Abstract:

This research funded by Fonds de Recherche du Quebec- Culture et Société, studies the effects of different learning models on skills related to the emergence of written language in preschool children. As one of the goals of the program is to identify any differences between girls and boys, sex was used as a control variable in the analysis model. This element of the findings is the particular focus of this communication.

Studies have indicated a certain vulnerability in terms of reading and writing among boys (King & Gurian, 2006; Simard et al. 2018). However, during play, boys show an interest in reading and writing, which do not differ significantly from those of girls (Baroody & Diamond, 2013). In Quebec, a national survey (ISQ, 2017) indicates that one in four children appears to have a vulnerability such as a developmental vulnerability in the language field and that boys are proportionally more likely than girls to be vulnerable in the area of language development including the emergence of written language. The latter is defined as a complex system of skills that the child constructs over time thanks to socially shared knowledge, experiences, behaviors and attitudes (Hancock, 2008).

As part of a quasi-experimental research study to compare the scope of two learning models (play-based learning and academic learning) on the emergence of written language in children, we studied the effect of sex as an independent variable. In total, 363 children aged 5 to 6 and attending a preschool class in Quebec, were divided into two groups. The experimental group was exposed to a play-based learning model, while the control group received academic instruction. Two measurements were taken, a pre-test one and a post-test one. Three variables, each corresponding to a component of emergence of written language, were observed, including the functional, the conventional and the sound aspects, as well as the variable of emergent written language, which represents the combination of all three variables. A multilevel model analysis was undertaken. The dependent variable was the post-test score, with the pre-test score being covariable and the learning model as a factor. One of the independent variables was sex. Our results show that children who have benefited from a play-based learning model have achieved better overall results in emergent written language than their peers exposed to academic learning models, especially regarding the functional aspect variable. The sex does not have a significant effect, nor does the interaction of sex with a particular learning model. The assumption that the effect of the learning model is the same for boys and girls cannot be rejected. Similarly, for the three variables representing the components of emergent writing, sex is not significant variable, nor is the interaction between sex and group.

The results indicate that sex does not affect the scope of written language’s earning models at preschool age and that a play-based learning model is more favorable than that of academic learning for children of both sexes. In the light of these findings, we recommend that educational policy makers not only prioritize early childhood education programs, but more specifically play-based learning models, in order to support emergent writing skills by both girls and boys rather than relying on sex-based differentiation that carries a risk of reinforcing socially determined differences between girls and boys.

Keywords:

Preschool children, emergence of written language, learning models, effect of sex.