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School readiness of children with language impairment: predicting literacy skills from pre‐literacy and social–behavioural dimensions
Author(s) -
Pentimonti Jill M.,
Murphy Kimberly A.,
Justice Laura M.,
Logan Jessica A. R.,
Kaderavek Joan N.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of language and communication disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.101
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1460-6984
pISSN - 1368-2822
DOI - 10.1111/1460-6984.12193
Subject(s) - spelling , psychology , literacy , developmental psychology , reading (process) , social skills , phonological awareness , intervention (counseling) , construct (python library) , pedagogy , philosophy , linguistics , programming language , psychiatry , political science , computer science , law
Abstract Background : School readiness generally captures the notion that children do best when they arrive at formal schooling with a certain threshold of skill that will help them thrive in the classroom's academic and social milieu. Aims : To examine the dimensionality of the construct of school readiness among children with language impairment (LI), as well as the extent to which these dimensions relate to children's end‐of‐kindergarten literacy skills. Methods & Procedures : Participants were 136 preschool‐aged children with LI. Children were assessed on measures of pre‐literacy, social, and behavioural skills in preschool and reading and spelling in kindergarten. Outcomes & Results : Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that school readiness for this sample of children with LI is best characterized as two dimensions: pre‐literacy and socio‐emotional. Of the two dimensions, pre‐literacy readiness was predictive of children's future performance in reading and spelling. Conclusions & Implications : The results further our theoretical understanding of the dimensions of school readiness, as well as our knowledge of how these skills are related among children with LI. Identifying domain‐specific readiness skills that are predictive of kindergarten success can help to identify means of early assessment and targets for speech–language intervention.