| The differences in the level of English phonological awareness skills of ethnically and linguistically diverse pre-school students in the Southwest United States were investigated. Additionally, the relationship between the pre-school students' phonological awareness skills and disruptive behaviors was examined. A Phonological Awareness Scale (PAS) was developed to assess English phonological awareness skills, and the Social Skills Rating Scale was used to assess classroom social skills. The results indicated significant differences in the English phonological awareness skills among Hispanic American students whose home language was English versus Spanish. Specifically, Hispanic American students whose home language was Spanish had less developed phonological awareness skills when compared to other ethnic groups and to students whose home language was English. These findings support previous research done with older students that suggests Hispanic American students, and those whose home language is not English, have lower levels of reading achievement. The results also indicated that the relationship between phonological awareness skills and disruptive behaviors in pre-school students was weak. These findings are in contrast to previous research done with older students that suggests a relationship between reading problems and disruptive behaviors. |
