Journal article

Publication year: 2012

Pages: 53-67

Journal: German Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology

Volume number: 44

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 0049-8637

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000057

Publisher: Hogrefe

Abstract: 
This study investigated specific effects of various precursors of school achievement assessed during the last year of kindergarten on subsequent literacy acquisition. In particular, the assumption was tested that the importance of kindergarten predictor variables for explaining individual differences in reading and spelling may differ as a function of the stage of literacy development. Data from two longitudinal studies were re-analysed to test this assumption. Data collection in both studies started in the late period of kindergarten and lasted until the end of the fourth grade, including 165 and 175 children in Studies 1 and 2, respectively. Results for both studies indicated that different predictor variables proved significant for explaining differences in reading speed, reading comprehension, and spelling. In accord with the basic hypothesis, linguistic competencies assessed in kindergarten did not predict early literacy development but contributed significantly to the prediction of reading comprehension and (at least partially) spelling at later stages of the schooling process.

Harvard Citation style: Ennemoser, M., Marx, P., Weber, J. and Schneider, W. (2012) Specific precursors of decoding speed, reading comprehension, and spelling: Evidence from two longitudinal studies from kindergarten to grade 4, German Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology, 44(2), pp. 53-67. https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000057

APA Citation style: Ennemoser, M., Marx, P., Weber, J., & Schneider, W. (2012). Specific precursors of decoding speed, reading comprehension, and spelling: Evidence from two longitudinal studies from kindergarten to grade 4. German Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. 44(2), 53-67. https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000057