ERIC Number: EJ1144710
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-2194
EISSN: N/A
Executive Functions Contribute Uniquely to Reading Competence in Minority Youth
Jacobson, Lisa A.; Koriakin, Taylor; Lipkin, Paul; Boada, Richard; Frijters, Jan C.; Lovett, Maureen W.; Hill, Dina; Willcutt, Erik; Gottwald, Stephanie; Wolf, Maryanne; Bosson-Heenan, Joan; Gruen, Jeffrey R.; Mahone, E. Mark
Journal of Learning Disabilities, v50 n4 p422-433 Jul-Aug 2017
Competent reading requires various skills beyond those for basic word reading (i.e., core language skills, rapid naming, phonological processing). Contributing "higher-level" or domain-general processes include information processing speed and executive functions (working memory, strategic problem solving, attentional switching). Research in this area has relied on largely Caucasian samples, with limited representation of children from racial or ethnic minority groups. This study examined contributions of executive skills to reading competence in 761 children of minority backgrounds. Hierarchical linear regressions examined unique contributions of executive functions (EF) to word reading, fluency, and comprehension. EF contributed uniquely to reading performance, over and above reading-related language skills; working memory contributed uniquely to all components of reading; while attentional switching, but not problem solving, contributed to isolated and contextual word reading and reading fluency. Problem solving uniquely predicted comprehension, suggesting that this skill may be especially important for reading comprehension in minority youth. Attentional switching may play a unique role in development of reading fluency in minority youth, perhaps as a result of the increased demand for switching between spoken versus written dialects. Findings have implications for educational and clinical practice with regard to reading instruction, remedial reading intervention, and assessment of individuals with reading difficulty.
Descriptors: Executive Function, Reading Skills, Word Recognition, Reading Fluency, Reading Comprehension, Short Term Memory, Attention, Problem Solving, Predictor Variables, Foreign Countries, Children, Adolescents, Intelligence Tests, Vocabulary, Verbal Ability, Achievement Tests, Reading Tests, Phonological Awareness, Regression (Statistics), Minority Groups
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Puerto Rico; New Mexico (Albuquerque); Maryland (Baltimore); Massachusetts (Boston); Colorado (Boulder); Colorado (Denver); Connecticut (New Haven); Canada (Toronto)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A