Predicting early spelling: the contribution of children’s early literacy,private speech during spelling,behavioral regulation,and parental spelling support

The present study aimed to extend understanding of preschoolers’ early spelling using the Vygotskian (Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1978) paradigm of child development. We assessed the contribution of maternal spelling support in predicting children’s word spelling level beyond the contribution of three internal child measures: early literacy (phonological awareness and letter naming), private speech while spelling (self-directed talk), and behavioral regulation. Children’s private speech during spelling—their tool to regulate thinking—has not yet been studied in the early literacy context. Fifty Israeli preschoolers (M = 68.66 months) of middle-high SES were videotaped while spelling words with their mothers and while spelling these words independently. Children’s phonological awareness, letter naming, and behavioral regulation were assessed individually. Results showed that children’s internal measures (early literacy, private speech while spelling, and behavioral regulation) predicted children’s early spelling (63 % of the variance), and the external measure of maternal spelling support added uniquely (12 %), together explaining 75 % of the variance in children’s spelling level. Findings suggested that mothers adjust their spelling support to meet young children’s existing literacy skills but also coach children to strive toward higher spelling performance. Furthermore, the study illuminates the role of a new measure in the context of children’s early literacy—private speech during spelling.     

Knowledge about word structure in beginning readers: what specific links are there with word reading and spelling?

The present study had two aims: (1) to examine kindergarten (Kg) and first grade (G1) children’s early word structure knowledge, that is letter, phonological, morphological, and orthographic knowledge, and (2) to provide evidence of specific links between these various types of knowledge and word reading and spelling performance assessed in G1. A short longitudinal study was conducted with French-speaking children. Beyond phonological and morphological knowledge, identified here as in many other studies, the results provided evidence of a level of orthographic knowledge in the Kg children who exhibited an ability to process graphotactic constraints (i.e., legal combinations of letters). Moreover, whatever the type of items (affixed, pseudo-affixed, regular, or irregular words) being processed, either in reading or in spelling, letter naming was seen to be the strongest predictor of reading and spelling performance. The second important predictor related to phonological knowledge and more particularly phoneme extraction as a proximal predictor. Morphological knowledge appeared to be less important, and finally, the smallest contribution was made by orthographic knowledge.     

Correlates of Chinese kindergarteners’ word reading and writing: the unique role of copying skills?

Ninety-four Mainland Chinese children in the second and third years of kindergarten (mean age = 65 months, SD = 6.94) were tested on Pinyin letter-name knowledge, invented Pinyin spelling, general copying skills of unfamiliar print (in Korean, Hebrew and Vietnamese, ultimately combined to create a pure copying factor), delayed copying of characters, nonverbal reasoning, vocabulary knowledge, speeded number-naming, syllable deletion, and morphological awareness in order to examine unique correlates of beginning Chinese word reading and writing, which were also tested. With age, kindergarten level, and nonverbal reasoning statistically controlled, morphological awareness, speeded naming, and Pinyin letter-name knowledge uniquely explained Chinese word reading, whereas both the pure copying factor and delayed copying independently explained 11 and 5 % variance in Chinese word writing, respectively. Findings suggest a somewhat independent trajectory of developing word reading and writing skills in very young Chinese children and highlight the potential importance of both print-dependent and print-independent copying skills for the development of early word writing skill in Chinese.     

Roles of position, stress, and proficiency in L2 children’s spelling: A developmental perspective

This study investigated the roles of phoneme position, stress, and proficiency in L2 spelling development by Taiwanese students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL), an alphabetic writing system typologically different from the learners’ L1 logographic system. Structured nonword spelling tests were administered to EFL sixth-graders with lower and higher English proficiency level. The results showed that overall, final phonemes were spelled more poorly than their initial and medial counterparts; however, phoneme position effect decreased as learners’ English proficiency improved. Secondly, spelling of the stressed syllable was significantly better than that of the unstressed syllable. However, when phonemes were held constant, stress effect was significant only in the first, but not in the second syllable. Thirdly, higher proficient EFL children spelled significantly better than their lower proficient counterparts, and spelling errors were more systematic in the former. The findings of the study are discussed from linguistic, psychological, and developmental perspectives.     

The student,the private and the professional role: Students’ social media use

Research has shown that students perceive a distinct divide between educational and private use of social media. The present study explores this divide by focusing on master students’ perception of roles when using social media in a higher education context. A qualitative method has been used, mainly comprising of analyses of home exams and interviews, which were conducted with students enrolled in the master’s course “Social media technologies”. Results support previous research stating that students perceived a distinct divide between educational and private use of social media, and furthermore provide a more detailed understanding of this divide. The results from the study also indicate that there is yet another type of use: social media as a tool for career-building purposes, or what is labeled as professional use. Implications of social media for use in higher education are described through the analysis of three roles as performed by the individual: the student role in educational settings, the professional role for career-building, and the private role.     

Effectiveness of private tutoring during secondary schooling in Germany: Do the duration of private tutoring and tutor qualification affect school achievement?

Private tutoring is considered an effective measure to improve academic achievement. However, previous studies have come to different conclusions regarding its effectiveness. In this study, we conducted secondary analyses using data of two longitudinal studies (approx. 8000 secondary school students) and investigated the effects of private tutoring duration and different levels of tutors' formal qualifications on subject-specific grades and test scores in 4 school subjects. OLS-regression analyses showed neither a systematic positive effect of a longer duration of tutoring nor of higher qualified tutors when prior knowledge, motivational and sociodemographic variables were controlled for. However, we found significant positive interaction effects between tutors' qualifications and students’ prior knowledge in German tutoring. Overall, we find only weak evidence that private tutoring is effective but show that students may benefit from private tutoring under certain conditions.     

Teachers’ and teacher educators’ lives: the role of emotion

This paper reports research which focuses on ways of enhancing understandings by teachers of the key role that emotions play in their personal professional growth. It combines the narrative, autobiographical accounts of teachers attending part-time masters degree programmes in England (Continuing Professional Development and School Improvement) and Northern Ireland (Personal and Social Development) with an interrogation of the underlying values which affect the practices of their tutors. It reveals the effects of powerful and often unacknowledged interaction between personal biography and professional and social contexts upon teachers in schools and higher education.     

Parents’ perceptions of secondary school students’ motivation and well-being before and during the COVID-19 lockdown: the moderating role of student characteristics

During the COVID-19 lockdown of spring 2020, Dutch children were being homeschooled. We examined how parents’ (n = 470) perceptions of secondary school students’ (M_age = 14.23 years) need satisfaction, academic motivation and well-being differed before the lockdown (assessed retrospectively) and during the lockdown. Furthermore, we examined the differential impact of the lockdown for different groups of children based on parental educational level, academic track, gender and special educational needs (SEN). Results indicated that students’ motivation and well-being as perceived by parents decreased during the lockdown and this could be explained by decreases in need satisfaction. Most student characteristics did not moderate the effects of the lockdown, except for SEN. The lockdown effects were less negative for children with SEN, especially gifted children and children with behavioural disabilities, than for children without SEN. Results are discussed with regard to their practical implications after the lockdown and for future lockdowns.     

Inner speech in the learning context and the prediction of students’ learning strategy and academic performance

Abstract

The present study investigated whether and how learning-specific inner speech predicted students’ learning strategy and academic performance. Frequencies of inner speech use in specific learning settings were assessed. Four dimensions of inner speech including self-criticism, self-reinforcement, self-management, and social assessment were investigated and linked to the learning strategy and academic performance. Data were collected from both secondary school students and university students. The results indicated that both the cognitive regulative function (self-management) and the affective regulatory function (self-criticism or self-reinforcement) of inner speech contributed to students’ learning strategy, while only the cognitive regulative function of inner speech significantly predicted students’ academic performance. Furthermore, the prediction of inner speech to academic performance was partly mediated by the learning strategy.     

A micro-perspective on students’ behavioral engagement in the context of teachers’ instructional support during seatwork: Sources of variability and the role of teacher adaptive support

Despite increased acknowledgement of the significance of situational factors to engagement, engagement is traditionally seen as a student characteristic. In this study, we investigated to what extent variation in observational measures of behavioral student engagement during seatwork is due to students versus teachers, teacher-student dyads, or situational (i.e., variation in time) effects. Additionally, we studied whether adaptive support during teacher-student interactions contributes to student engagement following that interaction. A cross-classified multilevel analysis of 324 video- and audio-recorded secondary school teacher-student interactions showed that situational factors and error were the strongest source of variability in student engagement. Other than expected, teacher-related and dyad-related variability were limited. Although behavioral engagement after teacher-student interaction was significantly higher than pre-interaction student engagement, higher post-interaction levels were not related to the level of adaptive support provided during the teacher-student interaction. These findings imply that situational factors deserve more attention in engagement research, for example by investigating what situational factors contribute to engagement. For teachers, the time-variant, situation-dependent nature of engagement opens up valuable opportunities to actively design optimal learning situations.     

Implementing inclusion in disabling settings: the role of teachers’ attitudes and practices

Teachers’ attitudes towards disabled students seem to define the extent to which teaching practices are inclusive. Aiming to explore Cyprus secondary education teachers’ attitudes and practice, and the consequent implications for the future of disabled students and inclusive education, we conducted mixed methods research. Our research typology was sequential and integrated. First, we conducted a survey, during which we received 536 questionnaires from our randomly selected stratified sample of Cyprus secondary education teachers. The survey was followed by interviews with 21 Greek Philology teachers that enriched the findings from the quantitative phase. Data analysis revealed that even though Cyprus secondary education teachers have a rather positive attitude towards disabled students, they have low expectations from them and do not employ inclusive teaching practice. In addition, they tend to categorise students based on abstract notions about ability. Stereotypes and prejudice are more evident regarding students with cognitive disabilities. Despite the observed disabling practices, participants postulated that there is hope to implement inclusive education, if teachers are trained for inclusion and thereby begin to see the person and not the disability.     

‘Challenge and support’: the role of the critical friend in continuing professional development

Abstract

In this paper, the writer, a senior teacher in a comprehensive school, describes his role as a critical friend to two teachers who were undertaking self‐initiated action research projects as part of a school‐based, award‐bearing curriculum development scheme offered in conjunction with the local higher education institute (HEI). He concludes that such a relationship, in providing both challenge and support for colleagues who are attempting to improve practice, is a powerful vehicle for the professional development of teachers and has a positive impact on whole‐school development.     

Models of academic governance during a period of nation-building: the Hebrew University in the 1920s–1960s

This paper explores the development of the structures of university governance at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between the 1920s and 1960s. The model that ultimately prevailed, a state-sponsored model of governance, dominated the higher education system in Israel until the early 2000s and was characterised by the dominance of academic faculty, a status that the government accorded to the faculty in exchange for their acceptance of the state’s normative vision for universities’ role in society. Two main governance models that were instituted at the HU are identified: (1) the Diaspora university, 1925–1950, a distinctive governance model that emerged in the pre-state period and was controlled by Jewish communities in the Diaspora, and (2) the state university, 1950s–2000s, which shifted the centre of gravity to the state. These models are further divided into sub-models and the processes described through which academic autonomy was institutionalised during a period of nation-building.     

Developmental stability and changes in the impact of root consistency on children’s spelling

The study reported here examined grade 2–4 children’s sensitivity to the consistency in the spelling of roots in related words. We build on earlier research by attempting to quantify the extent that children’s spellings of both inflected and derived forms accord with this principle. We contrasted children’s accuracy and consistency in spelling the root form (e.g., rock) with that of its spelling in related inflected and derived forms (e.g., rocks and rocky), as well as unrelated control forms (e.g., rocket). Across grades 2–4, children’s spellings accorded with the root consistency principle to the same extent for inflected and derived forms. Nevertheless, it was not until grade 4 that spellings maximally reflected the principle. These results are discussed in terms of how children’s spelling might come to reflect the root consistency principle that guides spelling in English.     

Adults’ spelling and understanding of possession and plurality: an intervention study

In English, some words sound the same but are distinguished by silent written markers of their morphological status, as in plurals (e.g., cities), singular possessives (e.g., city’s) and plural possessives (e.g., cities’). We examined undergraduates’ ability to correctly omit or position apostrophes in these three word types before and after a 3-week intervention that focused on the conceptual bases for plurality and possession, as well as their associated spelling rules. Pre-test spelling was imperfect for plurals and poor for possessives, especially plural possessives. Abstract understanding of plurality and possession, measured in a morphological awareness task, was also relatively poor. The intervention resulted in significant but imperfect improvement on all tasks, with post-test morphological awareness predicting post-test spelling of plurals and possessives, even after controls for general spelling ability. Control participants showed no change. We suggest that adults’ difficulty in spelling possessives stems from a shaky grasp of the underlying morphological concepts, and we discuss possibilities for future intervention.