Connective Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary Students: A Growth Analysis.
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| Title: | Connective Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary Students: A Growth Analysis. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Buchanan, Bailey1 (AUTHOR) bbuchanan@fas.harvard.edu, Uccelli, Paola1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Apr2026 Supplement 1, Vol. 61, p1-13. 13p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Reading comprehension, *Cognitive development, *School children, *Limited English-proficient students, *Reading strategies, Discourse markers, Growth curves (Statistics) |
| Abstract: | Connectives—a relatively small, closed set of expressions used to link ideas logically, for example, "therefore," "in contrast"—represent a potentially high‐leverage area of focus for literacy interventions due to their prevalence and utility across content‐area texts. To inform instruction, however, we first need more research to understand students' development of connective knowledge and test its potential contribution to reading comprehension. In the present study, we used latent growth analysis to examine developmental relations between receptive connective knowledge and reading comprehension in English learners (ELs) and English proficient (EP) students from grade 4 to grade 6 (N = 4100). Three primary findings emerged from our analysis. First, students with greater initial connective knowledge at the start of fourth grade displayed, on average, greater growth in reading comprehension between grades 4 and 6. Second, more rapid growth in connective knowledge across this same timespan predicted, on average, greater growth in reading comprehension. Third, our study finds that the relation between connective knowledge growth and reading comprehension growth was not significantly different for ELs as compared to EP students. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the relation between connective knowledge and reading comprehension in upper elementary students over time and how this relation varies by student language background. These results motivate future intervention‐based research to identify possible causal pathways underlying this developmental relation and directs practitioners to consider connective knowledge as a particular instructional area with potential benefits on reading comprehension outcomes for both English learning and English proficient students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 193225963 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Connective Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary Students: A Growth Analysis. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Buchanan%2C+Bailey%22">Buchanan, Bailey</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> bbuchanan@fas.harvard.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Uccelli%2C+Paola%22">Uccelli, Paola</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Reading+Research+Quarterly+%28John+Wiley+%26+Sons%2C+Inc%2E%29%22">Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)</searchLink>. Apr2026 Supplement 1, Vol. 61, p1-13. 13p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+comprehension%22">Reading comprehension</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+development%22">Cognitive development</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+children%22">School children</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Limited+English-proficient+students%22">Limited English-proficient students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+strategies%22">Reading strategies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discourse+markers%22">Discourse markers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Growth+curves+%28Statistics%29%22">Growth curves (Statistics)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Connectives—a relatively small, closed set of expressions used to link ideas logically, for example, "therefore," "in contrast"—represent a potentially high‐leverage area of focus for literacy interventions due to their prevalence and utility across content‐area texts. To inform instruction, however, we first need more research to understand students' development of connective knowledge and test its potential contribution to reading comprehension. In the present study, we used latent growth analysis to examine developmental relations between receptive connective knowledge and reading comprehension in English learners (ELs) and English proficient (EP) students from grade 4 to grade 6 (N = 4100). Three primary findings emerged from our analysis. First, students with greater initial connective knowledge at the start of fourth grade displayed, on average, greater growth in reading comprehension between grades 4 and 6. Second, more rapid growth in connective knowledge across this same timespan predicted, on average, greater growth in reading comprehension. Third, our study finds that the relation between connective knowledge growth and reading comprehension growth was not significantly different for ELs as compared to EP students. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the relation between connective knowledge and reading comprehension in upper elementary students over time and how this relation varies by student language background. These results motivate future intervention‐based research to identify possible causal pathways underlying this developmental relation and directs practitioners to consider connective knowledge as a particular instructional area with potential benefits on reading comprehension outcomes for both English learning and English proficient students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=193225963 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1002/rrq.70096 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 13 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Reading comprehension Type: general – SubjectFull: Cognitive development Type: general – SubjectFull: School children Type: general – SubjectFull: Limited English-proficient students Type: general – SubjectFull: Reading strategies Type: general – SubjectFull: Discourse markers Type: general – SubjectFull: Growth curves (Statistics) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Connective Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary Students: A Growth Analysis. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Buchanan, Bailey – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Uccelli, Paola IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 02 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Supplement 1 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 19362722 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 61 Titles: – TitleFull: Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) Type: main |
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