Becoming Literate: Educational Implications of Coordinated Neuropsychological Development of Reading and Social-Emotional Functioning Among Diverse Youth

Abstract

Current conversations in literacy research call for the need to consider children’s social-emotional development and academic learning in an integrated way that honors and supports the whole child in their cultural context. Here we review available literatures on the cognitive, linguistic, affective, social and cultural dimensions of typical and atypical reading acquisition and what is known of their neural correlates. From this review, and in consultation with neuro- and psychological scientists and expert educators working in a range of contexts, we derive a series of interdisciplinary Learnings. These describe what is known about how diverse children grow into readers and how literacy development can be optimally supported in school, home and community contexts across the first decades of life. The Learnings together provide a critical cross-disciplinary synthesis of how literacy and social-emotional development are coordinated, individually variable, dynamic and sensitive to contextual influences. They reveal how evidence-based, culturally inclusive, socially attentive and developmentally appropriate instruction is an essential piece of helping every child organize their brain and mind for literacy. Such comprehensive instruction is necessary to address inequities in general and special education, and to help children become fully literate—a designation that goes beyond simply decoding and comprehending text. Impacts of digital technology, and other timely issues and open questions, are also discussed.

The Development of a Self-Awareness Skill for High School Students with the Process of Social and Emotional Learning

“…This learning process also helps to improve one's attitude towards others, promote positive social behaviors and improve student's academic performance, besides, it reduces behavioral problems and emotional distress (Payton et al, 2008). The development of social and emotional intelligence and academic learning in an integrated manner with teaching methods covering cultural contexts, social empathy and proper development are an essential part of helping every student to organize their brains and minds in literacy (Gotlieb et al, 2022). Social and emotional intelligence learning enhances several skills in students that can use both inside and outside the classroom.…”

Towards a dynamic, comprehensive conceptualization of dyslexia

“…Risk-resilience models of dyslexia include both causal factors that put children at risk for dyslexia and resilience factors that influence more positive reading outcomes. In these models, protective factors, such as an individual's cognitive and socio-emotional strengths and resiliency (Haft et al, 2016;Palser et al, 2021;Sturm et al, 2021), environmental factors such as high-quality early reading instruction (Fletcher et al, 2019), and the confluence of these protective factors (Gotlieb et al, 2022) mitigate against poor reading in at-risk populations. Risk-resilience models that consider protective factors in combination with risk factors move our conceptualization of dyslexia away from a more exclusive focus on deficits, towards the need for understanding the role of an individual's strengths in reading outcomes.…”

“…Indeed, the major components that will make up the circuit-like visual, cognitive, linguistic, and affective processes-begin their development in the first years of life when both genetic factors and the environment are highly interactive. In reading as in life, nature and nurture influence both the precursors of reading and the various ways it can be disrupted (Gotlieb et al, 2022).…”

Reaching Students with Reading Disabilities During the Summer

“…Summer opportunities require quantity and quality, including how students are engaged affectively (Katzir, 2022). Rather than having students obliged to subscribe to the choices or interests of adults, this review advocates for opportunities for students to pursue their own interests through literacy, which is a correlate of success among readers with RD (Fink, 2007;Gotlieb et al, 2022).…”