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How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of...
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How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of Children and Adolescents

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 April 2024) | Viewed by 9594

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marta Gràcia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Cognition, Development and Psychology of Education, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Interests: psycholinguistics; educational psychology; oral language; teacher education; early intervention; inclusion; disability; professional development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The family and the school are the first and often the most vital environments for child linguistic development. Given that the school is the child’s second social group, it is likely that the child’s learning and language development and socialization are highly influenced by their teachers and other children. The presence of risk factors or barriers in children and families, such as vulnerability, disability, and poverty, may threaten child language development. However, it is equally important to note that protective factors and strengths in the family and school context, such as the quality and quantity of exposition in bilingual or multilingual environments, conversational and participative activities, and specific strategies, can promote cultural identity and positive child language development.

Although there is a growing body of research on oral language development and its relation with family and school activities and specific interactions in these contexts, much remains to be learned about the ways in which some conditions and aspects (bilingualism, multilingualism, disability, vulnerability, immigration status, gender perspective, race/ethnicity, etc.) interact with each other to shape child and adolescent oral language development over time. Further, we need to better understand how the interactions in the family and school context can be improved in order to contribute to fostering oral language development at different educational levels (from kindergarten to secondary education).

This Special Issue will be devoted to understanding the unique and combined effects of family risk or barriers and protective factors and the characteristics of the interactions in the family and school context on child and adolescent oral language development and different intervention proposals in terms of teachers’ development processes (i.e., collaborative and reflective perspective) or family participation in collaborative processes (i.e., family-centered practices) to fostering oral language development. Both reviews and original research (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies) will be considered for publication.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education.

Dr. Marta Gràcia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • family
  • risk factors
  • protective factors
  • multilingualism
  • bilingualism
  • communicative and linguistic interaction
  • oral language development
  • family centered practices
  • teacher development programs
  • adolescence
  • developmental language disorders
  • child
  • reflective collaboration
  • language development

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 300 KiB  
Article
Early Intervention, Regular Education, and Family: Reciprocal Influences on Communication and Language Disorders
by María Alcalá-Cerrillo, Sabina Barrios-Fernández, Maria Ángeles García-Gil, José Carmelo Adsuar, Florencio Vicente-Castro, Jessica Fernández-Solana and Jerónimo J. González-Bernal
Children 2024, 11(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11010043 - 29 Dec 2023
Viewed by 860
Abstract
Families are the primary caregivers and the main source of support for their children. Family resilience involves coping and adapting to stressful situations. This study explored the impact of previous treatment experience on parental resilience, in families, as well as the relationship between [...] Read more.
Families are the primary caregivers and the main source of support for their children. Family resilience involves coping and adapting to stressful situations. This study explored the impact of previous treatment experience on parental resilience, in families, as well as the relationship between family history of communication and language disorders and parental stress. These variables were assessed through the Resilience Scale and the Parental Stress Index in parents of 220 children aged 3 to 6 years attending mainstream schools and early intervention (EI) centers in Caceres (Spain). The results revealed significant differences in resilience between parents who had received previous treatments and those who had not (p = 0.11). Furthermore, a significant association was found between having no family history of communication and language disorders and the Dysfunctional Parent–Child Interaction subscale from the Parental Stress Index (U = −2.079, p = 0.038). These findings highlight the relevance of previous experience in EI to build family resilience as resilient parents are more likely to be actively involved in their children’s education and create a supportive environment. Thus, promoting resilience in educational settings may have positive effects on children’s and families’ quality of life during the EI process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of Children and Adolescents)
23 pages, 551 KiB  
Article
Coparenting in English-Speaking and Chinese Families: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Using the Survey Tool CoPAFS
by Tianmei Zhu, Marsha Kline Pruett and Jonathan Alschech
Children 2023, 10(12), 1884; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10121884 - 01 Dec 2023
Viewed by 797
Abstract
While coparenting-related conceptual frameworks and empirical studies have received considerable attention in Western countries, there is far less attention on this topic in other regions. This study seeks to fill this gap by comparing coparenting dynamics between English-speaking and Chinese parents. This study [...] Read more.
While coparenting-related conceptual frameworks and empirical studies have received considerable attention in Western countries, there is far less attention on this topic in other regions. This study seeks to fill this gap by comparing coparenting dynamics between English-speaking and Chinese parents. This study begins by reviewing coparenting relationships in both Western and Chinese contexts. Study participants comprised 399 English-speaking parents living in the US and Canada and 534 Chinese parents living in Mainland China. There were several waves of participant recruitment by sending out the flyers online or utilizing the professional networks to invite eligible parents. The measurement tool CoPAFS (Coparenting across Family Structures), which has been validated in English-speaking culture, was used to compare the differences in coparenting constructs in two cultures. First, the model fit of CoPAFS within Chinese culture was examined with Cronbach Alpha values and relevant model fit indices such as Comparative Fit Index and Root Mean square Residual. As most of the statistics fell below the expected level of excellence, there is a need to locally adjust the entire model in order to better interpret Chinese parenting. The intensity of connection between each factor included in the model and the coparenting relationship as a whole was then investigated. Although most factors were endorsed similarly by Chinese and English-speaking parents, there were notable differences in their opinions regarding communication and trust. While English-speaking parents highly valued these two elements within the coparenting process, Chinese parents showed almost no attentiveness to them. In order to understand factors that may contribute to such a sharp contrast, two main variables, culture and gender, were tested. Through a series of multigroup invariance analyses assessing equivalence across groups, it was discovered that culture emerged as the more dominant determinant among the groups of participants. The implications of cross-cultural use of the CoPAFS tool and future research directions are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of Children and Adolescents)
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16 pages, 640 KiB  
Article
Development of Clause Complexity in Children with Specific Language Impairment/Language Development Disorder: A Longitudinal Study
by Claudia Araya, Carmen Julia Coloma, Camilo Quezada and Paula Benavente
Children 2023, 10(7), 1152; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071152 - 30 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1370
Abstract
This paper addresses the grammatical challenges associated with the development of clause complexity, focusing on the performance of a group of monolingual Spanish-speaking schoolchildren with Specific Language Impairment/Developmental Language Disorder (SLI/DLD) in a longitudinal corpus of oral narrative samples. The study examines the [...] Read more.
This paper addresses the grammatical challenges associated with the development of clause complexity, focusing on the performance of a group of monolingual Spanish-speaking schoolchildren with Specific Language Impairment/Developmental Language Disorder (SLI/DLD) in a longitudinal corpus of oral narrative samples. The study examines the presence of interclause relations of subordination and equivalence (hypotaxis and parataxis) in language samples of two groups: an experimental group made up of 24 schoolchildren with SLI/DLD and a control group made up of 24 schoolchildren with typical development (TD). The results show that while both groups use parataxis as the most common relation between clauses in all school grades, there is a significant decrease in paratactic relations and a significant increase in hypotactic relations from first to fourth grade of primary education. Although the development patterns are highly similar, the SLI/DLD group shows greater difficulties in mastering more complex (hypotactic) relations in fourth grade compared to the control group, indicating that it is less sophisticated in the use of these types of complex relations. These findings suggest that focused support on the most complex structures is needed towards the fourth grade of primary education, given the demands of the school academic register from 6 and 7 years of age and the potential problems that the development of clause complexity can cause in school-age children. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of Children and Adolescents)
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14 pages, 589 KiB  
Article
Long-Lasting Effects of Changes in Daily Routine during the Pandemic-Related Lockdown on Preschoolers’ Language and Emotional–Behavioral Development: A Moderation Analysis
by Valentina Lampis, Sara Mascheretti, Chiara Cantiani, Valentina Riva, Maria Luisa Lorusso, Serena Lecce, Massimo Molteni, Alessandro Antonietti and Marisa Giorgetti
Children 2023, 10(4), 656; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10040656 - 30 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1742
Abstract
The quantity and quality of environmental stimuli and contexts are crucial for children’s development. Following the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), restrictive measures have been implemented, constraining children’s social lives and changing their daily routines. To date, there is a lack of research assessing [...] Read more.
The quantity and quality of environmental stimuli and contexts are crucial for children’s development. Following the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), restrictive measures have been implemented, constraining children’s social lives and changing their daily routines. To date, there is a lack of research assessing the long-lasting impacts that these changes have had on children’s language and emotional–behavioral development. In a large sample of preschoolers (N = 677), we investigated (a) the long-lasting effects of changes in family and social life and in daily activities over the first Italian nationwide COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown upon children’s linguistic and emotional–behavioral profiles and (b) how children’s demographic variables and lifelong family characteristics moderated these associations within a multiple-moderator framework. Our findings showed a relationship between the time spent watching TV/playing video games and affective problems that was moderated by the number of siblings. Our findings showed that children who could be at high risk in more normal circumstances, such as only children, have been particularly harmed. Therefore, assessing the long-term effects of lockdown-related measures and how these could have been moderated by potential risk/protective factors added significant information to the existing literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of Children and Adolescents)
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Review

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18 pages, 350 KiB  
Review
The Association between Music and Language in Children: A State-of-the-Art Review
by Maria Chiara Pino, Marco Giancola and Simonetta D’Amico
Children 2023, 10(5), 801; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10050801 - 28 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3394
Abstract
Music and language are two complex systems that specifically characterize the human communication toolkit. There has been a heated debate in the literature on whether music was an evolutionary precursor to language or a byproduct of cognitive faculties that developed to support language. [...] Read more.
Music and language are two complex systems that specifically characterize the human communication toolkit. There has been a heated debate in the literature on whether music was an evolutionary precursor to language or a byproduct of cognitive faculties that developed to support language. The present review of existing literature about the relationship between music and language highlights that music plays a critical role in language development in early life. Our findings revealed that musical properties, such as rhythm and melody, could affect language acquisition in semantic processing and grammar, including syntactic aspects and phonological awareness. Overall, the results of the current review shed further light on the complex mechanisms involving the music-language link, highlighting that music plays a central role in the comprehension of language development from the early stages of life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of Children and Adolescents)

Other

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10 pages, 269 KiB  
Brief Report
Latent Transitions of Learning Interests among Kindergarteners in Hakka Bilingual Teaching Programs
by Chung-Chin Wu
Children 2023, 10(7), 1273; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071273 - 24 Jul 2023
Viewed by 717
Abstract
The profiles of kindergarteners’ learning interests in Hakka bilingual teaching programs are unclear and the effects of these programs on the transition of such interests over the long term are under investigation. This study analyzed the learning interest profiles of 112 kindergarteners (data [...] Read more.
The profiles of kindergarteners’ learning interests in Hakka bilingual teaching programs are unclear and the effects of these programs on the transition of such interests over the long term are under investigation. This study analyzed the learning interest profiles of 112 kindergarteners (data gathered by kindergarten teachers) enrolled in immersion/non-immersion Hakka bilingual programs in Taiwan. Latent transitions in these profiles were analyzed based on pre- and post-implementation data. The results showed that two different subgroups were identified based on the kindergarteners’ learning interest profiles before and after the implementation of the Hakka bilingual program. The pre-implementation subgroups contained the “moderate situational and low-to-moderate individual interest” and the “high situational and moderate-to-high individual interest” profiles. Post-implementation subgroups consisting of “moderate-to-high situational and moderate individual interest” and “high situational and individual interest” profiles were identified. Moreover, four patterns of transition in the kindergarteners’ learning interest profiles were uncovered: (1) a slight increase in both learning interests, (2) a significant increase in both learning interests, (3) a slight regression in both, and (4) a maintenance of situational interest coupled with a slight increase in individual interest. Lastly, the non-immersion Hakka program showed significant and more positive effects on the “moderate situational and low-to-moderate individual interest” profile subgroup compared to the equivalent group from the Hakka immersion program. These results provide new evidence complementing previous findings reached via different analytical approaches and contribute to the overall conclusion that bilingual programs improve learning outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How to Contribute to the Language and Communication Development of Children and Adolescents)
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