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Collectivist Approaches for Supporting Young Children's Narrative Skills

Mon, April 8, 4:10 to 5:40pm, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Floor: 800 Level, Hall F

Abstract

Early narrative skills are predictive of academic success, and early childhood teachers play a key role supporting those narratives. Different cultures support children narratives with differently. Teacher education has focused on the elaborative style of narrative support, which is based on observations of European-American families. Families from collectivistic cultures are more likely to engage in participatory styles. The present study explored whether the use of participatory style of narrative support was effective at supporting complex narrative skills in culturally diverse children. Forty children were recorded in naturalistic conversations with caregivers. The results of regression analyses have shown that the use of participatory prompts have resulted in larger vocabulary use, more complex ideas, and more engagement in narratives for young children.

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