Sensitivity and Consistency of Maternal Writing Mediation to Twin Kindergartners

This study investigated whether mothers are responsive to their children's literacy level, thus employing different writing mediation styles with each twin according to the child's level, or whether they possess a consistent style employed with both twins. The sample included 28 sets of twin kindergartners (56 children, M age = 68.89 months) and their mothers. Children's literacy underwent individual assessment in their kindergartens. During home visits, mother–child writing interactions with each twin were videotaped. Interactions underwent analysis for task-specific measures (grapho-phonemic mediation, printing mediation, demand for precision, reference to orthography) and for general measures (atmosphere, mutuality, reinforcements, task perception). Findings demonstrated that along with sensitivity to the child's level (mediating on a higher level to the higher achieving twin), mothers of twins possessed a consistent mediation style. Sensitivity to the differences in literacy between the twins was salient in the task-specific mediation measures, whereas the presence of a style appeared in all the mediation measures. The results of this study support the stance that mothers' mediation style deserves to be acknowledged as an influencing factor in children's literacy development.     

Mothers’ mental-state discourse with preschoolers during storybook reading and wordless storybook telling

Recent research has shown that parents, through conversations during shared book reading, play a pivotal role in promoting children's social cognition, particularly their theory of mind (ToM). This study compared mothers’ mental-state discourse during two kinds of interactions with their children – storybook reading and wordless storybook telling. In both contexts, mothers were familiar with the books’ texts but relied to a different extent on the texts during the mother–child interactions. Participants were 72 Israeli mothers and their 4- to 6-year-old children, from an upper–middle socioeconomic level. Mothers were instructed to read or tell two stories as they normally would. Two books were used, similar in several major characteristics – author, illustrator, characters, story length, and false belief as a central theme. Main findings revealed that mothers referred to mental states in both situations, but during storytelling, mothers elaborated more, referring to characters’ cognitive states and false beliefs, than during storybook reading. Findings suggest that storytelling encourages rich discussions on important sociocognitive elements. Educators and parents should be aware of the contribution of storybook reading and storybook telling to mental-state talk and of the unique potential of storybook telling to encourage conversation on ToM-related topics.     

Relationship between social capital and lifestyle among older adults

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study was designed with the purpose of determining the relationship between social capital and lifestyle and their sub-variables among older adults.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using interviews that was conducted in 2017. This study was performed with randomly selected older people over 60 years of age in an urban area of Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire in 3-month duration. The relationship between the study variables (lifestyle and social capital) was assessed through correlation analysis (in the case of non control of the underlying variables) and general linear modeling (in the case of control of the underlying variables). Data were analyzed using SPSS v.24 software at a 0.05 significant level.

Results: A total of 512 questionnaires were filed out. According to the Pearson correlation test, all social capital variables were associated with lifestyle components. However, in the general linear model test, feeling of trust and safety (p < 0.001), value of life (p = 0.030), and social participation (p = 0.004) had a significant relationship with the lifestyle.

Conclusions: The results indicated that social capital and lifestyle in the older adults were interconnected. Therefore, there is a need to improve social capital factors, especially social participation, feeling of trust and safety, and value of life, which is in-line with the strategies of achieving healthy older population. The results can be used to learn how to increase lifestyle in older adults.     

The ABC’s of Chinese: maternal mediation of Pinyin for Chinese children’s early literacy skills

In the present study, maternal Pinyin mediation and its relations with young Chinese children??s word reading and word writing development were explored. At time 1, 43 Mainland Chinese children and their mothers were videotaped on a task in which children were asked to write 12 words in Pinyin (a phonological coding system used in Mainland China as an aid to reading Chinese characters) with help from their mothers. The videotapes were later coded on a scale (adapted from Aram & Levin, 2001) of mothers?? writing facilitation techniques. Scores on this scale of maternal mediation of Pinyin uniquely explained children??s reading of Chinese words, but not writing of Chinese words, after statistically controlling for maternal education and age, and children??s non-verbal IQ, age, and phonological awareness. At time 2, 22 of the children from time 1 were further tested on Chinese word reading and word reading task 1?year later. After controlling for children??s age and non-verbal IQ, maternal Pinyin mediation uniquely explained 6% of the variance in children??s word writing and 7% of the variance in children??s word reading performance at time 2. Results underscore the potential importance of the maternal scaffolding role for reading acquisition both theoretically and practically in a domain not previously explored (i.e., use of a common coding system (Pinyin) for learning to read, rather than word reading itself).     

The contribution of early home literacy activities to first grade reading and writing achievements in Arabic

This longitudinal study assessed the literacy development of native Arabic-speaking children from kindergarten to the end of first grade, focusing on the role of home literacy activities (mother–child shared book reading and joint writing). The contribution of these activities in kindergarten to children’s reading and writing at the end of first grade were evaluated, controlling for family SES and children’s early skills (vocabulary and letter naming). Eighty-eight Arabic-speaking children and their mothers participated in the study. Results revealed that family SES, children’s early skills and home literacy activities in kindergarten correlated with children’s achievements at the end of first grade. Joint writing contributed significantly to children’s literacy in first grade and the contribution of shared reading was almost significant. Joint writing was found to contribute to children’s literacy achievements in first grade beyond book reading. The study extends our knowledge on literacy acquisition in Arabic, highlighting the significance of early parent–child literacy activities as a predictor of Arabic-speaking children’s literacy achievements in school.     

Enhancing parent–child shared book reading interactions: Promoting references to the book's plot and socio-cognitive themes

The study examined the efficacy of an intervention designed to promote parents’ and preschoolers’ references to storybooks’ plot and socio-cognitive themes during shared reading within a sample of 58 families from low-SES background. All parents were given four books, one new book weekly, and were instructed to read each book four times per week to their children. Parents in the control group were given no further guidance, whereas parents in the intervention group were guided in reading the books interactively with their children using Bruner's (1986) structure of the complete storybook reading experience. These parents were taught a four-reading model that guided them to first focus on the book's plot aspects (vocabulary, sequence of events, story structure) and then move on to its socio-cognitive aspects (mental terms, mental causality, references to the child's life). After the intervention, parents and children in the intervention group referred more than their control counterparts to both the book's plot and its socio-cognitive themes. The advantages of the intervention were maintained beyond effects of parental education and of children's gender, vocabulary, and social cognition level. The study revealed the importance of direct guidance of parents and the potential of shared reading contexts for eliciting rich conversations between parents and children. Discussion emphasized the importance of encouraging parents to refer to both the book's plot and its socio-cognitive themes.     

Parental writing support and preschoolers’ early literacy,language, and fine motor skills

The current study examines the nature and variability of parents’ aid to preschoolers in the context of a shared writing task, as well as the relations between this support and children's literacy, vocabulary, and fine motor skills. In total, 135 preschool children (72 girls) and their parents (primarily mothers) in an ethnically diverse, middle-income community were observed while writing a semi-structured invitation for a pretend birthday party together. Children's phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, word decoding, vocabulary, and fine motor skills were also assessed. Results revealed that parents provided variable, but generally low-level, support for children's approximation of sound-symbol correspondence in their writing (i.e., graphophonemic support), as well as for their production of letter forms (i.e., print support). Parents frequently accepted errors rather than asking for corrections (i.e., demand for precision). Further analysis of the parent–child dyads (n = 103) who wrote the child's name on the invitation showed that parents provided higher graphophonemic, but not print, support when writing the child's name than other words. Overall parental graphophonemic support was positively linked to children's decoding and fine motor skills, whereas print support and demand for precision were not related to any of the child outcomes. In sum, this study indicates that while parental support for preschoolers’ writing may be minimal, it is uniquely linked to key literacy-related outcomes in preschool.     

Open Access and Liberal Education: A Look at Armenia,Azerbaijan, and Georgia

In the post-Soviet era, libraries in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have faced increasing budgetary challenges. In response to socioeconomic restructuring and the introduction of private enterprise, libraries have been forced to seek alternatives to commercial publishing and licensing models. In this article the authors will assess the status of the open access movement and of Internet filtering controls in the countries of the South Caucasus. They will also argue that developing open models for scholarly communication is crucial to the strengthening of liberal education and civic participation in these aspiring democracies. Libraries, in their role as providers of and advocates for shared information, have a vital role to play in this mission.     

Writing with young children: a comparison of paternal and maternal guidance

The increasing involvement of fathers in active parenthood raises questions concerning their parenting style. This study compared mothers and fathers in their writing interactions with their young children, exploring how parents' writing guidance related to children's early literacy. Mothers and fathers of 51 kindergarteners were videotaped separately at home while writing words with their child. Video analysis assessed measures of parental guidance specifically in the writing process and guidance measures that characterised teaching interactions in general. Children's early literacy was assessed. A family style of guidance emerged, where a parent's guidance resembled the spouse's. Moreover, both parents' guidance correlated significantly with children's early literacy. Still, mothers scored higher than fathers on both the writing and the more general guidance measures. The study suggests that encouraging both parents to write with their children, while supplying them with productive methods for guidance, can enhance children's literacy competencies.