Relationship between lexical, reading and spelling skills in bilingual language minority children and their monolingual peers.

This study was conducted on a population of primary school children including bilingual language minority (BLM) children with L2-Italian and a variety of languages as L1 (e.g., Chinese, Albanian, Latin), and Italian-speaking monolingual children. The variety of languages ecologically reflects the nowadays composition of classes in the Italian school system. The aims were to investigate in both linguistic groups: (1) the developmental patterns of lexical, reading and spelling skills; (2) the pattern of predictive relations between lexical, reading and spelling skills. 159 primary school children from Grade 2 to Grade 5 participated in the study: BLM (n = 80) and monolingual (n = 79) children aged between 7 and 11 years. Each participant completed a vocabulary task (lexical skills), a text reading task (reading accuracy and reading speed) and a text dictation task (orthographic errors). ANOVA statistics showed the comparison of patterns between monolingual and BLM children in lexical, reading, and writing skills. Results show lower performances in lexical, reading and spelling skills in BLM children learning Italian as a second language compared to monolingual peers. Second, partial correlations performed separately for monolinguals and BLM with lexical ability as a control variable, illustrated that all variables correlated with each other in both groups. This result provides the option of performing hierarchical regressions. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses showed that the pattern of predictive relations between lexical, reading and spelling skills is the same across language groups, with the key role of orthographic accuracy as the pivotal process around which reading and lexical skills are built.

The student's drawing of teacher's pictorial Value as a predictor of the student-teacher relationship and school adjustment.

This study employs the scale of Value from Pictorial Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships (PAIR) to investigate the links between the importance attributed by primary students to their teachers and two independent measures of scholastic wellbeing, provided by teachers and parents. During middle childhood, the teacher is one of the most significant adults with whom children interact daily; a student-teacher relationship warm and free from excessive dependency and conflict is very important for children wellbeing; however, children's recognition of teacher importance as an authority figure has been seldom studied. Children aged 7-11 years were individually asked to draw themselves and one of their teachers in two situations (relational Wellbeing and relational Distress); the scale of Value from PAIR was used as a proxy of the importance attributed to teachers in each situation. Teachers completed the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale for Closeness, Conflict, and Dependency of each child; parents answered two items about their children's School Adjustment. All the study variables were firstly analyzed to check gender and age differences. Boys valorized more than girls the teacher's figure; however, teachers perceived more Closeness and less Conflict with girls. Dependency and Conflict decreased with age, as well as (albeit slightly) School Adjustment. To assess the links between pictorial valorization of the teacher in Wellbeing and Distress and teachers' and parents' evaluations, four separate hierarchical regressions were performed, namely, Closeness, Dependency, Conflict, and School Adjustment, controlling children's sex and age. The teacher's pictorial Value in Wellbeing appeared to be related to Closeness and School Adjustment, while a negative relationship emerged between Value and Dependency in Distress. In sum, the recognition of the teacher's role as an authority figure does not hinder a warm student-teacher relationship and impacts positively on school adjustment. In situations of Distress, dependent pupils showed a diminished appreciation of the teacher's importance, possibly as a result of a defensive stance.

Contribution of oral narrative textual competence and spelling skills to written narrative textual competence in bilingual language-minority children and monolingual peers.

This study investigates the developmental pattern and relationships between oral narrative textual skills, spelling, and written narrative textual skills in monolingual and bilingual language-minority (BLM) children, L1-Chinese and L2-Italian. The aims were to investigate in monolingual and BLM children: (1) the developmental patterns of oral and writing skills across primary school years; (2) the pattern of relationships (direct and mediated) between oral narrative textual competence, spelling skills, and written narrative textual competence with age and socio-economic status (SES) taken under control. In total, 141 primary school children from grades 2 to 5 in Central Italy (44% BLM, 56% monolinguals) aged between 7 and 11 years (M-age = 8.59, SD = 1.13; 41% girls, 59% boys) obtained scores for oral and written narrative textual competence, spelling accuracy in dictation, and written texts. One-way ANOVA and ANOVA with robust method (Welch test) analyses and Bonferroni's correction showed that BLM children had poorer spelling skills in dictation and written narrative textual competence (i.e., text structure) than their monolingual peers. After preliminary correlation analysis, the results of hierarchical regression showed that the relationship between oral and written narrative textual competence is completely mediated by spelling accuracy in BLM children. These results suggest that adequate performance in written narrative textual competence depends on adequate spelling accuracy in writing stories. The Sobel test verified the power of this mediation. In monolinguals, the strongest predictor of written narrative textual competence is oral narrative textual competence. This relation is stronger in older children whose spelling skills are automatized. The identified pattern of relationships shows a complex network of oral and written processes. The scarce spelling skills characterizing BLM children may explain why spelling skills determine a low written narrative textual level. Scarce spelling skills absorb cognitive resources, hindering high-level cognitive processes that regulate narrative production. In monolinguals, the medium of writing does not impact narrative textual competence. Children's oral narrative textual competence easily transfers into their written narrative productions. These findings have implications for the assessment and instruction of literacy skills in young BLM children and their monolingual peers.

Representation of Friendship and Aggressive Behavior in Primary School Children.

This study examines the representation of friendship during middle childhood and its impact on aggressive behavior. The literature shows that friendship is almost a "gym of social skills," which, in turn, are protective factors against aggressive behavior; in this regard, the quality of friendship is especially important, but this quality becomes less and less accessible to direct observation as children grow older and spend most of their time in the externally regulated environment of primary school. To assess friendship quality requires allowing children to present their own perspective on the relationship, a goal that we have tackled through drawing. Children aged 6-11 years were individually asked to draw themselves and a close friend in two situations (i.e., relational wellbeing and relational distress) and to complete a 20-item scale of physical and verbal aggression. Data were analyzed with three main aims, namely, (1) to show if and how the representation of two core features of relationships (i.e., relatedness and individuality) changes according to the situation and/or according to the children's gender; (2) to focus on the representation of distressing situations to verify if they coincide with forms of conflict and if they differ according to the children's gender; and (3) to verify if the strength of indices of relatedness and individuality, both in situations of wellbeing and distress, predicts children's tendency to enact aggressive behaviors. The results confirm that relatedness is the dominant feature of friendship, especially in the situation of wellbeing and when the situation becomes distressing. Conflict is not always present when children do not feel fine with their friends; boys and girls do not differ significantly in this regard, but they do differ in terms of the management of relatedness and individuality when problematic situations arise. In line with previous studies, sex is the main predictor of aggressive behavior with peers, with boys more at risk than girls; however, the capacity to relate with one's own friend even in difficult times (in which boys are not inferior to girls) predicts lesser aggression with peers in general.

The mediating role of emotions in the relation between beliefs and teachers' job satisfaction.

This study investigates the patterns of relations between beliefs, emotions, and job satisfaction in 249 Italian in-service teachers. Participants were assessed on their growth and fixed mindsets, self-efficacy beliefs, emotions associated with various components of their professional engagement and job satisfaction. Mediational analyses shed light on the mediating role of teaching and role emotions in the relation between beliefs and job satisfaction. Specifically, teachers' high self-efficacy beliefs positively impact on job satisfaction if negative teaching and role emotions are contained at low levels.

Efficacy of Two School-Based Interventions on Notational Ability of Bilingual Preschoolers: A Group-Randomized Trial Study.

This randomized trial study aimed to analyze the efficacy of two different school-based interventions-normal preschool literacy teaching, and the PASSI intervention carried out for different durations (12 versus 30 weeks)-on notational knowledge of bilingual language-minority (BLM) preschoolers and their monolingual peers, after controlling their linguistic background and socio- economic status. A total of 251 children aged 4-5 years (M age = 4 years and 8 months; SD age = 6 months; 49% males, 51% females) were recruited from 19 classes in five preschools and randomly assigned to three groups that corresponded to different notational-focused interventions: (1) normal preschool literacy teaching (Condition 1; n = 47); (2) the PASSI intervention carried out for 12 weeks (Condition 2; n = 119); and (3) the PASSI intervention carried out for 30 weeks (Condition 3; n = 85). We collected two waves of data before and after the interventions regarding notational knowledge and phonological skills. Using the mixed ANOVA, we found that the PASSI intervention (both durations of 12 and 30 weeks) led to a significantly higher level of notational knowledge in BLM children and their monolingual peers. In addition, we observed that with the PASSI intervention carried out for 30 weeks, the baseline difference between BLMs and their monolingual peers was nullified. This study demonstrates that well-designed, school-based programs can benefit language-minority children by supporting their emergent notational knowledge. This paper also discusses implications for bilingual education policymaking.

An Old Mechanism, Imitation, Geared for Socio-Material Knowing in a "Day in the Life" of First Graders.

This paper adopts sociomateriality as a theoretical lens to further our understanding of how imitation acts to support the use of objects, and in doing so, constitutes a sociomaterial practice. Within a sociomaterial perspective we aimed to perform the analysis of imitation as a powerful way to learn how to use objects embedded into the practices within which the objects are constituted. The contribution of this approach is illustrated using the findings of the application of the quasi-ecological Day in the Life (DITL) methodology to the everyday lives of two 6-year-old children. Within a case-study frame, we traced the children's imitation behaviors focused on the use of objects during an entire day of their life, the various people and practices with which they were associated, the multiple sociomaterial configurations that the objects assume, and the social and material consequences of their use. Imitation appears to be is a complex activity, involving multiple stakeholders who interact in order to facilitate the understanding of various artifacts across diverse knowledge domains, and enhance their interpretive flexibility across communities of practice.

The influence of narrative competence on mental state talk in kindergarten and primary school children.

This study investigates the relationships between narrative competence and mental state talk at different age levels. Specifically, we explored whether a higher level of structure in narratives is associated with children's mental state talk, and whether this effect is moderated by age (kindergarten, lower and upper primary school). The participants in the study were 172 Italian children. The children were asked to tell a story and their productions were coded for narrative structural level and mental state talk. Data showed higher levels of narrative structure were associated with a higher frequency of emotional, cognitive, moral, and socio-relational terms. Results of the present study contributed to improve our understanding about how mental state talk and narrative competence are associated in different ways at different ages. This result suggests that children may develop in the ability to coordinate mental state talk and narrative structure as an effect of both, age and schooling. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Theory of mind and language are interconnected. Theory of mind can be assessed through mental state talk. Mental state talk is elicited through narrative tasks. What does this study add? Narrative competence is associated with mental state talk. The first years of primary school seem to represent an important transition in children's development in narrative competence and MST. Children may develop in the ability to coordinate mental state talk and narrative structure as an effect of both, age and schooling.

The Validation of the Free Fantasy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents: From Imaginary Playmate to "Dreamtime".

Fantasy in children is a precocious and important skill. In normal subjects some imaginative events, very close to hallucinations (perception-like experiences), have been found. Therefore, a better knowledge on both fantasy and the difference between imagination and the external world is needed. The aims of this study are: (a) to validate a new questionnaire for fantasy in children and adolescents; (b) to test its clinical application in ADHD children. 1.707 participants aged 8-18 years were enrolled: 1557 were recruited from a survey in six schools, whereas 150 participants were recruited in an ADHD Center. They filled out a new questionnaire, the Free Fantasy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents, FFQ. Statistical analyses were performed to validate the FFQ and to study five parameters of fantasy. Analyses showed good properties of the FFQ as regards factor structure and reliability. Descriptive analysis showed that: 10% of the adolescents frequently have fantasy with paracosmos and 9.5% sometimes have a fantasy with imaginary relatives. Moreover, in the 64.3% of participants of primary school, in the 34.5% of lower-secondary, and in the 27.4% of upper-secondary school Perception-like experiences, involving invisible but real personages, were found. Quality of fantasy and Lack of control on imagination are correlated with a high score in the Reality/Unreality Dimension and Perception-like experiences. As regards ADHD participants, the 40% of the group showed Perception-like experiences: the 21.66% of them reported a very high score in the dimension Reality/Unreality, have some dissociative symptoms, and the 3.33% presented a clear dissociative identity disorder. All were free from psychosis or neurologic disorders. A new questionnaire to study fantasy in children and adolescents was validated. Many children and adolescents of the general population declared Perception-like experiences. These events seem to be specific, and probably normal, features of the mind; they could be better named as "Dreamtime," whereas only in extreme conditions they could represent a risk for dissociation.

The impact of children's lexical and morphosyntactic knowledge on narrative competence development: A prospective cohort study.

The authors investigate the contribution of children's early comprehension of relational terms and morphosyntactic knowledge to the development of narrative competence in kindergarten and Grade 1. Narrative competence was assessed through the cohesion, coherence, and structure of children's productions. The participants in this study were 714 Italian children. The authors measured their oral narrative competence through a storytelling task at the beginning and end of the kindergarten year. A total of 115 children were randomly selected and followed through Grade 1, and their narrative competence was measured again. According to the path analysis model, early morphosyntactic knowledge contributes to explain narrative competence in Grade 1. Early comprehension of relational terms contributes to narrative competence at the end of the school year. These findings confirm the importance of exploring the influence of early language skills on narrative competence development and suggests early intervention at the level of language antecedents of narrative competence.

The Mediating Role of Conceptions of Learning in the Relationship Between Metacognitive Skills/Strategies and Academic Outcomes Among Middle-School Students.

This study investigated the mediating role of conceptions of learning in the relationship between metacognitive skills/strategies and academic outcomes among middle-school students. The self-report "Learning Conceptions Questionnaire" (LCQ) and "Metacognitive questionnaire on the method of study" (QMS-in Italian) were administered to 136 middle-school students and their academic outcomes were collected. Correlation analyses revealed that within metacognitive skills/strategies only self-assessment was positively correlated with academic outcomes. Mediation analysis indicated that a conception of learning as internal attribution of success and failure was significantly involved as mediator in the relationship between metacognitive skills/strategies and academic outcomes. This study permitted to advance our knowledge about the relationship between metacognitive skills/strategies and academic outcomes and it has opened the way to practical implications.

Metacognitive knowledge of attention in children with and without ADHD symptoms.

Children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) experience difficulty in managing attention in school, but it is not sufficiently clear what their attentional beliefs are. Drawing is a means of expression that is habitually used to access knowledge or ideas of children regarding their classroom experience. The aim of this study is to verify whether children with ADHD use pictorial indicators analogous to children without ADHD (N-ADHD). 92 primary school students participated in this study, half of whom diagnosed with ADHD. Children were asked to produce two specific thematic drawings on attention vs. inattention; their pictorial representations were analyzed using the Children's Awareness of Attention through Drawing (CAAD). The analysis showed principally that children with ADHD have a metacognitive awareness of attention similar to N-ADHD except for a delay in acquisition of the correct posture, for less maturation in the management of school materials and greater expression of negative feelings over time. Children with ADHD are aware of what is required in the school context but they are not able to pursue it. Behavioral intervention and structured learning are two targets of intervention that can help children with ADHD to adapt and to stay at school.

Improving Conceptual Knowledge of the Italian Writing System in Kindergarten: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

This study assessed the efficacy of PASSI (Promoting the Achievement of Sound-Sign Integration), an intervention to improve children's conceptual knowledge of the Italian writing system in kindergarten, which is an emergent literacy predictor of reading and spelling acquisition focused on letter-speech sound integration. PASSI implements an embedded-explicit approach in which teachers target specific subskills (reflection on the graphic, symbolic and phonological aspect of written signs) and emphasize children's contextualized interactions with oral and written language. One hundred fifty-nine Italian children participated in this study. Six teachers (and their three respective classes) were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and six teachers were assigned to the control group. All children were tested on the invented spelling of words and numbers, knowledge of the alphabet, orthographic awareness, and drawing twice, before and after the intervention. Children's visual-motor integration skills were also assessed as a control variable. The data were analyzed through the complex samples general linear model (GLM) approach. The results confirmed the efficacy of PASSI in promoting children's conceptual knowledge of the writing system and related emergent literacy skills. Theoretical and educational implications of the results are presented and discussed.

Kindergarteners' Narrative Competence Across Tasks and Time.

The authors investigated children's narrative competence by analyzing the development of the reciprocal relationship between storytelling and story retelling performances over a school year through a cross-lagged panel design. The participants in this study were 170 Italian kindergarten pupils (M age = 4.98 ± 0.31 years). Children were asked to produce oral narratives in two different tasks: a storytelling and a story retelling task. Narrative competence was assessed in terms of structure and coherence. The cross-lagged panel analyses showed that both storytelling and story retelling tasks are stable constructs, but they differ in the emphasis on coherence. Data confirmed the pivotal role played by storytelling as a task, and structure as a component in fostering the development of children's narrative competence. Overall, results from this study suggest that storytelling and story retelling are tasks that involve interrelated but not overlapping processes, and trigger different aspects of narrative competence.

Reading Fluency As a Predictor of School Outcomes across Grades 4-9.

This study analyzed the predictive relationship between reading fluency and school outcomes across school levels (primary, secondary, and high school), after controlling on the effect of reading comprehension. The sample included 489 children attending Italian primary (grades 4 and 5), secondary (grades 6 and 8), and high schools (grade 9). Students' reading fluency and comprehension were examined with a standardized reading achievement test. At the end of the school year, we requested the school reports of each participant. According to our data, reading fluency predicted all school marks in all literacy-based subjects, with reading rapidity being the most important predictor. School level did not moderate the relationship between reading fluency and school outcomes, confirming the importance of effortless and automatized reading even in higher school levels. Overall this study emphasizes the importance of identifying evidence-based tasks that can be administered in a short time and to many different individuals, which are easy to create, and are linked to school outcomes.

Peer Interaction Does Not Always Improve Children's Mental State Talk Production in Oral Narratives. A Study in 6- to 10-Year-Old Italian Children.

Joint narratives are a mean through which children develop and practice their Theory of Mind (ToM), thus they represent an ideal means to explore children's use and development of mental state talk. However, creating a learning environment for storytelling based on peer interaction, does not necessarily mean that students will automatically exploit it by engaging in productive collaboration, thus it is important to explore under what conditions peer interaction promotes children's ToM. This study extends our understanding of social aspects of ToM, focusing on the effect of joint narratives on school-age children's mental state talk. Fifty-six Italian primary school children participated in the study (19 females and 37 males). Children created a story in two different experimental conditions (individually and with a partner randomly assigned). Each story told by the children, as well as their dialogs were recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions of narratives were coded in terms of text quality and mental state talk, whereas transcriptions of dialogs were coded in terms of quality of interaction. The results from this study confirmed that peer interaction does not always improve children's mental state talk performances in oral narratives, but certain conditions need to be satisfied. Peer interaction was more effective on mental state talk with lower individual levels and productive interactions, particularly in terms of capacity to regulate the interactions. When children were able to focus on the interaction, as well as the product, they were also exposed to each other's reasoning behind their viewpoint. This level of intersubjectivity, in turn, allowed them to take more in consideration the contribution of mental states to the narrative.

Spelling across Tasks and Levels of Language in a Transparent Orthography.

The paper reports the results of two studies on the spelling performance of 1st graders in a transparent writing system. The spelling performance of Italian children was assessed to determine the cross-task relationship between spelling to dictation and spontaneous spelling at the single word level (Study 1) and at the text level (Study 2), respectively. In study 1, 132 Italian children's spelling performance was assessed in 1st grade through two standardized tasks, i.e., word dictation, and spontaneous word spelling. In study 2, spelling performance of 81 Italian children was assessed in 1st grade through two tasks, i.e., text dictation, and spontaneous text spelling. In Study 1, spelling words and pseudo-words to dictation was found to be more difficult than spontaneous spelling of words. This effect was verified for all children (including low achievers and spelling impaired). The moderate correlation found between spelling to dictation and spontaneous spelling indicated that the two tasks are supported by partially different spelling processes and confirmed suggestions for including both types of spelling assessments in the school. In Study 2, children's spelling performances were not dependent across the two tasks (i.e., spelling a text under dictation or spontaneously). The two tasks shared the level of difficulty but performance in one task was not predictive of performance in the second task. Strong individual differences between children were found at the text level as a function of task. Similar to Study 1, the moderate correlation between spelling text to dictation and spontaneous spelling confirmed the usefulness of adopting both spelling assessments at school.

Predicting Reading, Spelling, and Mathematical Skills: A Longitudinal Study From Kindergarten Through First Grade.

This two-year longitudinal study contributes to the debate between the school readiness and emergent literacy approaches, individuating early markers for reading, spelling, and mathematical skills. Two hundred and two Italian children participated in this study (M age = 5.6years, SD = 0.3). In kindergarten, a wide range of children's domain-general and domain-specific skills were assessed through standardized tests. In primary school, children's reading, spelling, and mathematical competences were assessed through standardized tests. Results showed that domain-specific predictors contribute to the explanation of reading, spelling, and mathematical performances more than domain-general predictors do. Each primary school skill is mainly predicted by their respective domain-specific kindergarten skill, although some cross-domain relations exist, for example, phonological awareness contributing to both reading and mathematical performances.

Predicting Reading and Spelling Disorders: A 4-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

In this 4-year prospective cohort study, children with a reading and spelling disorder, children with a spelling impairment, and children without a reading and/or spelling disorder (control group) in a transparent orthography were identified in third grade, and their emergent literacy performances in kindergarten compared retrospectively. Six hundred and forty-two Italian children participated. This cohort was followed from the last year of kindergarten to third grade. In kindergarten, the children were assessed in phonological awareness, conceptual knowledge of writing systems and textual competence. In third grade, 18 children with a reading and spelling impairment and 13 children with a spelling impairment were identified. Overall, conceptual knowledge of the writing system was the only statistically significant predictor of the clinical samples. No differences were found between the two clinical samples.

Evaluating the Predictive Impact of an Emergent Literacy Model on Dyslexia in Italian Children: A Four-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

The strong differences in manifestation, prevalence, and incidence in dyslexia across languages invite studies in specific writing systems. In particular, the question of the role played by emergent literacy in opaque and transparent writing systems remains a fraught one. This research project tested, through a 4-year prospective cohort study, an emergent literacy model for the analysis of the characteristics of future dyslexic children and normally reading peers in Italian, a transparent writing system. A cohort of 450 children was followed from the last year of kindergarten to the third grade in their reading acquisition process. Dyslexic children were individuated (Grade 3), and their performances in kindergarten in textual competence, phonological awareness, and conceptual knowledge of the writing system were compared with a matched group of normally reading peers. Results showed the predictive relevance of the conceptual knowledge of the writing system. The study's implications are discussed.