Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)

IntroductionThe design of a Protocol for the Assessment of the development of pragmatic competences in early childhood (PDP-PI) and the preliminary data obtained in a comparative study in 3–5-year-old school children are presented.MethodsThe design of the protocol is based on a model of global under...

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Main Authors: Cristina Junquera, Begoña Zubiauz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1368321/full
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author Cristina Junquera
Begoña Zubiauz
author_facet Cristina Junquera
Begoña Zubiauz
author_sort Cristina Junquera
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe design of a Protocol for the Assessment of the development of pragmatic competences in early childhood (PDP-PI) and the preliminary data obtained in a comparative study in 3–5-year-old school children are presented.MethodsThe design of the protocol is based on a model of global understanding of pragmatics that considers essential to include linguistic, intersubjective and social aspects in order to make an adequate assessment of development. Based on the taxonomies of communicative functions, four basic competencies are described (Interactional, Referential, Subjective and Figurative). These competencies make it possible to categorize most of the linguistic emissions in early childhood. The PDP-PI presents two novelties with respect to other assessment systems: (a) it allows detecting the degree of a skill development (not only the presence/absence), (b) it includes items to assess the comprehension of pragmatics. The PDP-PI was used with 40 students of kindergarten education, divided into three groups according to school year.ResultsThe results- Duncan’s post-hoc test-confirm the existence of significant differences between the different age groups in all competencies, except for referential competence. Construct validity was assessed by means of an inter-rater test (Fleiss’ Kappa = 0.76; Krippendorff’s Alpha = 0.76), and content validity was assessed by analyzing the correlations between the four competencies of the protocol. Significant correlations were found between all the competencies, except the relationship between the Referential and Interactional competencies.DiscussionThe data obtained in this study are preliminary, but they show that there is an evolution in the management of pragmatic skills, throughout early childhood, toward more complex and context-appropriate interactions. It is necessary to advance in procedures that discriminate against this evolution to establish developmental profiles which favor the detection of pragmatic difficulties or disorders at early ages.
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spelling doaj-art-5aa7868426b24061bb45d881d8a262aa2025-08-20T02:36:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-12-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.13683211368321Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)Cristina JunqueraBegoña ZubiauzIntroductionThe design of a Protocol for the Assessment of the development of pragmatic competences in early childhood (PDP-PI) and the preliminary data obtained in a comparative study in 3–5-year-old school children are presented.MethodsThe design of the protocol is based on a model of global understanding of pragmatics that considers essential to include linguistic, intersubjective and social aspects in order to make an adequate assessment of development. Based on the taxonomies of communicative functions, four basic competencies are described (Interactional, Referential, Subjective and Figurative). These competencies make it possible to categorize most of the linguistic emissions in early childhood. The PDP-PI presents two novelties with respect to other assessment systems: (a) it allows detecting the degree of a skill development (not only the presence/absence), (b) it includes items to assess the comprehension of pragmatics. The PDP-PI was used with 40 students of kindergarten education, divided into three groups according to school year.ResultsThe results- Duncan’s post-hoc test-confirm the existence of significant differences between the different age groups in all competencies, except for referential competence. Construct validity was assessed by means of an inter-rater test (Fleiss’ Kappa = 0.76; Krippendorff’s Alpha = 0.76), and content validity was assessed by analyzing the correlations between the four competencies of the protocol. Significant correlations were found between all the competencies, except the relationship between the Referential and Interactional competencies.DiscussionThe data obtained in this study are preliminary, but they show that there is an evolution in the management of pragmatic skills, throughout early childhood, toward more complex and context-appropriate interactions. It is necessary to advance in procedures that discriminate against this evolution to establish developmental profiles which favor the detection of pragmatic difficulties or disorders at early ages.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1368321/fullpragmaticsassessmentearly childhoodcommunicative functionslanguage
spellingShingle Cristina Junquera
Begoña Zubiauz
Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)
Frontiers in Psychology
pragmatics
assessment
early childhood
communicative functions
language
title Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)
title_full Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)
title_fullStr Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)
title_full_unstemmed Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)
title_short Protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood (PDP-PI)
title_sort protocol for the assessment of the development of pragmatic competencies in early childhood pdp pi
topic pragmatics
assessment
early childhood
communicative functions
language
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1368321/full
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