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Individual differences in children’s literacy development: the contribution of orthographic knowledge

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Abstract

Orthographic knowledge is one of several contributors to developing literacy skills. However, our understanding of how orthographic knowledge contributes to both spelling and reading is incomplete due to a lack of consistency in defining and measuring orthographic knowledge. The goal of the present study was to empirically test whether or not orthographic knowledge could be construed as a multi-dimensional construct that contributes to reading and spelling skill in school-aged children. Using regression analyses, the current study supports the conceptualization of orthographic knowledge as a multi-dimensional construct, consisting of both word specific and general orthographic knowledge. For school-aged children, both types of orthographic knowledge make separate and unique contributions to both reading and spelling, over and above the contributions of phonological skills. Results illustrate the importance of orthographic knowledge to developing literacy skills.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant to the first author from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The authors would also like to thank all the children and parents who participated in this study and Dr. Lori Francis for discussions on data analyses. Portions of this project were presented at the 2009 Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, MA.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Saint Mary’s University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 3C3, Canada

    Nicole J. Conrad, Nicholas Harris & Jennifer Williams

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  1. Nicole J. Conrad
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  2. Nicholas Harris
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Correspondence to Nicole J. Conrad.

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Table 4 Items on both orthographic knowledge tasks
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Conrad, N.J., Harris, N. & Williams, J. Individual differences in children’s literacy development: the contribution of orthographic knowledge. Read Writ 26, 1223–1239 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-012-9415-2

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