We examined the direction of the relation between morphological awareness and reading/spelling skills in 2 languages varying in orthographic consistency (English and Greek) and whether word reading fluency and vocabulary mediate the relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension. One-hundred and 59 English-speaking Canadian and…

Using nationally representative data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; N = 5,107), this study assessed prospective connections between children's early education and care (EEC) experiences from infancy through preschool and their cognitive and behavioral functioning in 1st grade. Incorporating 6 waves of data, analyses…

Four experiments were conducted to determine the effects on decoding mistakes and comprehension of text passages at fastest and slowest reading rates. Subjects included 181 Israeli first graders and 60 American first graders. Subjects reading at their normal maximum speed averaged fewer errors and higher comprehension. (Author/LMO)

Mathematics curricula in Japan, Taiwan and the United States are compared for concepts and skills, and a cross-national test of mathematics achievement is described. Among selected first- and fifth-grade children, students in Japan and Taiwan consistently outperformed their American counterparts. Achievement levels and curriculum content do not…

Research on cognitive representation of numbers and understanding of place value of U.S. and Japanese first graders was extended to France, Sweden, and Korea (118 subjects; approximately 24 from each of the 5 countries). Basic differences in children's cognitive representations of number are influenced by characteristics of their languages. (SLD)

Perceptions of U.S. (n=870), Chinese (n=709), and Japanese (n=713) mothers about their children's problems with first and fifth grade mathematics were examined in two studies. Results suggest that U.S. mothers evaluated their children's skills less critically and had lower mathematics achievement standards than did Asians. (SLD)

The relationship between mathematics performance and fundamental linguistic variations in the cognitive representation of numbers was assessed, using 24 first graders each from the United States and Japan. Results indicate that the Japanese cognitive representation of number positively affects the understanding of place value. No gender…

Types of questions asked in first-grade mathematics classes in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States were investigated. Observations of 311 lessons by 16 Japanese, 20 Taiwanese, and 33 U.S. teachers suggest that the kinds of questions asked in Taiwan and Japan contribute to more sophisticated mathematical knowledge. (SLD)