ERIC Number: EJ1036477
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Dec
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0256-2928
EISSN: N/A
School Readiness of Moderately Preterm Children at Preschool Age
Perricone, Giovanna; Morales, M. Regina; Anzalone, Germana
European Journal of Psychology of Education, v28 n4 p1333-1343 Dec 2013
The study investigates the preschool readiness of moderately preterm children and, in particular, the likely presence of learning disabilities at preschool age. Its theoretical model detects linguistic comprehension and expression; memory-related metacognition and cognition skills; orientation and motor coordination skills; premathematics and preliteracy ones. The research project involved an experimental group made up of 55 moderately preterm children (mean age?=?62 months, mean gestational age?=?34.6 weeks), without any clinical neonatal complications, and low birth weight (M?=?2,100 g, SD?=?350 g); a control group made up of 55 full-term children without pre- and perinatal complications. The children's primary school reference teachers were given a questionnaire (Observative Questionnaire for Early Identification of Learning Disabilities), which was aimed at identifying any likely social and cognitive skill deficits at preschool age. The data, submitted to nonparametric univariate variance, show how scores of moderately preterm children in the metacognition [U [subscript(n1 e?n2?=?55)]?=?35, p?=?0.04, r?=?0.49] are statistically lower, other cognitive skills (memory, orientation, and visual--motor coordination) [U [subscript(n1?e?n2?=?55)]?=?32, p?=?0.02, r?=?0.45], premathematics [U [subscript(n1?e?n2?=?55)]?=?32, p?=?0.02, r?=?0.44], and the total score [U [subscript(n1?e?n2?=?55)]?=?31, p?=?0.02, r?=?0.12]. Such data would seem to suggest the need for hypothesizing preventive training and educational paths as a prerequisite for the development of the school abilities.
Descriptors: School Readiness, Preschool Children, Premature Infants, Learning Disabilities, At Risk Students, Receptive Language, Expressive Language, Memory, Metacognition, Cognitive Ability, Psychomotor Skills, Mathematics Skills, Reading Skills, Experimental Groups, Body Weight, Control Groups, Questionnaires, Disability Identification, Social Development, Cognitive Development, Preschool Teachers, Scores
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A