Preschool emergent writing skills are best described by three correlated but distinct factors: Conceptual Knowledge, Procedural Knowledge, and Generative Knowledge¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In confirmatory factor analysis of 372 preschoolers, the hypothesized three-factor model fit the emergent writing data better than one-factor and two-factor alternative models. → Puranik 2014 q3 i? The three factors accounted for nontrivial variance in individual writing tasks, with the Procedural Knowledge factor accounting for between 41 and 71% of task variance. → Puranik 2014 (2)

Evidence¶

Puranik 2014¶

Puranik, C. S., & Lonigan, C. J. (2014). Emergent Writing in Preschoolers: Preliminary Evidence for a Theoretical Framework. Reading Research Quarterly, 49(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.79

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Confirmatory factor analysis in EQS 6.1 on age-standardized task scores from 372 preschool children compared one-, two-, and three-factor models. The three-factor model (CFI = .98, RMSEA = .05) fit best; all alternatives fit "significantly worse fit to the data than did the three-factor model" (χ2 difference tests, p < .001).

"Both the three-factor model and the two-factor model in which Conceptual Knowledge and Procedural Knowledge factors were combined into a single-factor provided adequate fits to the data; however, the χ2 difference test revealed that the two-factor model with the combined Conceptual Knowledge and Procedural Knowledge factor yielded a significantly worse fit to the data than did the three-factor model."

Puranik 2014 (2)¶

Puranik, C. S., & Lonigan, C. J. (2014). Emergent Writing in Preschoolers: Preliminary Evidence for a Theoretical Framework. Reading Research Quarterly, 49(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.79

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Parameter estimates from the three-factor CFA for the combined sample (N = 372) showed all paths significant at p < 0.001, with the "Procedural Knowledge factor accounting for between 41 and 71% of the variance in individual tasks" and Conceptual Knowledge 30–54%.

"Factors accounted for nontrivial amounts of the variance in children’s scores on the different emergent writing tasks, with the Conceptual Knowledge factor accounting for between 30 and 54% of the variance in individual tasks, the Procedural Knowledge factor accounting for between 41 and 71% of the variance in individual tasks"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The three emergent writing factors show distinct patterns of relations to general cognitive, language, and emergent literacy measures — related
• Third-grade narrative and expository writing quality are distinct but strongly related factors — related
• The same three-factor model of emergent writing fits both younger and older preschool children despite skill-level differences — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Preschoolers' writing and writing-related skills increase significantly between ages 3 and 5 on letter, name, and CVC word tasks — related
• The four cognitive measures form four distinct but significantly correlated latent factors whose relations are stable across the two age groups — related
• Older preschoolers outperformed younger preschoolers on most writing measures but not on the generative composing tasks — related
• Confirmatory factor analysis supports both distinct 11-factor and four higher-order group structures of the Wheel across educational levels — related