Emergent literacy is an umbrella term that encompasses developmental precursor skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to reading and writing. Previous studies have focused on the cognitive aspects of reading, such as word recognition, phonological awareness, and comprehension. However, reading is also an activity that requires effort and…

Conceptual models of early writing suggest multiple component skills support children's early writing development. Although research interest in early writing skills has grown in recent years, the majority of studies focus narrowly on procedural knowledge or transcription skills (i.e., handwriting and spelling) to the relative exclusion of how…

This study aimed to examine the influence of the complexity of the story-book on caregiver extra-textual talk (i.e., interactions beyond text reading) during shared reading with preschool-age children. Fifty-three mother-child dyads (3;00-4;11) were video-recorded sharing two ostensibly similar picture-books: a simple story (containing no false…

This study explored the role of parental involvements in children's acquisition of Kiswahili pre-reading skills in Tanzania. Specifically, it compared rural public high performing schools and low performing schools. Stratified random sampling and purposive sampling were used to obtain 350 participants. Data were collected through…

This study investigates how children can develop information literacy (IL) skills even before they learn how to read and write. In the project we used a combination of participatory observation and action research-inspired trialling of digital tools. Kindergarteners were given iPads and access to the app Book Creator to create their own digital…

Listening narrative comprehension is a complex process that requires the processing of explicit (i.e., information presented in the text) and implicit information (i.e., information inferable from the text) and involves several linguistic and cognitive skills. However, the specific role of these skills in children's comprehension remains unclear.…

The authors examined whether exposing young students to spellings as they learn proper names would facilitate memory for the spoken names when tested without the spellings present (i.e., orthographic facilitation), whether emergent readers with letter knowledge would show this effect, and whether phonemic segmentation (PS) training would enhance…

This study contrasted the early literacy outcomes of children who are hard of hearing (CHH) with children with normal hearing (CNH). At age 5, prereading skills of oral language, phonological processing, and print knowledge were examined in CHH (N = 180) and CNH (N = 80). The CHH had poorer oral language and phonological processing abilities than…

Mastering emergent reading requires applicable concepts and processes, which implies proficiency regarding the neurological executive function. Relevant neurological processes include attention, planning, initiation of activity, inhibition, working memory, shifting of attention, and mental flexibility. A training programme, incorporating concept…

Many South African children struggle in acquiring literacy and reading skills. It seems as if caregivers may be missing an important aspect in guiding children's emergent reading development. The question is whether there are underlying concepts needed for emergent literacy and the acquisition of reading skills. The nature of the reading process…

Research suggests that early identification of developmental dyslexia is important for mitigating the negative effects of dyslexia, including reduced educational attainment and increased socioemotional difficulties. The strongest pre-literacy predictors of dyslexia are rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge,…

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the classification accuracy of early static prereading measures and early dynamic assessment reading measures administered to 600 kindergarten students. At the beginning of kindergarten, all of the participants were administered two commonly used static prereading measures. The participants were…

In this study, the authors explored the effect of prereading skills at the start of kindergarten and change in skills during kindergarten on response to Tier I (universal) Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support in Grade 5. A longitudinal data set of 473 students, including "Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills" measures at the…

This first Japanese twin study of early literacy development investigated the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence individual differences in prereading skills in 238 pairs of twins at 42 months of age. Twin pairs were individually tested on measures of phonological awareness, "kana" letter name/sound knowledge,…

Reading and writing are necessary prerequisites for a successful school career. Therefore it is important to identify precursor variables which predict these abilities early in order to identify children possibly at risk of developing reading or spelling difficulties. Relevant precursors include letter knowledge, phonological awareness (PA),…