Predicting school readiness of young Uyghur children in bilingual education from early literacy intervention

Abstract

School readiness has been attached great importance in the global world. Research indicates that early language experience and high quality education significantly promote readiness skills of children, especially those from disadvantaged families or bilingual contexts. The study examines the prediction of school readiness of young Uyghur children from early literacy intervention in a longitudinal perspective. A total of 81 young Uyghur children were followed throughout three years. Among the children, 35 were randomly selected as the intervention group while the rest of them were in the control group. The intervention group were provided specific language education activities and picture books and their teachers received both face-to-face training and online training related to early literacy education theory and practice throughout three years of study. In the third year, children were administered school readiness through Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised. Results showed that the passing rate in the acquisition of basic concepts for young Uyghur children was 50%. Regression analysis indicated that participation in early literacy intervention was a strong predictor of children’s school readiness and explained 8% and 3% of the variances of school readiness composite and total score of school readiness respectively. Further, the intervention group performed significantly better than the control group in basic concepts including sizes, comparison, shapes, and time. Findings highlight the importance of early literacy intervention for promoting children’s school readiness. They have also implications for improving bilingual education curriculum for young children.