Abstract
Background
Research suggests that considerable individual differences may exist among preschool children in terms of emergent writing performance. However, there is no study examining this variability.
Objective
This research explored the patterns of within-group individual differences in the emergent writing skills of preschool children.
Method
Cluster analysis was employed to identify profiles of emergent writing skills in two independent samples (children from middle-socioeconomic status backgrounds N = 36; children from socioeconomically and racial/ethnically diverse backgrounds N = 367).
Results
Cluster analysis identified three emergent writing profiles: (1) highest emergent writing-strength in letter writing and spelling; (2) average emergent writing-strength in name writing; and (3) lowest emergent writing across skills. Children’s letter name knowledge and phonological awareness significantly predicted profile membership when controlling for age.
Conclusion
These findings provide evidence regarding the heterogeneity of preschool children’s emergent writing skills and suggest that different profiles of emergent writing can be explained by children’s letter name knowledge, phonological awareness, and age.
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Funding
The research of Study 1 was supported by the University Research Council (URC) Faculty Research Grant Program from University of Cincinnati. The research of Study 2 was supported by U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences Grant R305A080488. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Institute of Education Sciences or U.S. Department of Education.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed written consent was obtained from all participating children’s parents in the study.
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Guo, Y., Sun, S., Puranik, C. et al. Profiles of Emergent Writing Skills Among Preschool Children. Child Youth Care Forum 47, 421–442 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9438-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9438-1