Factors Predicting Early Reading Skills in Preschool Children

Grant Winners

Deans

Abstract

The present multidisciplinary, collaborative study will explore the relationship between screening data obtained early in preschool and later measures of emergent literacy. The benefits of early identification of and intervention with children who are at risk for reading difficulties is not only well-documented in the literature (e.g., Lyon, 1999) but also firmly established in federal law. This study will utilize stepwise multiple regression analyses to discover efficient, effective means for identifying preschool children from diverse backgrounds who are at risk for deficiencies in the key areas of early literacy (i.e., alliteration, rhyming, vocabulary, and phonological awareness), so that in subsequent studies interventions can be selected, employed, and evaluated for their effectiveness in preventing these deficiencies. Subjects will be approximately 200 preschool students who attend the Family Center of the Mailman-Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies and other local preschools. Screening data will be collected in late fall by faculty-supervised students from the Center for Psychological Studies (CPS), Allied Health/Occupational Therapy Department (OT), and Department of Speech and Language (S/L). Tests of early reading literacy will be administered in late spring by faculty-supervised students from CPS and the Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services (FGSE). In addition, the study will provide an important training function in the area of preschool assessment, prepare students for functioning in multidisciplinary settings, and further the knowledge base in early literacy acquisition.