Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/2978
Title: Response to early literacy instruction in the United States, Australia, and Scandinavia: A behavioral-genetic analysis
Contributor(s): Samuelsson, Stefan (author); Byrne, Brian John  (author)orcid ; Olsen, Richard K. (author); Hulslander, Jacqueline (author); Wadsworth, Sally (author); Corley, Robin (author); Willcutt, Erik G. (author); DeFries, John C. (author)
Publication Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2008.03.004
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/2978
Abstract: Genetic and environmental influences on early reading and spelling at the end of kindergarten and Grade 1 were compared across three twin samples tested in the United States, Australia and Scandinavia. Proportions of variance due to genetic influences on kindergarten reading were estimated at .84 in Australia, .68 in the U.S., and .33 in Scandinavia. The effects of shared environment on kindergarten reading were estimated at .09 in Australia, .25 in the U.S., and .52 in Scandinavia. A similar pattern of genetic and environmental influence was obtained for kindergarten spelling. One year later when twins in all three samples had received formal literacy instruction for at least one full school year, heritability was similarly high across country, with estimated genetic influences varying between .79 and .83 for reading and between .62 and .79 for spelling. These findings indicate that the pattern of genetic and environmental influences on early reading and spelling development varies according to educational context, with genetic influence increasing as a function of increasing intensity of early instruction. Longitudinal analyses revealed genetic continuity for both reading and spelling between kindergarten and Grade 1 across country. However, a new genetic factor comes into play accounting for independent variance in reading at Grade 1 in the U.S. and Scandinavia, suggesting a change in genetic influences on reading. Implications for response-to-instruction are discussed.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Learning and Individual Differences, v.18, p. 289-295
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1873-3425
1041-6080
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 170103 Educational Psychology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 950202 Languages and Literacy
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

Files in This Item:
2 files
File Description SizeFormat 
Show full item record

SCOPUSTM   
Citations

72
checked on Mar 16, 2024

Page view(s)

984
checked on Mar 9, 2023

Download(s)

2
checked on Mar 9, 2023
Google Media

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.