ERIC Number: EJ1374713
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0736-9387
EISSN: EISSN-1934-7243
First-Grade Multilingual Students' Executive Function Profiles and Links to English Reading Achievement and Difficulties: A Person-Centered Latent Profile Analysis
Annals of Dyslexia, v73 n1 p29-52 Apr 2023
Although the important role of children's executive function (EF) in their reading development has been well-established, less is known about the extent to which multilingual children's EF components vary and whether the variability in different EF abilities explains multilingual children's English reading achievement. The present study explored the US first-grade multilingual children's (N = 3,819) profiles of EF abilities and how the profile membership was associated with their English reading achievement, using a nationally representative sample of multilingual children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K: 2011) study. We fit latent profile analysis with various EF components, including working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, approaches to learning, and attentional focus, and found three distinct EF profiles in multilingual children: (a) "Below-Average EFs with Above-Average Cognitive Flexibility" (10.13%), (b) "Above-Average EFs" (84.09%), and (c) "Very Low Cognitive Flexibility" (5.78%). Controlling for kindergarten English reading achievement scores and demographic variables, children in the "Above-Average EFs" profile attained a significantly higher English reading achievement score than their peers, while children in the "Very Low Cognitive Flexibility" group had the lowest English reading achievement score. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding multilingual children's heterogeneity in EF and have implications for the early identification of and tailored intervention for multilingual children at risk for reading difficulties.
Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Grade 1, Multilingualism, Executive Function, Reading Achievement, English Language Learners, Reading Difficulties, Children, Cognitive Processes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 1; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A