ERIC Number: ED602720
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Sep-12
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Hierarchical and Dynamic Relations of Language and Cognitive Skills to Reading Comprehension: Testing the Direct and Indirect Effects Model of Reading (DIER)
Grantee Submission
We investigated 2 hypotheses of a recently proposed integrative theoretical model of reading, the direct and indirect effects model of reading (DIER; Kim, 2017b, 2019): (a) hierarchical relations and (b) dynamic relations (or differential relations) of skills to reading comprehension. Students were assessed on reading comprehension, word reading, listening comprehension, working memory, attention, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, perspective taking (theory of mind), knowledge-based inference, and comprehension monitoring in Grade 2 and again in Grade 4. Structural equation model results supported the hierarchical relations hypothesis of DIER. When a nonhierarchical, direct relations model was fitted, primarily the upper level skills (i.e., word reading and listening comprehension) were statistically significant. When hierarchical, direct, and indirect relations models were fitted, lower level skills (e.g., working memory, vocabulary) and higher order cognitive skills (e.g., perspective taking) were indirectly related to reading comprehension via multiple pathways, whereas word reading and listening comprehension remained directly related to reading comprehension. Furthermore, the magnitudes of relations varied in Grade 2 versus Grade 4 such that perspective taking (as measured by theory of mind), vocabulary, and working memory had larger effects whereas comprehension monitoring and grammatical knowledge had smaller effects on reading comprehension in Grade 4 than in Grade 2. These results provide some support for the dynamic relations hypothesis of DIER, but also suggest the complex nature of the dynamic relations as a function of development and text characteristics. [This is the online version of an article published in "Journal of Educational Psychology."]
Descriptors: Language Skills, Cognitive Ability, Reading Comprehension, Reading Instruction, Models, Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, Word Recognition, Short Term Memory, Attention, Grammar, Perspective Taking, Theory of Mind, Inferences, Elementary School Students, Grade 2, Grade 4, Achievement Tests
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 2; Primary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Oral and Written Language Scales; Wechsler Individual Achievement Test; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A130131