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Oral Narrative Skills: Implications for the Reading Development of African American Children
Author(s) -
GardnerNeblett Nicole,
Pungello Elizabeth P.,
Iruka Iheoma U.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
child development perspectives
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1750-8606
pISSN - 1750-8592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00225.x
Subject(s) - narrative , psychology , reading (process) , african american , developmental psychology , reading comprehension , style (visual arts) , comprehension , narrative review , gender studies , history , sociology , linguistics , anthropology , psychotherapist , philosophy , archaeology
— This article reviews research concerning an area of strength for African American children: oral narrative skills. The article discusses the historical and cultural factors that have contributed to the rich tradition of oral narratives among African Americans and the implications of oral narrative skills for reading development. Although early research suggested that African American children have a limited narrative style, more recent research shows that, in fact, they can produce a range of narrative styles using sophisticated discourse techniques. Recent research also provides evidence that, compared to European American children, African American children produce narratives of higher quality and have greater narrative comprehension. The article discusses the implications of this research for education and offers directions for future research.