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Kargiotidis A, Manolitsis G. Are children with early literacy difficulties at risk for anxiety disorders in late childhood? Ann Dyslexia 2024; 74:82-96. [PMID: 37935991 PMCID: PMC10847176 DOI: 10.1007/s11881-023-00291-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
The present study examined whether literacy difficulties in both grades 2 and 3 are associated with social and generalized anxiety within the school environment in grade 5 and if children with different literacy difficulties differ in anxiety levels compared to typically developing children in grade 5 after controlling for inattention. Sixty-nine Greek children with literacy difficulties and fifty-two children with typical literacy development were assessed at the beginning of grade 2 and at the end of grade 3 on standardized literacy measures (reading accuracy, text-reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling). In grade 5, teachers were asked to rate their children's social and generalized anxiety levels and inattentive behavior in the school context. Results of one-way ANCOVAs showed that children with literacy difficulties were experiencing more social anxiety than typically developing children. Furthermore, children with both reading and spelling difficulties, but not those with single reading or spelling difficulties, had more social anxiety. These findings suggest that there is a close connection between early literacy difficulties and social anxiety in upper elementary grades and particularly among children with both reading and spelling difficulties. Implications for both teachers and other professionals who support children's socioemotional development will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apostolos Kargiotidis
- Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, 74100, Rethymno, Crete, Greece
| | - George Manolitsis
- Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, 74100, Rethymno, Crete, Greece.
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Bonifacci P, Tobia V, Inoue T, Manolitsis G. Editorial: The impact of home and school environment on early literacy and mathematic skills. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1258391. [PMID: 37614488 PMCID: PMC10443647 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1258391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Paola Bonifacci
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Valentina Tobia
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Tomohiro Inoue
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - George Manolitsis
- Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
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Hornburg CB, Borriello GA, Kung M, Lin J, Litkowski E, Cosso J, Ellis A, King Y, Zippert E, Cabrera NJ, Davis-Kean P, Eason SH, Hart SA, Iruka IU, LeFevre JA, Simms V, Susperreguy MI, Cahoon A, Chan WWL, Cheung SK, Coppola M, De Smedt B, Elliott L, Estévez-Pérez N, Gallagher-Mitchell T, Gardner-Neblett N, Gilmore C, Leyva D, Maloney EA, Manolitsis G, Melzi G, Mutaf-Yıldız B, Nelson G, Niklas F, Pan Y, Ramani GB, Skwarchuk SL, Sonnenschein S, Purpura DJ. Next Directions in Measurement of the Home Mathematics Environment: An International and Interdisciplinary Perspective. J Numer Cogn 2021; 7:195-220. [PMID: 34778511 PMCID: PMC8589301 DOI: 10.5964/jnc.6143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This article synthesizes findings from an international virtual conference, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), focused on the home mathematics environment (HME). In light of inconsistencies and gaps in research investigating relations between the HME and children's outcomes, the purpose of the conference was to discuss actionable steps and considerations for future work. The conference was composed of international researchers with a wide range of expertise and backgrounds. Presentations and discussions during the conference centered broadly on the need to better operationalize and measure the HME as a construct - focusing on issues related to child, family, and community factors, country and cultural factors, and the cognitive and affective characteristics of caregivers and children. Results of the conference and a subsequent writing workshop include a synthesis of core questions and key considerations for the field of research on the HME. Findings highlight the need for the field at large to use multi-method measurement approaches to capture nuances in the HME, and to do so with increased international and interdisciplinary collaboration, open science practices, and communication among scholars.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Joyce Lin
- California State University, Fullerton
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Inoue T, Manolitsis G, de Jong PF, Landerl K, Parrila R, Georgiou GK. Home Literacy Environment and Early Literacy Development Across Languages Varying in Orthographic Consistency. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1923. [PMID: 32849130 PMCID: PMC7412602 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined the relation between home literacy environment (HLE) and early literacy development in a sample of children learning four alphabetic orthographies varying in orthographic consistency (English, Dutch, German, and Greek). Seven hundred and fourteen children were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and tested on emergent literacy skills (vocabulary, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness) at the beginning of Grade 1 and on word reading fluency and spelling at the end of Grade 1, the beginning of Grade 2, and the end of Grade 2. Their parents responded to a questionnaire assessing HLE [parent teaching (PT), shared book reading (SBR), access to literacy resources (ALR)] at the beginning of Grade 1. Results showed first that PT was associated with letter knowledge or phonological awareness in Dutch and Greek, while ALR was associated with emergent literacy skills in all languages. SBR did not predict any cognitive or early literacy skills in any language. Second, PT and ALR had indirect effects on literacy outcomes via different emergent literacy skills in all languages. These findings suggest that not all HLE components are equally important for emergent literacy skills, reading fluency, and spelling. No specific trend in the role of orthographic consistency in the aforementioned relations emerged, which suggests that other factors may account for the observed differences across languages when children start receiving formal reading instruction in Grade 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomohiro Inoue
- Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - George Manolitsis
- Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, Rethymnon, Greece
| | - Peter F de Jong
- Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Karin Landerl
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.,Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rauno Parrila
- Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - George K Georgiou
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Georgiou GK, Torppa M, Landerl K, Desrochers A, Manolitsis G, de Jong PF, Parrila R. Reading and Spelling Development Across Languages Varying in Orthographic Consistency: Do Their Paths Cross? Child Dev 2019; 91:e266-e279. [PMID: 30681137 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We examined the cross-lagged relations between reading and spelling in five alphabetic orthographies varying in consistency (English, French, Dutch, German, and Greek). Nine hundred and forty-one children were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and were tested on word and pseudoword reading fluency and on spelling to dictation. Results indicated that the relations across languages were unidirectional: Earlier reading predicted subsequent spelling. However, we also found significant differences between languages in the strength of the effects of earlier reading on subsequent spelling. These findings suggest that, once children master decoding, the observed differences between languages are not related to the direction of the effects but to the strength of the effects from reading to spelling. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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Bitsios P, Karademas E, Mouzaki A, Manolitsis G, Kapellaki O, Diacatou A, Archontaki A, Mamalakis G, Giovazolias T. The Student Counselling Centre at the University of Crete, Greece. BJPsych Int 2017; 14:90-92. [PMID: 29093959 PMCID: PMC5663022 DOI: 10.1192/s2056474000002099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This report describes the Student Counselling Centre (SCC) at the University of Crete. The SCS was established in 2003. Its main areas of activity are individual and group psychological support, crisis intervention, research, prevention, volunteering and awareness. Emphasis is also put on the support provided to students with special needs, which is now the second core service of the SCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panos Bitsios
- Professor of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Crete, Greece, email
| | - Evangelos Karademas
- Professor of Clinical Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Greece
| | - Angeliki Mouzaki
- Assistant Professor of Learning Disabilities, Department of Primary Education, University of Crete, Greece
| | - George Manolitsis
- Associate Professor of Psychopedagogy, Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, Greece
| | - Ourania Kapellaki
- Psychologist, Student Counselling Centre, University of Crete, Greece
| | | | - Arianna Archontaki
- Special Education Counsellor, Student Counselling Centre, University of Crete, Greece
| | - George Mamalakis
- Psychologist, Student Counselling Centre, University of Crete, Greece
| | - Theodoros Giovazolias
- Associate Professor of Counselling Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Greece
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Manolitsis G, Grigorakis I, Georgiou GK. The Longitudinal Contribution of Early Morphological Awareness Skills to Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Greek. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1793. [PMID: 29081759 PMCID: PMC5645533 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the role of three morphological awareness (MA) skills (inflection, derivation, and compounding) in word reading fluency and reading comprehension in a relatively transparent orthography (Greek). Two hundred and fifteen (104 girls; Mage = 67.40 months, at kindergarten) Greek children were followed from kindergarten (K) to grade 2 (G2). In K and grade 1 (G1), they were tested on measures of MA (two inflectional, two derivational, and three compounding), letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and general cognitive ability (vocabulary and non-verbal IQ). At the end of G1 and G2, they were also tested on word reading fluency and reading comprehension. The results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that the inflectional and derivational aspects of MA in K as well as all aspects of MA in G1 accounted for 2-5% of unique variance in reading comprehension. None of the MA skills predicted word reading fluency, after controlling for the effects of vocabulary and RAN. These findings suggest that the MA skills, even when assessed as early as in kindergarten, play a significant role in reading comprehension development.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Manolitsis
- Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
| | - Ioannis Grigorakis
- Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece
| | - George K. Georgiou
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Georgiou GK, Hirvonen R, Manolitsis G, Nurmi JE. Cross-lagged relations between teacher and parent ratings of children's task avoidance and different literacy skills. Br J Educ Psychol 2017; 87:438-455. [PMID: 28401989 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Revised: 03/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Task avoidance is a significant predictor of literacy skills. However, it remains unclear whether the relation between the two is reciprocal and whether it is affected by the type of literacy outcome, who is rating children's task avoidance, and the children's gender. AIM The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the cross-lagged relations between teacher and parent ratings of children's task avoidance and different literacy skills. SAMPLE One hundred and seventy-two Greek children (91 girls, 81 boys) were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 3. METHODS Children were assessed on reading accuracy, reading fluency, and spelling to dictation. Parents and teachers rated the children's task-avoidant behaviour. RESULTS Results of structural equation modelling showed that the cross-lagged relations varied as a function of the literacy outcome, who rated the children's task avoidance, and children's gender. Earlier reading and spelling performance predicted subsequent parent-rated task avoidance, but parent-rated task avoidance did not predict subsequent reading and spelling performance (with the exception of spelling in Grade 3). Teacher-rated task avoidance and reading fluency/spelling had a reciprocal relationship over time. In addition, the effects of teacher-rated task avoidance on future spelling were significantly stronger in boys than in girls. CONCLUSIONS This suggests that poor reading and spelling performance can lead to subsequent task avoidance in both classroom and home situations. The fact that task avoidance permeates across different learning environments is alarming and calls for joint action from both parents and teachers to mitigate its negative impact on learning.
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Manolitsis G, Georgiou GK. The Cognitive Profiles of Poor Readers/Good Spellers and Good Readers/Poor Spellers in a Consistent Orthography: A Retrospective Analysis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.12681/ppej.178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Reading and spelling are closely related to each other, but empirical evidence shows that they can also dissociate. The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive profiles of good readers/poor spellers and poor readers/good spellers in a relatively consistent orthography (Greek). One hundred forty children were administered measures of phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, phonological short-term memory, and orthographic knowledge in grades 1 and 2. Their performance in reading and spelling was assessed in grade 4. Two small groups of children exhibited dissociation between reading and spelling: seven children were identified as poor readers/good spellers and 11 children as good readers/poor spellers. The former group experienced severe deficits in both rapid naming and phonological awareness. The latter group experienced only mild deficits in orthographic knowledge. Although inefficient orthographic knowledge affects their spelling accuracy (Greek is inconsistent in the direction of spelling), it does not impact their reading fluency because they can recognize words by relying on partial cues.
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Georgiou GK, Manolitsis G, Zhang X, Parrila R, Nurmi JE. Examining the developmental dynamics between achievement strategies and different literacy skills. International Journal of Behavioral Development 2013. [DOI: 10.1177/0165025413477007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We examined the developmental dynamics between task-avoidant behavior and different literacy outcomes, and possible precursors of task-avoidant behavior. Seventy Greek children were followed from Grade 4 until Grade 6 and were assessed every year on reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension. The teachers assessed the children’s achievement strategies at all testing times. In addition, in Grade 4, the children responded to a task value questionnaire and the parents reported their beliefs and expectations about their children’s academic performance. The results revealed that task avoidance was reciprocally related only to reading comprehension. In addition, only parental beliefs predicted task avoidance. These findings complement those of previous studies in transparent orthographies and suggest that the role of task avoidance on literacy development depends on the time when the literacy skills are assessed and the type of literacy outcome.
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Georgiou GK, Hirvonen R, Liao CH, Manolitsis G, Parrila R, Nurmi JE. The role of achievement strategies on literacy acquisition across languages. Contemporary Educational Psychology 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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