Rhythm and reading development in school‐age children: a longitudinal study

Rhythm production in 53 children in grade 1 was investigated as a predictor of reading ability in the same children in grades 1–5. This paper reports the results of correlations and hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for shared variance between phonological awareness and naming speed. Rhythm was correlated significantly with both phonological awareness and naming speed. Rhythm predicted significant variance in reading ability at each grade level. Once phonological awareness was controlled, however, rhythm was a significant predictor only in grade 5. When naming speed was controlled, rhythm predicted unique variance in reading ability in grades 2, 3 and 5. Implications for the relationship between rhythm and the development of reading skills are discussed.     

Including all learners: QCA's approach

Judith Wade, QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) Principal Manager for Equal Opportunities and Access, outlines recent and future developments initiated by the QCA. She highlights the challenges faced by the QCA to encourage all staff to take into account all learners, including those with special educational needs. The points she makes are not only relevant to schools and LEAs (Local Education Authorities) but also to all community organisations and service providers.     

The constitutional dialectic

POETICS, RHETORIC, AND LOGIC: STUDIES IN THE BASIC DISCIPLINES OF CRITICISM. By Wilbur Samuel Howell. Ithaca, N.Y.: The Cornell University Press, 1975; pp. 267. $16.50.     

The Practice and Perceptions of School Counsellors: A View from Urban China

The profession of school counselling in China is in relative infancy. A qualitative analysis of in-person interviews with fourteen high school counsellors sought to identify salient factors currently facing the profession in two urban Chinese schools. The counsellors described the development and practice of school counselling as well as their own view of the profession. Results are discussed in the context of relevant literature in China and compared to the current and historical development of school counselling around the world.     

Sensitivity to linguistic stress,phonological awareness and early reading ability in preschoolers

Recent research has found that sensitivity to linguistic stress is related to phonological awareness and reading development. This study investigated the roles of two types of linguistic stress sensitivity (lexical and metrical stress) in the phonological awareness and reading development of young children. Forty‐five kindergarten children were tested on a battery of tasks that examined linguistic stress sensitivity and early reading ability. Results indicated that lexical stress, but not metrical stress sensitivity, is significantly related to phonological awareness and early reading ability. However, lexical stress is not able to predict unique variance in early reading ability once phonological awareness is controlled for. The relationships of both lexical and metrical stress sensitivity with phonological awareness and early reading development are discussed.