The analysis of the construct of literacy emerging in the construction of a “risk profile”

Abstract

Learning the written language, is characterized by an evolutionary continuity that develops from an early acquisition phase, traditionally defined as "emergent literacy" (Pinto, 1993; Whitehurst and Loningan, 1998; Pepi, 2004). Learning the written language has its origins in the earliest stages of a child's life, before the start of formal literacy and involves all those skills (cognitive, metacognitive, language, short-memory term, etc.), knowledges and attitudes presumed to be precursors of the development of conventional reading and writing forms (Lonigan, et al, 2000). The current research shows the continuity of development between the first emergent literacy skills, starting from kindergarten, and early reading skills in primary school. An important issue is that you can identify individuals "at risk" for learning to reading, to calculate and therefore difficulties in the acquisition of academic skills from the start of kindergarten . Children who have difficulty in the early stages of learning to read is very likely continue to have for years more school failures in this area by triggering a process that will involve many negative and problematic fields of their life . (Cornoldi and Tressoldi, 1991) Significant research, has verified through a longitudinal research project, the predictive significance of the various components involved in the construct of emergent literacy in preschool Wilson and Lonigan, 2010). It 'necessary, analyze this construct, through longitudinal analyzes in which the predictive data, are able to correlate positively or negatively with the performance of a given learning in the next step. This is to verify the significance of the different components involved in the literacy process and the nature of their relations in the preschool period and verify the burden evidence, that every component has for the learning to read and write. Through the analysis of the individual components of the construct, then, we will determine its "predictive relationship" and elaborate a profile for the risk of difficulty and/or disability in reading and writing competences.