial adjustment levels were within the normal range before and after treatment. Correlational analyses between parent measures and peer acceptance ratings indicated significant positive relationships between parents' and peers' perceptions on most measures. The findings support the potential value of parents as trainers and evaluators in programs to enhance children's social skills.