Subproject 3

Analysis of the relation between language acquisition, (meta)cognitive development, and characteristics of adult-child interaction

In the context of the overall study, Subproject 3 is responsible for the selection, development, and testing of instruments for measuring the abilities and skills of the children participating in the BiKS-3-10 sample. These measures include indicators of domain-specific as well as domain-general aspects of individual development. In addition to various measures of language and cognitive development selected control variables such as motivational aspects, self-concept, and personality variables are assessed.

Additionally, Subproject 3 is concerned with the analysis of the relation between language acquisition, cognitive development, and metacognitive progress (i.e., the acquisition of knowledge about knowledge and thought processes including children’s developing “theory of mind”). A special interest lies in developmental differences in language and (meta)cognitive development due to social disparities. To investigate the impact of learning environment on these developments in more detail videos of adult-child interactions are analysed. These include parent-child interaction situations (play, picture-book reading) at preschool age and teacher-child situations (classroom observation) in school age. Indicators derived from these interactions situations supplement measures assessed in Subproject 2. A special focus is on the developing (academic) language competencies of children, influencing variables and predictors (including characteristics of teachers’ language) and their impact on school performance.