Early literacy and early numeracy: the value of including early literacy skills in the prediction of numeracy development

The purpose of this study was to examine whether early literacy skills uniquely predict early numeracy skills development. During the first year of the study, 69 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers were assessed on the Preschool Early Numeracy Skills (PENS) test and the Test of Preschool Early Literacy Skills (TOPEL). Participants were assessed again a year later on the PENS test and on the Applied Problems and Calculation subtests of the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Three mixed effect regressions were conducted using Time 2 PENS, Applied Problems, and Calculation as the dependent variables. Print Knowledge and Vocabulary accounted for unique variance in the prediction of Time 2 numeracy scores. Phonological Awareness did not uniquely predict any of the mathematics domains. The findings of this study identify an important link between early literacy and early numeracy development.     

Considerations on the precedence of the scenes,the contact barrier and the separation of conscious and unconscious

In this essay the term ‘scene’ which has been developed in the German psychoanalytic discussion, is confronted with the terms ‘total situation’ and ‘psychoanalytic field’, showing common features as well as differences. Thereafter four child observations are presented, through which light is thrown onto the scenic structures which make the foundations of early experience. In the precedence of scenes those structures are omnipresent whereas subjectivity only gradually builds up. It is shown how the development of subjectivity and the differentiation of consciousness and unconscious go along with overcoming the precedence of scenes, by breaking them up and reorganizing them. Thus scenes can become metaphors, which are used for ‘translating’ experience and for building up the contact barrier.     

Trying on and Trying Out: Participatory Action Research as a Tool for Literacy and Identity Work in Middle Grades Classrooms

This article explores the role of collaborative, ethnographic, participatory action research (PAR) with eighth grade students as a set of possible literacy practices for involving students with issues connected to their lives, resources, language(s), and communities. Findings are based on a year of fieldwork conducted as part of shared inquiry into one public school community’s experiences with gentrification and meeting the complex needs of diverse learners. Findings bring to life the ways in which PAR facilitates the redefining of reading, writing, and research; the reconsideration of languages; the rethinking of literacy practices; and the repositioning of participants within and beyond given research endeavors.     

儿童家庭读写活动、早期读写水平与小学一年级语文课成绩的关系

从读写萌发的观点出发,探讨6至7岁儿童的家庭读写活动、早期读写水平与其在校语文成绩的关系。研究结果显示:在控制儿童的非言语智力和父母的教育水平等变量后,(1)只有儿童的非正式家庭读写活动能够显著预测其口头词汇;(2)只有儿童的正式家庭读写活动能够显著预测其识字量;(3)只有儿童入学时的识字量能够显著预测他们一年级时的语文成绩和平时语文课表现;(4)儿童的口头词汇和家庭读写活动均无法预测其在校的语文课成绩。     

From mimesis to agency: Clinical steps in the work of psychic two‐ness1

In this paper, through the study of the clinical process of a girl starting treatment at the age of 3 years 10 months, who was thought of as a dummy by her family and who came for consultation when the assumed genetic aetiology was questioned, the authors build upon Tustin's contributions on the context of togetherness and the crisis of two‐ness, and upon Eugenio and Renata Gaddini's on the precursor object. The mimetic phenomena enacted with an older brother and at the kindergarten are found to result from cumulative trauma at her contacting a loving but mind–blind mother. After an initial stage of transference autism, enactment in the session of the traumatic situation was the first step in surmounting her autistic pseudo–stupidity. Mimetic transference dynamics took place principally at the level of the gaze, leading to the unfolding of the work of two–ness to a differentiation from the analyst as psychic breast, on the road to symbol formation and personal agency.     

Development of Phonological Awareness

Abstract— Phonological awareness is critical for learning to read in alphabetic languages like English. This report summarizes normal development of phonological awareness as it has been revealed through recent multidisciplinary and cross-cultural research. We argue that a consensus on the definition of phonological awareness has emerged, that research has identified a general sequence of phonological awareness development that is universal across languages, and that certain characteristics of spoken and written languages influence the rate of normal development and levels of phonological awareness that are normally achieved.     

3～6岁儿童绘画故事能力的发展

以绘画故事作为实验任务,对儿童绘画语义表达能力的发展进行探讨。研究对象为3～6岁儿童,按年龄分为3组。研究结果表明:儿童绘画故事能力的发展是一个从零散到整合,从无序到有序的过程。4～5岁是儿童绘画故事发展过程中的重要转折时期。故事的结构水平对儿童绘画故事有影响。     

Cross-country gender DIF in PISA science literacy items

This study investigated gender based differential item functioning (DIF) in science literacy items included in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012. Prior research has suggested presence of such DIF in large scale surveys. Our study extends the empirical literature by examining gender based DIF differences at the country level in order to gain a better overall picture of how cultural and national differences affect occurrence of uniform and nonuniform DIF. Our statistical results indicate existence of widespread gender based DIF in PISA with estimates of percentage of potentially biased items ranging between 2 and 44% (M = 16, SD = 9.9). Our reliance on nationally representative country samples allow these findings to have wide applicability.     

Literacy acquisition in multilingual educational contexts: Evidence from Coastal Kenya

Literacy is a powerful tool against poverty, leading to further education and vocational success. In sub‐Saharan Africa, schoolchildren commonly learn in two languages—African and European. Multiple early literacy skills (including phonological awareness and receptive language) support literacy acquisition, but this has yet to be empirically tested in sub‐Saharan Africa, where learning contexts are highly multilingual, and children are often learning to read in a language they do not speak at home. We use longitudinal data from 1,100 schoolchildren spanning three groups of native languages [Mijikenda languages (Digo, Duruma, Chonyi, and Giriama), Kiswahili, Kikamba] in coastal Kenya (language of instruction: Kiswahili and English). We find that baseline phonological awareness and receptive language are differentially important in predicting literacy skills in English and in Kiswahili, and these relations are moderated by the degree of shared cross‐linguistic features between home and school languages. Importantly, the relative importance of these factors changes over development. Implications for language development and literacy acquisition in linguistically diverse contexts are discussed.