Children’s Speech Development at the Age of 5–6 Years Old: A Longitudinal Study

Our longitudinal study is devoted to the study of the mutual influence of speech development and regulatory functions in children aged 5–7 years. It has been shown that the relationship between the development of regulatory functions and speech exists, but remains different for various aspects of both regulatory functions and speech. In general, it can be argued that in the case of an improvement in regulatory functions in the period of 5–6 years, the child’s performance of speech tasks improves. The data obtained allow a new approach to the development of children 5–6 years old and create complex methods for both the development of speech and regulatory functions.Представленное лонгитюдное исследование посвящено изучению взаимного влияния развития речи и регуляторных функций у детей в возрасте 5–7 лет. Показано, что связь между развитием регулятор‑ ных функций и речи существует, однако выражена в разной степени для различных аспектов как регуляторных функций, так и речи. В целом можно утверждать, что в случае улучшения регуляторных функций в период 5–6 лет у ребенка улучшается выполнение заданий на развитие речи. Полученные данные позволяют по-новому подойти к проблеме развития детей 5–6 лет и создавать комплексные методики развития речи и регуляторных функций.Работа выполнена при поддержке гранта РФФИ № 17-29-09112

Executive functions of preschoolers with different levels of cultural congruence

© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This study investigated the relationships between executive functions of children aged 5–6 and the level of their cultural congruence, that reflects the extent to which behaviour of a child corresponds to a set of cultural rules, typical for this age in this culture. The main components of executive functions (working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control) were measured by the Russian versions of the NEPSY-II subtests and the DCCS test. For the cultural congruence assessment, the parent ‘Questionnaire for Studying Children’s Compliance with Rules in a Normative Situation’ was applied. There were 113 preschoolers from Kazan, Tatarstan Republic, Russia (57 boys and 56 girls, 66 months on the average) and 113 mothers (from 24 to 44-years-old, 36 years on the average) in the study. Three levels of cultural congruence were singled out–‘high’, ‘medium’ and ‘low’. The results showed that children with a ‘high’ level of cultural congruence develop inhibitory control to a greater extent, while children with a ‘low’ level of compliance develop cognitive flexibility. A lowest level of executive functions was found in the group with the ‘medium’ level of cultural congruence

The connection of socio-demographic factors and child-parent relationships to the psychological aspects of children’s development

Preschool childhood is a time of rapid development. During this period a child`s interaction with significant adults plays a very important role. The parent, as a mediator, defines the “zone of proximal development” (Vygotsky, 1984). The common assumption is that to determine a parent’s position, it is important to acknowledge both socio-demographic factors and the parameters which define the socio-psychological aspects of parent-child relationship. Hence, the type of research where a child’s psychological development is studied in the context of the socio-demographic and socio-psychological factors which determine the social situation of development, is very promising. Based on our previous research (Sobkin, Marich, 2002; Cheie, Veraksa, 2015), a program of experimental research intended to determine the interconnections between the socio-demographic and socio-psychological parameters of parent-child relationships, and the level of a child’s psychic development, was designed. The research was based upon the material obtained through testing 59 children between 5 and 7 years old with specially collected psychological testing methods (Veraksa A.N. etc), as well as from the results of a special sociological questionnaire presented to their mothers (Sobkin V.S. etc). The research was carried out in 2014-2015 in municipal kindergartens of Moscow. Among the socio-demographic factors analyzed, the most significant results were related to the child’s gender, the family structure, and the mother’s education. Thus, boys showed higher results on visual memory tests, and girls scored better on tests for self-control and social intelligence (higher ability to detect the reason for someone else’s negative emotions). Children from single-parent families had better results on verbal memory tests, but scored lower on those for self-control. Also they had less ability for decentration. The differences in mothers’ educational levels influenced the number and intensity of children’s fears, as well as their inclinations to avoid fearsome situations. The analysis of features of the parenting position (such as attitude toward one’s future, positive/negative emotional state during the interaction with the child, authoritative/ democratic approach to upbringing) revealed two different strategies which children used to perform executive tasks. Thus, the present research showed a significant degree of essential connections between socio-demographic factors and parent-child relationships to the specifics of a child’s mental development