Does early reading instruction promote the rate of acquisition? A comparison of two transparent orthographies

Soodla, Piret; Lerkkanen, Marja‐Kristiina; Niemi, Pekka; Kikas, Eve; Šilinskas, Gintautas; Nurmi, Jari‐Erik

doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.02.002

Cited by 53 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…However, the reading-comprehension test we used belongs to the normative Finnish reading test battery for primary school and has been used frequently in a number of Finnish reading studies (e.g. Soodla et al, 2015;.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Simple View of Reading in a Transparent Orthography: A Longitudinal Study From Kindergarten to Grade 3

Torppa¹,

Georgiou²,

Lerkkanen³

et al. 2016

Merrill-Palmer Quarterly

106

135

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Simple View of Reading in a Transparent Orthography: A Longitudinal Study From Kindergarten to Grade 3

Torppa¹,

Georgiou²,

Lerkkanen³

et al. 2016

Merrill-Palmer Quarterly

106

135

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…For example, Soodla, Lerkkanen, Kikas, Niemi, and Nurmi (2015) compared the effectiveness of first grade reading instruction in two neighboring countries, Finland and Estonia. They showed that despite the Estonian children clearly having better initial skills, the reading skills across both countries were at the same level by the end of the first grade.…”

Section: Gaps In the Current Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is usually evident in transparent languages. For example, in the context of the highly transparent Finnish language where one-fourth of the children can decode accurately, two-fourths can recognize some words, and the remainders are non-readers when they enter school (Soodla et al, 2015), it is necessary for the teacher to adapt the reading instruction and tailor the program according to each child's initial skill level. In child-centered classrooms, children typically also have more autonomy over their learning, and they can choose activities and texts according to their personal interests, which will keep their motivation high toward reading practices and further foster their reading skills.…”

Section: Initial Academic Skills Predicting Teaching Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child-centered versus teacher-directed teaching practices: Associations with the development of academic skills in the first grade at school

Lerkkanen

Kiuru

Pakarinen

et al. 2016

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

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2 Research Highlights How do child-centered versus teacher-directed practices promote academic skills development? Child-centered practices contribute positively to academic skills development at school.  The effect of child-centered practices on academic skills did not depend on the initial skill level  Teacher-directed practices are negatively associated with average and high reading skills. AbstractThis study examined the extent to which child-centered versus teacher-directed teaching practices predicted the development of children's reading and math skills in the first year of elementary school. In addition, we investigated whether associations between teaching practices and children's academic skills development in Grade 1 differed among children who had low, average, or high initial academic skills at the beginning of school. The reading and math skills of 1,132 Finnish children from 93 classrooms were assessed at the beginning and end of Grade 1, and the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM) was used to observe teaching practices in 29 classrooms. The results of multilevel modeling showed, first, that better reading skills upon entering school were associated with a higher level of childcentered teaching practices in the classroom. Second, a high level of child-centered teaching practices predicted children's reading and math skills development during the first school year. Third, the results showed that child-centered teaching practices were equally beneficial for the academic skills development of children with varying initial skill levels. However, teacher-directed practices were found to be negatively associated with reading skills development, particularly among children who had average or high initial reading skills at the beginning of school. The results emphasize the importance of childcentered teacher practices in promoting children's academic skills development also after kindergarten in elementary school.Keywords: reading, math, child-centered practices, teacher-directed practices, Grade 1 5 Child-Centered versus Teacher-Directed Teaching Practices:Associations with the Development of Academic Skills in the First Grade at School A considerable body of literature indicates that early childhood education (ECE) classroom practices impact child outcomes (Burchinal et al., 2008;Burchinal, Peisner-Feinberg, Pianta, & Howes, 2002). The majority of this research has been conducted in preschools and kindergartens, but only a few studies have focused on the first school year in depth. For example, a wide range of documentation exists on the positive relationship between child-centered teaching practices and children's social skills and academic pre-skills at the preschool age (Stipek, Feiler, Daniels, & Milburn, 1995). However, children with poor academic skills seem to benefit from teacher-directed practices later on in kindergarten (Huffman & Speer, 2000) and at school age (Kikas, Peets, & Hodges, 2014). The present study examined the extent to which child-centered and teacher-dire...

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“…In Estonia, reading instruction starts in kindergarten, whereas in Finland, it is Grade 1. Previous studies have suggested that the earlier onset of reading instruction does not give Estonian children long‐lasting benefits in reading skills on average compared to Finnish children (Soodla et al, ). However, the early onset may be beneficial in other ways.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Early prediction of reading trajectories of children with and without reading instruction in kindergarten: a comparison study of Estonia and Finland

Torppa

Soodla²,

Lerkkanen

et al. 2019

Journal Research in Reading

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Background The present study examined differences in the prediction of reading development and reading difficulties in Estonia (n = 348) and Finland (n = 344). These neighbouring countries share many similarities in terms of their language, orthography and educational system; however, they differ in the timing of the onset of reading instruction, which is kindergarten in Estonia and Grade 1 in Finland. Methods Children's skills were assessed three times – fall and spring in Grade 1 and spring in Grade 2. Results The results showed that school‐entry rapid automatised naming and reading fluency predicted the development of fluency in Grade 2, but reading fluency was a stronger predictor in Estonia than in Finland. In addition, school‐entry reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension in Grade 2. Furthermore, listening comprehension was a stronger predictor of reading comprehension in the Finnish sample than in the Estonian sample. Finally, high‐risk children were identified based on their slow reading and rapid automatised naming at school entry. In Estonia, the reading development of high‐risk children was declining compared to their peers, while the Finnish high‐risk children were catching up with their peers. The high‐risk children in the Finnish sample also had reading difficulties less often than the Estonian sample. Conclusions The findings suggest that the skills at school entry are stronger predictors of reading development in Estonia than in Finland. The reasons for this could be the earlier onset of reading instruction in kindergarten in the Estonian sample or differences in reading instruction practices between Estonian and Finnish schools.

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Does early reading instruction promote the rate of acquisition? A comparison of two transparent orthographies

Cited by 53 publications

References 37 publications

Examining the Simple View of Reading in a Transparent Orthography: A Longitudinal Study From Kindergarten to Grade 3

Examining the Simple View of Reading in a Transparent Orthography: A Longitudinal Study From Kindergarten to Grade 3

Child-centered versus teacher-directed teaching practices: Associations with the development of academic skills in the first grade at school

Early prediction of reading trajectories of children with and without reading instruction in kindergarten: a comparison study of Estonia and Finland

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