Reading: From the Simple to the Complex

Sensitivity and Specificity of a Screening Test for the Detection of Deficiencies in Visuo-Perceptual Skills

This study determines the sensitivity and specificity of a screening test to detect perceptual abnormalities and whether there are differences between gender. Vision is a complex process involving visual perception. Any alterations can affect learning, so having a screening test in Spanish that is easy to use and reliable for timely diagnosis will reduce the percentage of visuo-perceptual interference during learning process. A total of 200 subjects participated, aged between 8 and 15 years old, with good visual acuity, and no strabismus, amblyopia, ocular pathology, or neurological damage. The Petrosyan questionnaire (screening test) was employed to identify symptoms associated with perceptual impairment, and a subsequent assessment was conducted to evaluate perceptual abilities. The mean age was 11.5 years (57% male; 44% female). The screening test indicated that 30% of the subjects were suspected of having perceptual alteration, while 24% were diagnosed with a real alteration in perceptual abilities. The sensitivity was 1 and the specificity was 0.92. The Spanish version of the Petrosyan questionnaire has high sensitivity and specificity values and is therefore considered very accurate for identifying the need for a perceptual assessment. There are statistically significant differences in perceptual abilities according to gender. The female group shows more symptomatology and a higher percentage of alteration in perceptual skills.

I CAN Intervention to Increase Grit and Self-Efficacy: A Pilot Study

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in increasing motivational factors within the domain of psychology. Among these factors, Grit, Mindset, Self-Efficacy, and Well-Being (Flourishing) have been suggested to play an important role in individuals' performance and Well-Being. Thus, cultivating these factors in the general population is important. Previous interventions have displayed substantial effects in certain areas. However, these interventions have primarily been Mindset oriented. This paper presents a novel intervention approach by also emphasizing the importance of brain development; the importance of stimuli for building a network in the brain; the importance of repetition for strengthening the network; and the importance of perseverance and deliberate practice for achievement. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of a 35-40 min online intervention to increase the beliefs of 'I CAN' for 38 university students in Norway. The mean age of the 38 participants was 22.55 (SD = 1.59) and they completed a pre-test assessment of the Grit-S Scale, Theories of Intelligence Scale (Mindset), General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Flourishing Scale (Well-Being). This was followed up by the novel intervention and finally a post-test of the scales eight weeks later. The results showed an increase in Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Well-Being. However, only Grit displayed a significant increase. We aimed at creating an intervention where the participants would "turn on the switch", meaning that they develop stronger beliefs. These promising results warrant a further development of the intervention, and studies with a larger group.

Letter-sound knowledge in Icelandic children at the age 6 years-old

The aim of this study was to examine letter-sound knowledge when children start at school in Iceland. 392 children aged 5-6 years completed assessments of letter-sound knowledge, i.e., the names and sounds of uppercase and lowercase letters of the Icelandic alphabet (uppercase letter-name; uppercase letter-sound; lowercase letter-name; lowercase letter-sound). Whether the child had broken the reading code (could read words) was also recorded. The results revealed no significant difference between girls and boys in the four factors (letter name, letter sound). The results indicated that 56.9 % of the children had broken the reading code when they started school. 58.2 % of the girls and 55.6 % of the boys, not significant difference between the genders. There was a significant difference between the group which had broken the reading code and the group which have not in all the four factors. There was also a high significant correlation between all 4 variables from 0.915 between uppercase letter and lowercase sound to 0.963 between uppercase sounds and uppercase letter. Based on these data, it seems reasonable to advocate learning letter-sound correspondences early in the first year of school to form the best possible basis for breaking the reading code and further reading development.

Well-Being and Perceived Competence in School Children from 1 to 9 Class

Motivational aspects in reading, math, science and physical education are often studied on whole samples and not grouped into different classes. In our study we wish to investigate cross-sectional data across classes. Our research question wishes to investigate what class differences are there in school subject-based well-being and perceived competence? A total of 378 Icelandic pupils in classes 1-9 did answer a survey with nine items, focusing on how are you feeling at school, how do you like and how are you doing in reading, math, science and physical education. There were 163 girls (43%), and 202 boys (53%) ranging from 6 to 15 years of age (M = 10.86, SD = 2.57). The findings, for the whole sample, indicate that girls tend to like reading more than boys do. Additionally, girls feel that they are better in science compared to boys, while boys like physical education more than girls. In terms of classes, multiple items, including reading, math and science, indicated class differences, where higher classes (i.e., eighth and ninth class) tend to have lower average scores in how much they liked a certain topic, and how competent they felt. It is also of great interest that the correlation between 'how do you like' and 'how are you doing' are 0.53, 0.71, 0.66 and 0.66 for reading, math, science and physical activity, respectively. Well-being and perceived competence in all subjects correlate with each other, and well-being at school. This shows the importance of seeing the school as a holistic system, where experiences related to individual subjects coincide with the overall experience (and vice versa). The results are discussed in relation to self-perception, motivation and practice.