The relational side of teachers' self-efficacy: Assimilation and contrast effects of classroom relational climate on teachers' self-efficacy

Although much is known about the sources of teachers' self-efficacy (TSE), less attention has been paid to the social-contextual specificity of TSE and the processes influencing the relevance of TSE information sources. This study investigated both dyad-level relationships and the classroom relational climate as predictors of TSE at the student and classroom level. Additionally, we explored two competing hypotheses-assimilation and contrast-articulating how teachers use information conveyed by classroom relationship experiences as a heuristic to interpret relationship experiences with individual students as a TSE source. Elementary school teachers (N = 86; 72.05% female) completed the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale and Student-Specific Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale for randomly selected children (N = 687, 50.1% girls, Grades 3-6) from their classes. Doubly latent multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test for associations of Closeness and Conflict with TSE at both the student (L1) and classroom level (L2). Contextual effects, corresponding to associations of classroom-level Closeness and Conflict with TSE above the same associations at the student level, were calculated to test assimilation and contrast hypotheses. At L1, results indicated positive associations between Closeness and TSE and negative associations between Conflict and TSE. At L2, only Conflict was negatively associated with TSE. Consistent with the contrast hypothesis, the contextual effect of Closeness, but not Conflict, was negative and significant. Hence, teachers' judgments of a relatively close classroom relational climate may lead them to perceive relational closeness with individual students in a more negative light, resulting in lower levels of TSE toward these students.

Perceived negative consequences of dyslexia: the influence of person and environmental factors

Perceived negative consequences of dyslexia entail the degree to which an individual perceives negative outcomes, such as low academic achievement or feelings of anxiety and depression, and attributes these experiences to the disorder. In the current study, we examined how perceived consequences of dyslexia are influenced by person and environmental factors. Perceived consequences were evaluated for the academic domain and the domain of mental health (depression, anxiety). Participants were 123 Dutch students with dyslexia. Cognitive person factors (literacy skills and verbal IQ), socio-emotional person factors (self-perceived literacy skills and coping ability), and environmental factors (literacy demands, support from the institution, reactions of teachers and peers) were included as predictors. Results indicated that perceived negative consequences were not related to cognitive person factors. In contrast, better self-perceived literacy skills were associated with less perceived negative consequences in all domains (academic, depression, anxiety) and coping contributed to depression consequences. With respect to environmental factors, negative reactions in the academic environment contributed to perceived negative consequences of depression and anxiety. As such, findings indicate that individuals with dyslexia perceive negative consequences in the academic, anxiety, and depression domains which cannot be fully accounted for by their objective reading and writing problems. These factors should feature more prominently in future studies on dyslexia and should be addressed in treatment of dyslexia as well.

The Validity of WISC-V Profiles of Strengths and Weaknesses

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014 ) provides a general intelligence score, representing g, and five index scores, reflecting underlying broad factors. Within person differences between the overall performance across subtests and index scores, denoted as index difference scores, are often used to examine profiles of strengths and weaknesses. In this study, the validity of such profiles was examined for the Dutch WISC-V. In line with previous studies, broad factors explained little variance in index scores. A simulation study showed that variation in index difference scores also reflected little broad factor variance. The simulation study further revealed that, as a consequence, a significant discrepancy between an index score and overall performance was accompanied in only 40%–74% of the cases by a discrepancy on the underlying broad factor. Overall, these results provide little support for the validity and thereby clinical use of WISC-V profiles.

Genome-wide analyses of individual differences in quantitatively assessed reading- and language-related skills in up to 34,000 people

The use of spoken and written language is a fundamental human capacity. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30 to 80% depending on the trait. The genetic architecture is complex, heterogeneous, and multifactorial, but investigations of contributions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were thus far underpowered. We present a multicohort genome-wide association study (GWAS) of five traits assessed individually using psychometric measures (word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition) in samples of 13,633 to 33,959 participants aged 5 to 26 y. We identified genome-wide significant association with word reading (rs11208009, P = 1.098 × 10-8) at a locus that has not been associated with intelligence or educational attainment. All five reading-/language-related traits showed robust SNP heritability, accounting for 13 to 26% of trait variability. Genomic structural equation modeling revealed a shared genetic factor explaining most of the variation in word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness, which only partially overlapped with genetic variation contributing to nonword repetition, intelligence, and educational attainment. A multivariate GWAS of word/nonword reading, spelling, and phoneme awareness maximized power for follow-up investigation. Genetic correlation analysis with neuroimaging traits identified an association with the surface area of the banks of the left superior temporal sulcus, a brain region linked to the processing of spoken and written language. Heritability was enriched for genomic elements regulating gene expression in the fetal brain and in chromosomal regions that are depleted of Neanderthal variants. Together, these results provide avenues for deciphering the biological underpinnings of uniquely human traits.

A stitch in time…: Comparing late-identified, late-emerging and early-identified dyslexia

When dyslexia is diagnosed late, the question is whether this is due to late-emerging (LE) or late-identified (LI) problems. In a random selection of dyslexia-diagnosis case files we distinguished early-diagnosed (Grade 1-3, n = 116) and late-diagnosed (Grade 4-6) dyslexia. The late-diagnosed files were divided into LE (n = 54) and LI dyslexia (n = 45). The LE group consisted of children whose national-curriculum literacy outcomes did not warrant referral for dyslexia diagnosis in Grades 1-2; the LI group of children whose literacy outcomes did, but who were referred for diagnostic assessment after Grade 3. At the time of diagnosis, the percentage of poor performers on word-level literacy measures generally did not differ between the groups. Only the LE group contained fewer poor performers than the early-diagnosed and LI group on some word-reading measures. All groups showed similar distributions of phonological difficulties. There were no indications of compensation through vocabulary, memory or IQ in either late-diagnosed group. Our diagnosis-based study confirms and extends previous research-based studies on LE dyslexia. Moreover, it shows that LI dyslexia exists, which can be regarded as the existence of instructional casualties. The findings speak to issues of identification, diagnosis and compensation and call for further efforts to improve the early identification of dyslexia.

Parent–child conflict during homeschooling in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: A key role for mothers’ self-efficacy in teaching

To contain the COVID-19 pandemic schools have been closed in many countries. Children stayed at home and were assisted by their parents with their schoolwork. Evidently, homeschooling puts extra demands on parents. We presumed that parents’ sense of efficacy in teaching would play a key role in how they cope with this extra task of homeschooling. In particular, we hypothesized that parental characteristics (level of parental education and stress) and social contextual factors (household chaos and school support) would contribute to parents’ teaching self-efficacy and that, in turn, a lower efficacy would result in more parent–child conflict during home schooling. Participants were 173 mothers of children in kindergarten or early elementary schools, who provided information for one of their children about interpersonal conflicts around schoolwork before and during school closure. Additionally, they reported on their self-efficacy in teaching, perceived stress during lockdown, home chaos, and school support. Path analyses indicated that mothers’ perceived stress and household chaos were associated with a lower sense of efficacy in teaching, whereas school support, but not level of parental education, was related to a higher level of teaching self-efficacy. Higher levels of self-efficacy beliefs, in turn, were associated with a lower degree of mother–child conflict during schoolwork, even after controlling for prior levels of conflict. We discuss how the results of this study might be used to foster parents’ self-efficacy in teaching and thereby decrease the amount of parent–child conflict during parents’ support with schoolwork.

Word- and Text-Level Processes Contributing to Fluent Reading of Word Lists and Sentences

In this study, we investigated how word- and text-level processes contribute to different types of reading fluency measures. We aimed to increase our understanding of the underlying processes necessary for fluent reading. The sample included 73 Dutch Grade 3 children, who were assessed on serial word reading rate (familiar words), word-list reading fluency (increasingly difficult words), and sentence reading fluency. Word-level processes were individual word recognition speed (discrete word reading) and sequential processing efficiency (serial digit naming). Text-level processes were receptive vocabulary and syntactic skills. The results showed that word- and text-level processes combined accounted for a comparable amount of variance in all fluency outcomes. Both word-level processes were moderate predictors of all fluency outcomes. However, vocabulary only moderately predicted sentence reading fluency, and syntactic skills merely contributed to sentence reading fluency indirectly through vocabulary. The findings indicate that sequential processing efficiency has a crucial role in reading fluency across various measures besides individual word recognition speed. Additionally, text-level processes come into play when complexity and context availability of fluency measures increases, but the exact timing requires further study. Findings are discussed in terms of future directions and their possible value for diagnostic assessment and intervention of reading difficulties.

Developmental profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension from grades 1 to 9 and their early identification

This study examined developmental profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension in Grades 1 to 9 (ages 7 to 15) in a large Finnish sample (N = 2,518). In addition, early predictors of the profiles were analyzed with respect to kindergarten cognitive skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automized naming [RAN], number counting, word reading, vocabulary, and listening comprehension), parental factors (level of education, reading difficulties), and gender. Four different profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension development were identified using latent profile analysis. These comprised one profile with persistent reading difficulties across the grades, one with early poor reading skills but with a resolving tendency, one with average reading skills, and one with good readers who started with very high reading fluency but scored average over time. Of the kindergarten measures, parental reading difficulties, being male, low paternal level of education, slow RAN, difficulty in reading easy words, and low scores in phonological skills, letter knowledge, number counting, and vocabulary predicted reading difficulties. The children belonging to the profile with the resolving tendency showed an increased rate of family risk and multiple cognitive deficits but managed to resolve their reading difficulties. Being female, and good number counting and vocabulary skills predicted a tendency to resolve early reading difficulties. The results confirm the previous findings on the early predictors of reading difficulties and add to the literature by identifying skills that predict resolving patterns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Lexicality effects on orthographic learning in beginning and advanced readers of Dutch: An eye-tracking study

Orthographic learning is the topic of many recent studies about reading, but much is still unknown about conditions that affect orthographic learning and their influence on reading fluency development over time. This study investigated lexicality effects on orthographic learning in beginning and relatively advanced readers of Dutch. Eye movements of 131 children in Grades 2 and 5 were monitored during an orthographic learning task. Children read sentences containing pseudowords or low-frequency real words that varied in number of exposures. We examined both offline learning outcomes (i.e., orthographic choice and spelling dictation) of target items and online gaze durations on target words. The results showed general effects of exposure, lexicality, and reading-skill level. Also, a two-way interaction was found between the number of exposures and lexicality when detailed orthographic representations were required, consistent with a larger overall effect of exposure on learning the spellings of pseudowords. Moreover, lexicality and reading-skill level were found to affect the learning rate across exposures based on a decrease in gaze durations, indicating a larger learning effect for pseudowords in Grade 5 children. Yet, further interactions between exposure and reading-skill level were not present, indicating largely similar learning curves for beginning and advanced readers. We concluded that the reading system of more advanced readers may cope somewhat better with words varying in lexicality, but is not more efficient than that of beginning readers in building up orthographic knowledge of specific words across repeated exposures.

Using relationship-focused reflection to improve teacher-child relationships and teachers' student-specific self-efficacy

The present study evaluated whether LLInC (Leerkracht-Leerling Interactie Coaching in Dutch, or Teacher-Student Interaction Coaching), a teacher-based coaching-intervention, yielded improvements in dyadic affective teacher-child relationships in elementary school (Grades 2-6). Based on attachment theory, LLInC aims to foster more flexible and differentiated mental representations of teachers' relationships with individual children with whom they experience relationship difficulties. Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared an intervention group of teachers (n = 46 teachers and 92 children) receiving LLInC with a control group receiving no form of intervention (n = 32 teachers and 88 children). To investigate possible transfer effects, we asked teachers from the intervention group to report on their relationships and self-efficacy beliefs regarding two other children with whom they experienced relationship difficulties as well (n = 46 teachers and 81 children). Multilevel models were used to examine intervention effects on teachers' perceptions of relationship quality (i.e., Closeness, Conflict, Dependency), and teachers' student-specific self-efficacy beliefs for Behavior Management and Emotional Support. Teachers receiving LLInC reported short-term improvements in Closeness and self-efficacy beliefs for Emotional Support and decreases in Conflict as compared to control teachers. Similar improvements in Closeness and self-efficacy for Emotional Support were found for the intervention-transfer group as compared to control teachers. Also, teachers receiving LLInC had short-term and longer-term improvements in self-efficacy beliefs for Behavior Management as compared to control teachers. These improvements regarding Behavior Management were not found for the intervention-transfer group.

The Relationship of Reading Abilities With the Underlying Cognitive Skills of Math: A Dimensional Approach

Math and reading are related, and math problems are often accompanied by problems in reading. In the present study, we used a dimensional approach and we aimed to assess the relationship of reading and math with the cognitive skills assumed to underlie the development of math. The sample included 97 children from 4th and 5th grades of a primary school. Children were administered measures of reading and math, non-verbal IQ, and various underlying cognitive abilities of math (counting, number sense, and number system knowledge). We also included measures of phonological awareness and working memory (WM). Two approaches were undertaken to elucidate the relations of the cognitive skills with math and reading. In the first approach, we examined the unique contributions of math and reading ability, as well as their interaction, to each cognitive ability. In the second approach, the cognitive abilities were taken to predict math and reading. Results from the first set of analyses showed specific effects of math on number sense and number system knowledge, whereas counting was affected by both math and reading. No math-by-reading interactions were observed. In contrast, for phonological awareness, an interaction of math and reading was found. Lower performing children on both math and reading performed disproportionately lower. Results with respect to the second approach confirmed the specific relation of counting, number sense, and number system knowledge to math and the relation of counting to reading but added that each math-related marker contributed independently to math. Following this approach, no unique effects of phonological awareness on math and reading were found. In all, the results show that math is specifically related to counting, number sense, and number system knowledge. The results also highlight what each approach can contribute to an understanding of the relations of the various cognitive correlates with reading and math.

The relation of visual attention span with serial and discrete rapid automatized naming and reading

Visual attention span (VAS) has been shown to make a unique contribution to reading skills over and above phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming (RAN). In the current study, we examined the nature of this unique relationship. In particular, we tested whether VAS reflects the retrieval of a verbal code, serial processing, or parallel multi-element processing. To this end, we presented 180 third graders with tasks for VAS, discrete RAN, and serial RAN as well as serial and discrete reading of short words, pseudowords, and long words. VAS was found to correlate with serial RAN but not with discrete RAN. More important, similar relations were found for VAS with serial and discrete reading, which clearly differed from the format-specific relations between RAN and reading. Together, these findings suggest that VAS and serial RAN are related but are associated with reading for different reasons. Serial RAN appears to reflect serial interword reading processes, whereas the unique contribution of VAS mainly involves the parallel processing of orthographic units within words.

Early and late diagnosed dyslexia in secondary school: Performance on literacy skills and cognitive correlates

Although a diagnosis of dyslexia is often made during elementary school, severe and persistent literacy difficulties of a considerable group of students are only noticed during secondary school. The question arises whether the literacy(-related) deficits of these late identified students with dyslexia differ from those of early diagnosed students. To address this question, 10th Grade Dutch secondary school students with early (n = 35) and late (n = 19) identified dyslexia and their peers with average to good literacy abilities (n = 24) were compared on literacy skills and underlying cognitive skills. At the group level, both students with an early and late diagnosis performed more poorly than their typical peers, but they did not differ from each other on (pseudo-)word reading, spelling and underlying cognitive correlates (phonemic awareness, rapid automatized naming and visual attention span). The early and late group contained comparable percentages of students performing poorly on most measures. There were, however, more students in the early group who showed deficits in phonemic awareness. Our results indicate that students with early and late diagnosed dyslexia are highly comparable. Suggestions for fitting interventions are discussed.

Home Literacy Environment and Early Literacy Development Across Languages Varying in Orthographic Consistency

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.

Reading and Spelling Development Across Languages Varying in Orthographic Consistency: Do Their Paths Cross?

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.

Simulation of dyslexia. How literacy and cognitive skills can help distinguish college students with dyslexia from malingerers

Academic accommodations associated with a diagnosis of dyslexia might be incentives for college students without reading or spelling difficulties to feign dyslexia and obtain the diagnosis unfairly. In the current study we examined malingering practices by comparing the performance of college students instructed to malinger dyslexia (n = 28) to that of students actually diagnosed with dyslexia (n = 16). We also included a control group of students without reading and spelling difficulties (n = 28). The test battery included tasks tapping literacy skills as well as underlying cognitive skills associated with literacy outcomes. These tasks are commonly used in diagnosing dyslexia. We examined patterns in the performance of malingerers across tasks and tested whether malingerers could be identified based on their performance on a limited number of tasks. Results indicated that malingerers scored significantly lower than students with dyslexia on reading and spelling skills; i.e., the core characteristics of dyslexia. Especially reading performance was extremely low and not in line with students’ age and level of education. Findings for underlying cognitive skills were mixed. Overall, malingerers scored lower than students with dyslexia on tasks tapping mainly speed, whereas the two groups did not differ on tasks reflecting mainly accuracy. Based on word and pseudoword reading and letter and digit naming, the three groups could be distinguished with reasonable sensitivity and specificity. In all, results indicate that college students seem to understand on which tasks they should feign dyslexia, but tend to exaggerate difficulties on these tasks to the point where diagnosticians should mistrust performance.

Pathways Into Literacy: The Role of Early Oral Language Abilities and Family Risk for Dyslexia

The present study investigated the role of early oral language and family risk for dyslexia in the two developmental pathways toward reading comprehension, through word reading and through oral language abilities. The sample contained 237 children (164 at family risk for dyslexia) from the Dutch Dyslexia Program. Longitudinal data were obtained on seven occasions when children were between 4 and 12 years old. The relationship between early oral language ability and reading comprehension at the age of 12 years was mediated by preliteracy skills and word-decoding ability for the first pathway and by later language abilities for the second pathway. Family risk influenced literacy development through its subsequent relations with preliteracy skills, word decoding, and reading comprehension. Although performance on language measures was often lower for the family-risk group than for the no-family-risk group, family risk did not have a specific relation with either early or later oral language abilities.

Development of verbal short-term memory and working memory in children with epilepsy: Developmental delay and impact of time-related variables. A cross-sectional study

While short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) are understood as being crucial for learning, and children with epilepsy often experience learning difficulties, little is known about the age-related development of memory span tasks in children with epilepsy. Short-term memory and WM, operationalized as digit span forwards (DSF) or digit span backwards (DSB), respectively, were studied. Participants were 314 children with epilepsy and 327 typically developing children in ages between 5 and 15years and full scale intelligence quotient (FS-IQ)≥75. Cross-sectional analyses of the data were done with analyses of variance and analyses of covariance ((M)ANCOVAs) and generalized linear analyses. The analyses revealed that STM problems in epilepsy were mediated by age-related gains in WM as well as by differences in IQ. Working memory developed at a quick pace in the younger children, the pace slowed down to some extent in the later primary school years and resumed again later on. Working memory problems prevailed in epilepsy, independent of IQ and development of STM. Timing of the epilepsy in terms of age at onset and duration determined memory development. The youngest children with epilepsy showed age-appropriate development in STM but were the most vulnerable in terms of WM development. Later in the course of the epilepsy, the WM problems of the young children attenuated. In later onset epilepsy, WM problems were smaller but persisted over time.

Six factors of adult dyslexia assessed by cognitive tests and self-report questions: Very high predictive validity

The Multiple Diagnostic Digital Dyslexia Test for Adults (MDDDT-A) consists of 12 newly developed tests and self-report questions in the Dutch language. Predictive validity and construct validity were investigated and compared with validity of a standard test battery of dyslexia (STB) in a sample of 154 students. There are three main results. First, various analyses of principal components showed that six or more factors of dyslexia can be distinguished (rapid naming, spelling, reading, short-term memory, confusion, phonology, attention, complexity). All factors are represented by the MDDDT-A. Second, various discriminant analyses showed good predictive validity for both the tests of the MDDDT-A (90%) and the STB (90%). However, predictive validity of the questionnaire was highest (97%). Third, we analysed the best predictors of dyslexia and found that predictive validity is higher when construct validity is high, that is when a set of predictors represents many characteristics of dyslexia. The main conclusion is that a digital test battery can be a reliable screening instrument for dyslexia in students, especially when it is accompanied by self-report questions. A theoretical conclusion is that dyslexia is characterized by at least six cognitive impairments in a complex way. In students, this structure may be modulated by high intelligence and good schooling through various compensation strategies. It is therefore recommended to include assessments of all characteristics of dyslexia to achieve the most reliable diagnoses in different samples and in different countries.

Delayed Early Vocabulary Development in Children at Family Risk of Dyslexia

PURPOSE

This study aimed to gain more insight into the relation between vocabulary and reading acquisition by examining early growth trajectories in the vocabulary of children at family risk (FR) of dyslexia longitudinally.

METHOD

The sample included 212 children from the Dutch Dyslexia Program with and without an FR. Parents reported on their children's receptive and expressive vocabulary size at ages 17, 23, 29, and 35 months using the Dutch MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. Dyslexia status at the end of Grade 2 (8 years) rendered 3 groups: FR-dyslexic (n = 51), FR-nondyslexic (n = 92), and typically developing-nondyslexic (TD) children (n = 69).

RESULTS

Repeated measures analyses showed that FR-dyslexic children had lower receptive vocabulary scores from 23 months onward and lower expressive scores from 17 months onward than FR-nondyslexic children. Latent growth curve modeling showed lower initial growth rates in FR-dyslexic children, followed by partial recovery, indicating a delayed increase in receptive and expressive vocabulary. FR-nondyslexic and TD children did not differ.

CONCLUSIONS

Early deficits in receptive and expressive vocabulary are associated with later reading. Early vocabulary growth of FR-dyslexic children is characterized by a delay but not deviance of growth. Vocabulary can be considered an additional risk factor for dyslexia.

Foreign language reading and spelling in gifted students with dyslexia in secondary education

A few studies suggest that gifted children with dyslexia have better literacy skills than averagely intelligent children with dyslexia. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that giftedness-related factors provide compensation for poor reading. The present study investigated whether, as in the native language (NL), the level of foreign language (FL) literacy of gifted students with dyslexia is higher than the literacy level of averagely intelligent students with dyslexia and whether this difference can be accounted for by the difference in their NL literacy level. The sample consisted of 148 Dutch native speaking secondary school students divided in four groups: dyslexia, gifted/dyslexia, typically developing (TD), and gifted. All students were assessed on word reading and orthographic knowledge in Dutch and English when they were in 7th or 8th grade. A subsample (n = 71) was (re)assessed on Dutch, English, French, and German literacy one year later. Results showed that Dutch gifted students with dyslexia have higher NL literacy levels than averagely intelligent students with dyslexia. As in the NL, a stepwise pattern of group differences was found for English word reading and spelling, i.e., dyslexia < gifted/dyslexia < TD < gifted. However, it was not found for French and German literacy performance. These results point towards compensation: the higher English literacy levels of gifted/dyslexic students compared to their averagely intelligent dyslexic peers result from mechanisms that are unique to English as a FL. Differences in results between FLs are discussed in terms of variation in orthographic transparency and exposure.

Differential lexical predictors of reading comprehension in fourth graders

The mental lexicon plays a central role in reading comprehension (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014). It encompasses the number of lexical entries in spoken and written language (vocabulary breadth), the semantic quality of these entries (vocabulary depth), and the connection strength between lexical representations (semantic relatedness); as such, it serves as an output for the decoding process and as an input for comprehension processes. Although different aspects of the lexicon can be distinguished, research on the role of the mental lexicon in reading comprehension often does not take these individual aspects of the lexicon into account. The current study used a multicomponent approach to examine whether measures of spoken and written vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and semantic relatedness were differentially predictive of individual differences in reading comprehension skills in fourth-grade students. The results indicated that, in addition to nonverbal reasoning, short-term memory, and word decoding, the four measures of lexical quality substantially added (30 %) to the proportion of explained variance of reading comprehension (adding up to a total proportion of 65 %). Moreover, each individual measure of lexical quality added significantly to the prediction of reading comprehension after all other measures were taken into account, with written lexical breadth and lexical depth showing the greatest increase in explained variance. It can thus be concluded that multiple components of lexical quality play a role in children's reading comprehension.

A Values-Affirmation Intervention Does Not Benefit Negatively Stereotyped Immigrant Students in the Netherlands

Previous research showed that a values-affirmation intervention can help reduce the achievement gap between African American and European American students in the US. In the present study, it was examined if these results would generalize to ethnic minority students in a country outside the US, namely the Netherlands, where there is also an achievement gap between native and ethnic minority students. This type of intervention was tested in two separate studies, the first among first-year pre-vocational students (n = 361, 84% ethnic minority), and the second among sixth grade students (n = 290, 96% ethnic minority). Most minority participants had a Turkish-Dutch or Moroccan-Dutch immigrant background. In the second study, a third condition was added to the original paradigm, in which students elaborated on either their affirmation- or a control exercise with the help of a teaching assistant. We also examined whether values affirmation affected the level of problem behavior of negatively stereotyped ethnic minority youth. Contrary to what was expected, multilevel analyses revealed that the intervention had no effect on the school achievement or the problem behavior of the ethnic minority students. Possible explanations for these findings, mainly related to contextual and cultural differences between the Netherlands and the US, are discussed.

Inter- and intra-individual differences in teachers' self-efficacy: A multilevel factor exploration

This study explored inter- and intra-individual differences in teachers' self-efficacy (TSE) by adapting Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy's (2001) Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) to the domain- and student-specific level. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the factor structure underlying this adapted instrument, and to test for violations of measurement invariance over clusters. Results from 841 third- to sixth-grade students and their 107 teachers supported the existence of one higher-order factor (Overall TSE) and four lower-order factors (Instructional Strategies, Behavior Management, Student Engagement, and Emotional Support) at both the between- and within-teacher level. In this factor model, intra-individual differences in TSE were generally larger than inter-individual differences. Additionally, the presence of cluster bias in 18 of 24 items suggested that the unique domains of student-specific TSE at the between-teacher level cannot merely be perceived as the within-teacher level factors' aggregates. These findings underscore the importance of further investigating TSE in relation to teacher, student, and classroom characteristics.

Risk and protective factors in gifted children with dyslexia

This study investigated risk and protective factors associated with dyslexia and literacy development, both at the group and individual level, to gain more insight in underlying cognitive profiles and possibilities for compensation in high-IQ children. A sample of 73 Dutch primary school children included a dyslexic group, a gifted-dyslexic group, and a borderline-dyslexic group (i.e., gifted children with relative literacy problems). Children were assessed on literacy, phonology, language, and working memory. Competing hypotheses were formulated, comparing the core-deficit view to the twice-exceptionality view on compensation with giftedness-related strengths. The results showed no indication of compensation of dyslexia-related deficits by giftedness-related strengths in gifted children with dyslexia. The higher literacy levels of borderline children compared to gifted children with dyslexia seemed the result of both fewer combinations of risk factors and less severe phonological deficits in this group. There was no evidence for compensation by specific strengths more relevant to literacy development in the borderline group. Accordingly, the findings largely supported the core-deficit view, whereas no evidence for the twice-exceptionality view was found. Besides practical implications, the findings also add to knowledge about the different manifestations of dyslexia and associated underlying cognitive factors at the higher end of the intelligence spectrum.

Pediatric epilepsy and comorbid reading disorders, math disorders, or autism spectrum disorders: Impact of epilepsy on cognitive patterns

INTRODUCTION

In pediatric epilepsy, comorbidities are reported to be frequent. The present study focusedon the cognitive patterns of children with isolated epilepsy, children with isolated neurodevelopmental disorders (reading disorders, math disorders, autism spectrum disorders), and children with epilepsy and these neurodevelopmental disorders as comorbidities.

METHODS

Based on two samples of referred children, one with epilepsy, reading disorders, math disorders, or ASDs occurring in "isolation" (n=117) and one with reading disorders, math disorders, and ASDs occurring comorbid with epilepsy (n=171), cognitive patterns were compared. The patterns displayed by verbal and nonverbal abilities from the WISC series were studied with repeated measures ANOVA. Thereafter, an exploratory 2∗3∗2 factorial analysis was done to study the independent contribution of the type of comorbidity and of the presence or absence of epilepsy to the VIQ-PIQ pattern.

RESULTS

In isolated epilepsy, a VIQ>PIQ pattern was found, which was not seen in the other disorders. When epilepsy and another disorder co-occurred, patterns were altered. They resembled partly the pattern seen in isolated epilepsy and partly the pattern seen in the isolated neurodevelopmental disorder. In comorbid reading disorders, the VIQ>PIQ pattern was mitigated; in comorbid math disorders, it was exacerbated. In comorbid ASDs, no clear pattern emerged. In the presence of epilepsy, patterns characteristic of isolated disorders appeared systematically shifted toward relatively lowered performance abilities or relatively spared verbal abilities. The similar "impact" exerted by epilepsy on the patterns of the various conditions suggested shared mechanisms.

IQ of four-year-olds who go on to develop dyslexia

Do children who go on to develop dyslexia show normal verbal and nonverbal development before reading onset? According to the aptitude-achievement discrepancy model, dyslexia is defined as a discrepancy between intelligence and reading achievement. One of the underlying assumptions is that the general cognitive development of children who fail to learn to read has been normal. The current study tests this assumption. In addition, we investigated whether possible IQ deficits are uniquely related to later reading or are also related to arithmetic. Four-year-olds (N = 212) with and without familial risk for dyslexia were assessed on 10 IQ subtests. Reading and arithmetic skills were measured 4 years later, at the end of Grade 2. Relative to the controls, the at-risk group without dyslexia had subtle impairments only in the verbal domain, whereas the at-risk group with dyslexia lagged behind across IQ tasks. Nonverbal IQ was associated with both reading and arithmetic, whereas verbal IQ was uniquely related to later reading. The children who went on to develop dyslexia performed relatively poorly in both verbal and nonverbal abilities at age 4, which challenges the discrepancy model. Furthermore, we discuss possible causal and epiphenomenal models explaining the links between early IQ and later reading.

Underlying skills of oral and silent reading

Many studies have examined reading and reading development. The majority of these studies, however, focused on oral reading rather than on the more dominant silent reading mode. Similarly, it is common practice to assess oral reading abilities rather than silent reading abilities in schools and in diagnosis of reading impairments. More important, insights gained through examinations of oral reading tend to be generalized to silent reading. In the current study, we examined whether such generalizations are justified. We directly compared oral and silent reading fluency by examining whether these reading modes relate to the same underlying skills. In total, 132 fourth graders read words, sentences, and text orally, and 123 classmates read the same material silently. As underlying skills, we considered phonological awareness, rapid naming, and visual attention span. All skills correlated significantly with both reading modes. Phonological awareness contributed equally to oral and silent reading. Rapid naming, however, correlated more strongly with oral reading than with silent reading. Visual attention span correlated equally strongly with both reading modes but showed a significant unique contribution only to silent reading. In short, we showed that oral and silent reading indeed are fairly similar reading modes, based on the relations with reading-related cognitive skills. However, we also found differences that warrant caution in generalizing findings across reading modes.

The intergenerational multiple deficit model and the case of dyslexia

Which children go on to develop dyslexia? Since dyslexia has a multifactorial etiology, this question can be restated as: what are the factors that put children at high risk for developing dyslexia? It is argued that a useful theoretical framework to address this question is Pennington’s (2006) multiple deficit model (MDM). This model replaces models that attribute dyslexia to a single underlying cause. Subsequently, the generalist genes hypothesis for learning (dis)abilities (Plomin and Kovas, 2005) is described and integrated with the MDM. Next, findings are presented from a longitudinal study with children at family risk for dyslexia. Such studies can contribute to testing and specifying the MDM. In this study, risk factors at both the child and family level were investigated. This led to the proposed intergenerational MDM, in which both parents confer liability via intertwined genetic and environmental pathways. Future scientific directions are discussed to investigate parent-offspring resemblance and transmission patterns, which will shed new light on disorder etiology.

Establishing Reliable Cognitive Change in Children With Epilepsy

The goal of this study was to investigate reliable cognitive change in epilepsy by developing computational procedures to determine reliable change index scores (RCIs) for the Dutch Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children. First, RCIs were calculated based on stability coefficients from a reference sample. Then, these RCIs were applied to a sample of 73 children with refractory epilepsy who were tested twice with the WISC-RNNL/WISC-IIINL after a mean interval of 2.3 years. Results indicated that children with refractory epilepsy are at risk for cognitive decline over time: 26.0% of the children showed reliable losses on Verbal IQ and 16.4% on the full scale IQ (expected rate = 5%). Declines on performance IQ were within expected limits.

Lexical decision in children: sublexical processing or lexical search?

Length effects in the lexical decision latencies of children might indicate that children rely on sublexical processing and essentially approach the task as a naming task. We examined this possibility by means of the effects of neighbourhood size and articulatory suppression on lexical decision performance. Sixty-six beginning and 62 advanced readers performed a lexical decision task in a standard, articulatory suppression, or tapping condition. We found length effects on words and nonwords in the children's lexical decisions. However, the effects of neighbourhood size were similar to those reported for adult lexical decisions, rather than the effects previously found in children's naming. In addition, no effect was found of articulatory suppression. Both findings suggest that, despite clear length effects, children do not adopt a naming task approach but, like adults, base lexical decisions mainly on a lexical search. These results pose a challenge for several computational models of reading.

Child and parental literacy levels within families with a history of dyslexia

BACKGROUND

The present study concerns literacy and its underlying cognitive skills in Dutch children who differ in familial risk (FR) for dyslexia. Previous studies with FR-children were inconclusive regarding the performance of FR-children without dyslexia as compared to the controls. Moreover, van Bergen et al. (2011) recently showed that FR-children with and without dyslexia differed in parental reading skills, suggesting that those who go on to develop dyslexia have a higher liability. The current study concerned 1) the comparison of three groups of children at the end of second grade and 2) the intergenerational transfer of reading and its underlying cognitive skills from parent to child.

METHOD

Three groups of children were studied at the end of second grade: FR-dyslexia (n = 42), FR-no-dyslexia (n = 99), and control children (n = 66). Parents and children were measured on naming, phonology, spelling, and word and pseudoword reading.

RESULTS

The FR-dyslexia children were severely impaired across all tasks. The FR-no-dyslexia children performed better than the FR-dyslexia children, but still below the level of the controls on all tasks; the only exception was rapid naming (RAN), on which they were as fast as the controls. Focusing on the FR subsample, parental reading and RAN were related to their offspring's reading status.

CONCLUSIONS

We replicated and extended van Bergen et al.'s study in showing that the FR-children who develop dyslexia are likely to have a higher liability. Both the group comparisons and the parent-child relations highlight the importance of good RAN skills for reading acquisition.