Study examines relationship between phonological memory and reading ability in Greek-speaking children aged between 6 and 9 years. Results revealed strong links between reading performance and nonword repetition scores. Training that involved practice in the repetition of nonwords was used as a means of promoting phonological memories.
Study examines relationship between phonological memory and reading ability in Greek-speaking children aged between 6 and 9 years. Results revealed strong links between reading performance and nonword repetition scores. Training that involved practice in the repetition of nonwords was used as a means of promoting phonological memories.
Study examines relationship between phonological memory and reading ability in Greek-speaking children aged between 6 and 9 years. Results revealed strong links between reading performance and nonword repetition scores. Training that involved practice in the repetition of nonwords was used as a means of promoting phonological memories.
2002, I.S.P.A. The relation between phonological memory skills and reading ability in Greek-speaking children: Can training of phonological memory contribute to reading development? Katerina Maridaki-Kassotaki Harakopio University, Athens, Greece This study was designed to examine whether there is a relationship between phonological memory and reading ability in Greek-speaking children aged between 6 and 9 years. An additional aim of the study was to investigate whether training of phonological memory during preschool years enhances reading achievement during early school years. In Experiment I, the phonological memory ability of /36 first graders, 134 second graders and /32from each of the third andfourth grades was assessed with a nonword repetition test. A reading test was also used to evaluate the reading skills of the above subjects. The results revealed strong links between reading performance and nonword repetition scores. 120 kindergarten children randomly assigned to a control and an experimental group participated in Experiment 2. Training that involved practice in the repetition of nonwords was used as a means ofpromoting the phonological memory of the children in the experimental group over the course of one year in school. Subjects' reading ability was tested during the last month of their first year in the primary school. The findings showed that the performance of the trained subjects in the reading test was superior to that of the control subjects. Such evidence underlines the importance of teaching children ofpreschool years phonological strategies in order to boost their reading skills during early school years. There is by now compelling evidence showing the relationship between phonological memory skills and children's ability to learn to read, to learn new words, and to understand language (for reviews see Fijalkow, 1999; Garhercole & Baddeley, 1993b). The task of repeating meaningless phonological items (nonwords or pseudowords) like "plistont" or "fleponist" has been widely used by researchers over the past twenty years to evaluate phonological memory skills in children having problems of language processing and in normal I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to Georgia Katsimalis and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper. 64 K. MARIDAKI-KASSOTAKI children. A common finding in the studies focused on developmental language problems is that children of low reading abilities as well as language-disordered children are impaired in repeating nonwords (for reviews see Gathercole, Willis, Baddeley, & Emslie, 1994; see also Gathercole, 1995; Gathercole &. Baddelely, 1990; Gathercole & Martin, 1996). Research with normal children has established that nonword repetition is both a reliable measure of phonological working-memory capacity and a good predictor of a number of language skills during early school years. Many studies have, far example, indicated that vocabulary acquisition, reading of single wards and comprehension of spoken sentences in children aged four, five and eight years are highly related to nonword repetition performance. In these studies, nonword repetition ability was measured by means of the Children's test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep) which has been developed by Gathercole and colleagues to assess the ability to retain phonological information in working memory during early childhood (see Gathercole, 1990; Gathercole & Adams, 1993, 1994; GathercoJe & Baddeley, 1993a,b, 1996; Gathercole, Hitch, Service & Martin, 1997; Gathercole, Willis, & Baddeley, 1991; Gathercole, Willis, Emslie, & Baddeley, 1992; Gathercole et al., 1994; for reviews see also Baddeley, Gathercole, & Papagno, 1998). Evidence reported in the above work has also established that the CNRep test is a better predictor of reading skills than auditory digit span which is another measure of phonological memory performance (see Gathercole et al., 1994). The Children's test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep) consists of four sets. of nonwords, 10 each containing two, three, four, and five syllables. The sequence of phonemes in each nonword complies with the phonotactic rules of English language. Similarly, the stress structure of each syllable within each nonword has been constructed to correspond to the syllable stress structure of the syllables of English words of corresponding length. In the studies investigating the contribution of nonword repetition to both phonological memory and language development, the children serving as participants were native speakers of English. Research in the examination of the relationship between nonword repetition ability and language skills in children who are not speakers of English is very limited. It concerns a small number of studies with children learning English as a second language (i.e. Cheung, 1996; Gathercole & Thorn, 1998; Masoura, 1999; Service, 1992; Service & I.ohonen, 1995). The results reported in these studies attest to a link between nonward-repetition ability and vocabulary acquisition. A study conducted with a small number of Greek-speaking children has also led to similar results (see Maridaki-Kassotaki, 1998). The purpose of Experiment I presented in this study was to test whether the finding that there is association between reading achievement and nonward repetition performance of Greek-speaking children obtained in a small-scale study bears large-scale replication. The phonological memory of the children participating in this study was assessed by means of the Test of Nonword Repetition for Greek-speaking children (NRGreek). This test was an attempt to adjust to Greek language the Children's test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep) for English- speaking children. To anticipate the results, children's reading skills were related with their phonological memory ability. The practical applications of the results presented in Experiment I were considered in Experiment 2. It was assumed that the promotion of phonological memory in preschool years by means of appropriate techniques aiming at enhancing young children's ability to retain phonological information in working memory should yield benefits for language development during early school years. On the basis of the evidence reported in Experiment 1 it can be argued that one way to boost phonological memory skills for the purpose of improving reading ability is to provide training that involves practice in the repetition of unfamiliar phonological forms (nonwords). Previous research with English and Greek-speaking children has emphasized the contribution of training programmes to children's early reading development. In this research, training was designed to enhance phonological awareness which is one of the two types of phonological processing ability that playa critical role in the acquisition of literacy skills; the other type being phonological memory. Evidence reported in the above research suggests that PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY AND READING DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD 65 training programmes aiming at the improvement of preschoolers' phonological awareness promote their later reading achievements (see Lindamood & Lindamood, 1969; Lundberg, Frost, & Peterson, 1988; Tafa, 1997; Porpodas & Paleothodorou, 1999). Thus far there is no research examining how training programmes aiming at the improvement of young children' s phonological memory abilities influence their reading development. The present study addressed this issue in Experiment 2. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to explore whether the promotion of phonological memory during preschool years is an effective predictor of reading performance in early school years. Specifically, it attempted to train kindergarten children to repeat unfamiliar phonological items (nonwords) in order to investigate whether practice in repetition of nonwords at age five improves reading skills one year later. Experiment 1 Method Subjects A total of 534 children living in Iraklion and Rethymnon, Crete participated in the study. There were 136 first graders (mean age 6 years 4 months), 134 second graders (mean age 7 years 6 months) and 132 from the third and fourth grades (means: 8 years 4 months, 9 years 2 months for the third and fourth grade respectively). Subjects were predominately from middle- class homes. Design and procedure The Test of Nonword repetition for Greek-speaking children (NRGreek) was given to all subjects. The Test of Early Reading Comprehension (Vamvoukas, 1994) was administered to the first graders and the Test of Reading Ability (Tafa, 1995) was given to the children of the rest age groups. The Test of Nonword repetition for Greek children (NRGreek) consists of 40 nonwords, 10 each comprising two, three, four and five syllables. The nonwords were made on the basis of the criteria Gathercole and colleagues (1994) used to construct the nonword repetition test for the purpose of a similar study with English children. According to these criteria, the stress and phonotactic structure of each Greek nonword was similar to the stress and phonotactic structure of Greek words of corresponding length (see Maridaki-Kassotaki, 1996). The 40 nonwords and their phonetic transcriptions are shown in the Appendix. The test-retest reliability of the NRGreek was examined by giving the test twice to 40 kindergarteners and 55 pupils from each of the second, third and fourth grade. The two successive test administrations were separated by a period of three weeks. The obtained test- retest scores were highly correlated; 0.78 for the 5-year-old children and 0.83, 0.86 and 0.89 for the second, third and fourth graders. These scores have established satisfactory levels of reliability for the test. The nonwords were recorded on a cassette recorder. On the recording, an articulate male speaker of Greek read aloud each nonword. There was a three-second interval between the end of one nonword and the beginning of the next. Each child was tested individually in a quiet room in his/her school. S/he was asked to listen to a "funny" word on the cassette recorder and, then, repeat the word for the experimenter. The repetition attempt of each child was immediately scored by the experimenter as either phonologically incorrect or correct. The children's responses were also recorded for a countercheck. The total number of nonwords correctly repeated by each child was his/her score (maximum=40). 66 K. MARIDAKI-KASSOTAKI The Test of Early Reading Comprehension (Vamvoukas, 1994) was used for the first graders. It consists of 30 items, which are either written words or short sentences. Each child is asked to read silently the items and respond to the instructions conveyed by the meaning of each word or sentence. Specifically, s/he has to either point to a picture which corresponds to the meaning of a written word, or make drawings and/or complete a drawing following the written instructions of a sentence, or fill in the missing letters, syllables and words in written words or sentences. The Test of Reading Ability (Tafa, 1995) was used for children aged between 7 and 10 years. It consists of 42 sentences of 8 to 30 words length. In each sentence there is a missing word. Each child is asked to fill in every sentence with one of 4 words, which are written in parentheses at the end of the sentence. The median reliability coefficient for the test, based on split-half reliability scores for seven-to-ten-year olds is 0.91. Children were tested in groups of twenty each in their classrooms. Testing lasted 50 minutes for each test and started after the children had been given practice in completing the test with a number of examples not included in it. The second, third and fourth graders were tested at the beginning of the school year while the first graders towards the end of it. The score for each child was the total number of hislher correct answers (maximum 30 for the Test of Early Reading Comprehension and 42 for the Test of Reading Ability). Results For each subject the total number of nonwords, which s/he repeated correctly as well as the total number of correct responses s/he generated in the reading ability test, were calculated. The mean scores for the Test of Nonword Repetition for Greek children (NRGreek), the Test of Early Reading Comprehension for the first graders and the Test of Reading Ability for the second, third and fourth graders are presented in Table 1. Table 1 Mean nonword repetition and reading scores across ages (the standard deviations are given in parentheses) Age Nonword repetition test Reading test 6 years 24.91(sd=3.3) 2I.7I(sd=2.5) 7 years 3I.30(sd=2.2) 3I.6I(sd=2.l) 8 years 34.89(sd=2.4) 36.07(sd=2.5) 9 years 37.94(sd=2.l) 39.34(sd=2.l) Table 1 shows that the scores obtained for both non word repetition and reading tests increase with age. The comparisons of the mean scores for each test separately on one-way analysis of variance confirmed the above observation [F(3.533)=1449,4, p<.OOOl for the reading scores and F(3,533)=648,3 for the nonword repetition scores]. The Scheffe tests showed that the performance on the nonword repetition test and the reading ability test of the children aged six years was worse than that of the children in each of the rest age groups. They also revealed that seven year olds generated lower non word and reading scores than the children aged eight and nine years. Nine year olds performed better than eight year olds on both tests (each p<.05). In order to explore the relationship between nonword repetition and reading ability, correlations for each age group between the scores on the nonword repetition test and those on the reading ability test were performed. These correlations are shown in Table 2. PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY AND READING DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD 67 Table 2 Pearson's r correlations of scores on the nonword repetition test with scores on the reading test at each age group Age Nonword repetition test 6 years Reading test 0.75" 7 years Reading test 0.74 8 years Reading test 0.86 9 years Reading test 0.88 Note. "Correlations are significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). A consistent finding emerged from the above correlations. Nonword repetition scores correlated significantly with reading scores at all four years tested: at age six, r=0.75, p<OOOl, at age seven, r=0.74, p<.OOOl, at age eight, r=0.86, p<OOOl, and at age nine, r=0.88, p<OOOl. From the above findings it appears therefore that nonword repetition ability and reading performance are closely related during early school years. Experiment 2 The aim of Experiment 2 was to examine whether training which involves practice in repetition of nonwords at age five enhances reading ability one year later. Method Subjects The sample comprised one hundred and twenty children selected from four public kindergartens in Iraklion, Crete. Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups of sixty children each. Training was given to the subjects of one group. There were no differences between the two groups in age, mental age and family background. The mean age of the experimental group was 57,3 months (SD=4,24) while the mean age of the control group was 56,2 months (SD=4,83). Mental age was assessed with the Good-enough test (the mean IQ for the experimental group was 118.75 and the mean IQ for the control group was 119.10). Parental socio-economic status encompassed both blue and white-collar families. Design and procedure The phonological memory skills of the children comprising the experimental group were improved with a training program involving practice in the repetition of nonwords. Nonwords were constructed according to the criteria used in Experiment 1 for the development of the nonword repetition test. Training started in October, one month after the beginning of the school year and ended in May, ten days before the end of the year. It lasted seven months as holiday breaks were excluded. Children were trained by the experimenter and the kindergarten teachers who received special training for this purpose. Subjects in the trained condition repeated 30 nonwords in five practice trials lasting 15 minutes on each of four consecutive days every week. Control subjects were engaged in drawing or modelling with plasticine during the time subjects in the experimental group had been exposed to the training program. 68 K. MARIDAKI-KASSOTAKI When subjects entered their first grade of the Primary school, they were randomly allocated to five classes of 24 children each so that each class comprised 12 control and 12 experimental subjects. All subjects were taught the Greek language as first graders on the basis of the so-called "analytiko-syntheriki" method. This method is a combination of top- down and bottom-up approaches to reading and is used by teachers in Greek public schools for the teaching of Greek language as provided in the Greek National Curriculum for Primary Education. It is compulsory for all teachers to use this method and follow the instructions and guidelines for its application which are given in a teacher's manual that is distributed by the National Ministry of Education to them each school year. The teachers were selected on the basis of their initial training and teaching experience. All of them were graduates of a university level department for Primary Education in Greece. Four of them had five years' teaching experience and one had a teaching experience of four years and three months. In a number of meetings with the teachers, which took place before the beginning of the school year, the experimenter discussed with them the aim of the study and asked them to follow very strictly the instructions for the teaching of Greek language given in the teacher's manual. Phonological memory ability was assessed with the Test of Nonword repetition for Greek-speaking children (NRGreek) while reading ability was measured with the Test of Early Reading Comprehension. Both tests were used in Experiment 1. Testing was completed in two phases. During the first phase the phonological memory skills of the children were assessed on two sessions seven months apart that is at the beginning and end of the training. The procedure followed was similar to that employed in Experiment 1. In the second phase, the same subjects were asked to complete the Test of Early Reading Comprehension ten days before the end of their first year in the primary school. The procedure was the same as in Experiment 1. Results Table 3 shows the mean scores for both groups on the nonword repetition test at the beginning and end of the training aiming at the promotion of phonological memory ability of preschool children. Table 3 Mean scores for the trained and control subjects on the nonword repetition test at the beginning (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of the training programme (the standard deviations are given in parentheses) Time 1 Time 2 Trained subjects 30,28(sd=3,9) 37,13(sd=2, 16) Control subjects 29,1O(sd=4,1) 30,18(sd=3,69) The mean scores were compared on a t-test. The results revealed no significant differences between the performance of the trained and control subjects before training [t(l18)=O,38, p<lOJ. They also showed that training increased the number of nonwords correctly repeated, with trained subjects surpassing control subjects as shown in Table 3 [t(118)=22,1, p<OOI]. The performance of both trained and control subjects in the reading ability test is presented in Table 4. PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY AND READING DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD 69 Table 4 Mean reading scores for the trained and control subjects (the standard deviations are given in parentheses) Trained subjects 28,06(sd'=3,05) Control subjects 24,58(sd=2,84) The comparisons of the mean reading scores yielded that the reading ability of the trained subjects was significantly superior to that of the control subjects [t(118)=6,55, p<OOOlj. To further explore this result, a univariate analysis of variance was conducted on the data with the use of the General Linear Model (GLM) of the SPSS statistical package. Success on the reading test as measured by the number of correct answers given by the subjects to the test questions was the dependent variable, class (five in number) was the random factor and group (experimental vs. control) was the fixed factor. The results revealed a significant effect of group, thus showing that the trained subjects performed better than the control subjects (F=35,5, p<05, with 1 d/). The effect of class was not found to be significant. This result indicates that there were no reliable differences between classes in relation to the reading performance of the pupils. It also suggests that there was not significant variation in the performance of the teachers. Taken together, therefore, the above results clearly indicate that the training used to promote five year olds' phonological memory enhanced their reading ability a year later. General discussion The evidence reported in this study has established that nonword repetition ability and reading performance at ages six, seven, eight and nine years are closely related to one another. Such evidence replicates and expands the findings obtained in a previous small-scale study. Further it adds support for previous research showing strong association between nonword repetition andreading ability in English-speaking children (e.g. Gathercole et al., 1994). The present findings therefore are of principal interest as they extend the relationship between reading ability and nonword repetition performance to a language with different phonotactic properties than English, the Greek language. Despite the differences in the phonological structure between English and Greek language (see Joseph & Warburton- Philippaki, 1987), the reported data do show that the association between nonword repetition and reading ability is as strong for Greek language as it is for English. Such evidence raises the question of the universality of the cognitive mechanisms operating in the acquisition of reading skills during childhood. Further research testing the generability of the results showing the relationship between nonword repetition ability and reading skills with a number of different languages such as French, German, Italian, etc. might provide an answer to the above question. An important finding of the present study was the beneficial effect in early reading development of the promotion of phonological working memory with a training programme involving practice in repetition of unfamiliar phonological forms (nonwords) during preschool years. The idea of training phonological memory in young children in order to boost their language abilities has not so far been given much attention by researchers. Thus our knowledge of the nature of specified educational techniques for the training of phonological memory in preschool years is very limited. Some investigators, as mentioned in Gathercole and Baddeley (1993b, p. 235), propose a number of phonological memory techniques for children at risk in reading problems such as practice in naming letters and objects, remembering spoken sentences, and listening to stories and nursery rhymes. Reported evidence shows that nursery rhyme learning in preschool years enhances language abilities in normal children during school years (Bryant, Bradley, Maclean, & Crossland, 1989; Macl.ean, Bryant, & Bradley, 1987). 70 K. MARIDAKI-KASSOTAKI The present pattern of findings suggests that experience with repetition of nonwords in preschool years provides a reliable way of promoting phonological memory for the purpose of promoting reading skills in early school years. Exposing children to a programme involving practice in the repetition of nonwords is a straightforward and easy task. Besides it is a pleasant and interesting experience for them. As observed in this study, most of the subjects showed enthusiasm in participating in the training programme. They were keen on repeating the "funny words" - this is how nonwords were called by the experimenter - , and by the end of the training programme the majority of them was able to generate nonwords on their own. The possibility therefore for such training programmes to be included in the educational activities that children are involved in during preschool years for the purpose of promoting reading ability in early school years sounds quite feasible. The benefits of promoting phonological memory by using practice in the repetition of nonwords for the sake of later language development are clear for normal children. There may also be benefits for children with language problems. If, for example, experience with non- word repetition becomes a part of the intervention programmes that are used with children with impaired development, the remediation of the language disorders of these children might be facilitated. This is however an issue that requires further examination. In summary, the findings have demonstrated that there is close correspondence between phonological memory skills anel development of language abilities in Greek-speaking children. It is worth noting here that the correlations obtained between memory and reading skills are high as compared to the ones found in relevant studies (see for example, Gathercole et aI., 1994). One possible explanation for this result might be that the reading test used in the present study, which was the only available in Greek for this purpose, involved comprehension, whereas the English tests used in similar studies comprise single word reading and accuracy of word recognition and as such they are more sensitive to individual differences. Further research is, however, required for a better examination of the above issue. The present findings have also established that the training of phonological memory with the use of practice in nonword repetition at age five improves reading achievements one year later. On the basis of this finding the conclusion may be reached that educational programmes providing young children with practice in nonwords may have positive results in language ability during early school years. An issue that needs to be explored is the contribution of such programmes to the remediation of language problems in language-disordered children. Appendix Nonword stimuli in Greek and their phonetic transcriptions Number of syllables Two syllables Three syllables Four syllables MNEZO ETOBAI AnONElPITO [rnnszo] [..,>VIi] [cponertto] NTEElA Ln'\AKlNAL KAflLTPENI [dt8u] [splckincs] [kujistreni] LI1AEBO KE60<l>A KATAl>Orr<OL [splevo] [kt,Sofa) [kntcoojnos] BIrdOL MNOdAPO IPENIZO [vlyMs] [mnoouro] [irenizo] TOYLMOL LKEdATIL LfOAETOPM [t'uzmos] [skecutis] [sjolerorfa] PErnA nAAPElEKI NOKOWAIKI [reync] [plurtiski] [nokcsplikt] XPInO AOKTENLI XNIAEElOKIL (Xri p6] [loktensi] [xnile8okis] Bi\OYME6IA E'I'ANOAOYL [fomis] [vlumsdic] [cpsunolus] fKPOBAON [grovI6n] [esmcto] [ukscrvesi 1 LEMnI MYPOAI LOPTEAOME [sebi] [00Ir61;] [sorteiome] Five syllables ITOXTEAOMIL [itojtelornis] AAr APOY [luyoiIttaru] ATIOTZO<l>ATI [upodjofnti]
[kctcfuscta] ELmrKIETI [espingeti] PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY AND READING DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD 71 References Baddeley, A.D., Gathercole, S.E., & Papagno C. (1998). The phonological loop as a language learning device. Psychological Review, 105(1), 158-173. Bryant, P.E., Bradley, L., Maclean, M., & Crossland, J. (1989). Nursery rhymes, phonological skills and reading. Journal of Child Language, 16,407-428. Cheung, H. (1996). Nonword span as a unique predictor of second-language vocabulary learning. Developmental Psychology, 32, 867-873. Fijalkow, J. (1999). Mauvais lecteurs. Pourquoi?Translated by S. Tantaros [in Greek]. Athens: HeJlinika Grammata. Gathercole, S.E. (1990). Working memory and language development: How close is the link? The Psychologist, 2,57-60. Gathercole, S.E. (1995). Is nonword repetition a test of phonological memory or long-term knowledge? It all depends on the nonwords. Memory and Cognition, 23( I), 83-94. Gathercole, S.E., & Adams, A. (1993). 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Test of Reading AbiliTy [in Greek]. Athens: Hellinika Grammata. Tafa, E. (1997). The phonological awareness of preschoolers as an indicator of their reading ability during school years. Paper presented at the 6 th Panhellenic Conference of Psychological Research, Athens. Vamvoukas, M. (1994). Evaluation of reading skills [in Greek]. Athens: Grigoris. La presente recherche a ete realisee aupres des enfants grecs, ages de 6 a 9 ans. Elle examine s'il y a des relations entre la memoire phonologique et la capacite de lecture. De plus, elle cherche aexaminer si I' exercice de la memoire phonologique pendant I'age prescolaire ameliore la performance des enfants dans le domaine de la lecture au cours des premieres annees de scolarite. Pour repotulre aces questions nous avons procede de la facon suivante: Au cours de lei premiere experimentation nous avons evalue a L'aide dun test de repetition des mots sans sens reel (nonword repetition test) la capacite de la memoire phonologique de 534 enfants dont 136 frequentaient la premiere classe de l'ecole prima ire, 1341a seconde, 132 la troisieme et 132 la quatrieme. Ell parallele, nous aVOIlS utilise un test de lecture pour evaluer leur capacite en ce domaine. Les resultats obtenus montrent l'existence d' une liaison ires forte entre la performance au test de lecture et les scores au test de repetitions de mots sans sens reel. Dans le cadre de la deuxieme experimentation 120 enfants suivant l'ecole matemelle etaient classes aux hasard en deux groupes: (a) groupe experimental (60 enfants} et (b) groupe de controle (60 enfants). Les enfants du premier groupe ont ere soumis ades exercices de repetition de mots sans sens reel pendant une annee scolaire. La capacite en lecture de l'ensemble des enfants a ete evaluee pendant le dernier mois de leur premiere annee aI' ecole primaire. Les donnees obtenues montrent que la performance du groupe experimental est significativement superieure par rapport acelle du groupe de controle. Cette constatation souligne l'importance de faire apprendre au x enfant s d'Bge prescolaire des strategies qui [avo risent le developpement de la memoire phonologique en vue d'ameliorer leur capacite en lecture. Key words: Children's reading performance, Nonword repetition ability, Phonological memory, Phonological-memory training. PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY AND READING DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD 73 Received: January 200 I Revision received: November 2001 Katerlna Maridaki-Kassotaki, Harokopio University, 70, El. Venizelou str., 17671, Athens, Greece, E-mail: kmaridaki@hua.gr Current theme of research: Children's cognitive and linguistic development Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education: Maridaki-Kassotaki, K. (1997). Are rating-based procedures reliable for derivation of typicality judgments from children? Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 29(3), 376-385. Maridaki-Kassotaki, K. (1999). Children's false-belief understanding: Is it related to social background and schooling? In V. Rigas (Ed). Education ofEthnic Minorities: Unity and Diversity (pp. 392-399). Athens: Ellinika Grammata. Maridaki-Kassotaki, K.. & Freeman, N. (2000). Concepts of pictures on display. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 2000, 18(2), 151-158. Maridaki-Kassotaki, K., Lewis, C; & Freeman, N. (in press). Lexical choice can lead 10 problems: What do false belief tests tell us about Greek alternative verb forms denoting agency? Journal ofChild language. Maridaki-Kassotaki, K., Lewis, C; Freeman, N., Kyriakidou, C; & Berridge, D. (1996). Social influences on false belief access: Specific sibling influences or general apprenticeship? Child Development, 67,2930-2947.
Gianna Pomata (Editor), Nancy G. Siraisi (Editor) - Historia - Empiricism and Erudition in Early Modern Europe (Transformations - Studies in The History of Science and Technology) (2006)