Early development and predictors of morphological awareness: disentangling the impact of decoding skills and phonological awareness

Law, J. M. and Ghesquière, P. (2017) Early development and predictors of morphological awareness: disentangling the impact of decoding skills and phonological awareness. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 67, pp. 47-59. (doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2017.05.003) (PMID:28641146)

Abstract

Background: Morphological Awareness (MA) has been demonstrated to be influential on the reading outcomes of children and adults. Yet, little is known regarding MA's early development. Aim: The aim of this study is to better understand MA at different stages of development and its association with Phonological Awareness (PA) and reading. Methods and procedures: In a longitudinal design the development of MA was explored in a group of pre-reading children with a family risk of dyslexia and age-matched controls from kindergarten up to and including grade 2. Outcomes and results: MA deficits were observed in the group with literacy difficulties at all time points. PA was only found to make a significant contribution to MA development at the early stages of formal reading instruction. While first-grade decoding skills were found to contribute significantly to MA in second grade. Conclusions: Evidence supporting a bidirectional relation was found and supports the need for adequate MA intervention and explicit instruction for “at risk” children in the early stages of literacy instruction.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Dyslexia, morphological awareness, phonological awareness, prereading, child.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Law, Dr Jeremy
• Authors: Law, J. M., and Ghesquière, P.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
• Journal Name: Research in Developmental Disabilities
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0891-4222
• ISSN (Online): 1873-3379
• Published Online: 20 June 2017
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Research in Developmental Disabilities 67: 47-59
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy