hong kong’s young children their early development and ... · hong kong children gross motor...

Hong Kong’s Young Children

Their Early Development and Learning

Printed in Hong Kong by Prosperous Printing Co. Ltd.

Hong Kong University Press139 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

© Hong Kong University Press 1996

ISBN 962 209 414 7

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without

permission in writing from the publisher.

The author and publisher wish to thank the

WEI LUN FOUNDATION LIMITED

for its generous subsidy towards thepublication costs of this book

Contents

List of Tables

List of Appendices

Preface

Acknowledgements

1 IntroductionRationale, Background and Conceptual Framework of the Study

AimsMethodology of IEA PPP

Phase One of the Preprimary ProjectMajor Variables and Questions of the Early Development and

Learning StudyAgeGenderEffect of Preschool (Batch)Type of PreschoolLocality of Preschool

Organization of This Report

2 Sampling, Instruments, Administration of the Study and SampleDescriptionSampling

Target PopulationIntended and Achieved Sample SizeSample Stratification

InstrumentsSelection and Translation of Instruments

xi

xiii

xvii

xx

11233

4455566

77788

1010

viii CONTENTS

Translation Into ChineseDevelopmental InstrumentsPiloting of Instruments

Administration of the StudyRecruitment of PreschoolsSelection and Training of Data CollectorsSupervision, Consultation and Assistance by the Research TeamAttrition of Data CollectorsSchedule of Data CollectionOrganization of Data CollectionMonitoring ProceduresData Entry and AnalysisResults

Sample Description

3 Motor Development and HealthIntroduction

Motor Development and Health Before 3 YearsMotor Development and Health From 3 to 5 Years

Hong Kong ChildrenGross Motor DevelopmentFine Motor DevelopmentAge of Acquisition of Motor SkillsCross-Cultural ComparisonsHealthSummary

4 Personal, Social and Self-care DevelopmentIntroduction

Personal and Social Development Before 3 YearsPersonal and Social Development From 3 to 5 Years

Hong Kong ChildrenPersonal, Social and Self-care DevelopmentInteractive Skills (Teacher Assessment)Self-awareness (Teacher Assessment)Self-care (Parent Assessment)Social Competency (Teacher and Parent Assessment)Age of Acquisition of Social SkillsCross-Cultural ComparisonsSummary

5 Cognitive DevelopmentIntroduction

Cognitive Development Before 3 YearsCognitive Development From 3 to 5 Years

1111141515161616171717171718

1920202123232527283132

33343637383839414243474950

53545556

Hong Kong ChildrenConcept AcquisitionCognitive ProcessesAge of Acquisition of Cognitive SkillsCross-Cultural ComparisonsSummary

6 Language DevelopmentIntroduction

Language Development Before 3 YearsLanguage Development From 3 to 5 Years

Hong Kong ChildrenLanguage ComprehensionLanguage ProductionAge of Acquisition of Language SkillsCross-Cultural ComparisonsSummary

7 Preacademic LearningIntroduction

Early NumberPrewritingPrereading (Alphabet)

Hong Kong ChildrenEarly NumberAge of Acquisition of Early Number SkillsCross-Cultural ComparisonsSummary of Number SkillsPrewritingAge of Acquisition of Prewriting SkillsCross-Cultural ComparisonsSummary of Prewriting SkillsAlphabetSummary of AlphabetOverview of Preacademic Learning in Hong Kong Children

8 Profiles of Hong Kong Children By AgeThree-Year-OldsFour-Year-OldsFive-Year-Olds

9 Other Variables of the StudyGender

Motor DevelopmentSocial Development

CONTENTS ix

585863646566

69707172747575777779

83848487888989949495969899

100100101102

105106109111

119119119120

Cognitive DevelopmentLanguage DevelopmentPreacademic Learning

Type of PreschoolMotor DevelopmentSocial DevelopmentCognitive DevelopmentLanguage DevelopmentPreacademic Learning

Locality of the PreschoolMotor DevelopmentSocial DevelopmentCognitive DevelopmentLanguage DevelopmentPreacademic Learning

Length of Time Spent in Preschool (Batch)Motor DevelopmentSocial DevelopmentCognitive DevelopmentLanguage DevelopmentPreacademic Learning

10 Summary and ConclusionsMajor Hong Kong Findings Related to Research Variables

AgeGenderType of PreschoolLocalityLength of Time Spent in Preschool

Comparisons Between Children From Hong Kong and ElsewhereAgeGender

Contribution of the Study

References

Appendices

A summarized Chinese translation by Veronica Yeung WongWai Yum

Index

120121121122122123124125125126127128128128129129130130131131132

135135135136136137137137137139141

145

149

207

241

x CONTENTS

List of Tables

2.1 Number of Preschools by Type, Size and Locality2.2 Number of Children by Age, Gender, Type of Preschool, Locality

and Batch

3.1 Sample Size for Gross and Fine Motor Items by Age, Gender,Type of Preschool, Locality, and Batch

3.2 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by Age3.3 Acquisition of Fine Motor Skills by Age3.4 Age of Acquisition of Gross and Fine Motor Skills in Hong Kong

Preschool Children3.5 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Gross Motor

Items3.6 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Fine Motor

Items3.7 Health Problems of Hong Kong Children by Age

4.1 Sample Size for Interactive, Self-awareness and Social CompetencyItems by Age, Gender, Type of Preschool, Locality, and Batch

4.2 Acquisition of Interactive Skills by Age4.3 Acquisition of Self-awareness Items by Age4.4 Acquisition of Self-care Skills by Age4.5 Acquisition of Social Competency Skills by Age Assessed by

Teachers and Parents4.6 Levels at Social Competency Tasks as Assessed by Teachers and

Parents4.7 Means of Teachers and Parents for Social Competency Items by

Age4.8 Age of Acquisition of Personal, Social and Self-care Skills in Hong

Kong Preschool Children4.9 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Personal, Social and Self-care Items

for US and HK Children

5.1 Sample Size for Concept Items by Age, Gender, Type of Preschool,Locality, and Batch

5.2 Acquisition of Pictorial Concepts by Age5.3 Acquisition of Concrete Concepts by Age5.4 Sample Size for Cognitive Processes by Age, Gender, Type of

Preschool, Locality, and Batch5.5 Acquisition of Cognitive Processes by Age5.6 Age of Acquisition of Concepts and Cognitive Processes in Hong

Kong Preschool Children5.7 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Cognitive

Items

9

10

232426

28

29

3031

39404142

44

45

47

48

49

596062

6364

65

66

LIST OF TABLES xi

6.1 Sample Size for Language Items by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch

6.2 Acquisition of Language Comprehension Items by Age6.3 Acquisition of Language Production Items by Age6.4 Age of Acquisition of Language Skills in Hong Kong Preschool

Children6.5 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Some

Language Skills

7.1 Sample Size for Early Number Items by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch

7.2 Acquisition of Mathematical Concepts by Age7.3 Acquisition of Early Number Skills by Age7.4 Acquisition of Arithmetic Skills by Age7.5 Age of Acquisition of Early Number Skills in Hong Kong

Preschool Children7.6 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Early

Number Items7.7 Sample Size for Prewriting Items by Age, Gender, Type of

Preschool, Locality, and Batch7.8 Acquisition of Drawing/Prewriting Skills by Age7.9 Acquisition of Copying Skills by Age7.10 Age of Acquisition of Early Writing Skills in Hong Kong Preschool

Children7.11 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Drawing/

Prewriting Skills7.12 Sample Size for Alphabet Items by Age, Gender, Type of

Preschool, Locality, and Batch7.13 Acquisition of Alphabet Letters by Age

8.1 Developmental Characteristics of Hong Kong Preschool Children

9.1 Significance of Tests by Age, Gender, and Type of Preschool9.2 Significance of Tests by Locality and Time spent in Preschool

(Batch)

747678

80

80

89909293

94

95

979899

99

100

101102

113

126

135

xii LIST OF TABLES

List of Appendices

APPENDIX I:MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND RESEARCH TEAMFOR THE HONG KONG IEA PREPRIMARY PROJECT, PHASE 1

APPENDIX II:MEASURES USED TO COLLECT DEVELOPMENTAL INFORMATION2.1 Measures of Motor Development

a) Gross Motorb) Fine Motor

2.2 Measures of Personal, Social and Self-Care Developmenta) Interactive Skillsb) Self-awareness Skillsc) Self-care Skillsd) Social Competency

2.3 Measures of Cognitive Developmenta) Pictorial Conceptsb) Concrete Situationsc) Cognitive Processes

2.4 Measures of Language Developmenta) Comprehensionb) Production

2.5 Measures of Preacademic Learninga) Numberb) Prewritingc) Alphabet

APPENDIX III:TABLES OF MOTOR DEVELOPMENT3.1 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by 3-year-olds3.2 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by 4-year-olds3.3 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by 5-year-olds3.4 Acquisition of Fine Motor Skills by 3-year-olds3.5 Acquisition of Fine Motor Skills by 4-year-olds3.6 Acquisition of Fine Motor Skills by 5-year-olds

APPENDIX 4:TABLES OF PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND SELF-CARE DEVELOPMENT4.1 Acquisition of Interactive and Self-awareness Skills by 3-year-olds4.2 Acquisition of Interactive and Self-awareness Skills by 4-year-olds4.3 Acquisition of Interactive and Self-awareness Skills by 5-year-olds4.4 Acquisition of Self-care Skills by 3-year-olds4.5 Acquisition of Self-care Skills by 4-year-olds4.6 Acquisition of Self-care Skills by 5-year-olds

149

151

151152

153154154155

157157158

159159

161162162

163163164165166167168

169169170171172172173

LIST OF APPENDICES xiii

4.7 Acquisition of Social Competency Skills by 3-year-olds (TeacherAssessment)



4.10 Acquisition of Social Competency Skills by 3-year-olds (ParentAssessment)



APPENDIX 5:TABLES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT5.1 Acquisition of Pictorial Concepts by 3-year-olds5.2 Acquisition of Pictorial Concepts by 4-year-olds5.3 Acquisition of Pictorial Concepts by 5-year-olds5.4 Acquisition of Concrete Concepts by 3-year-olds5.5 Acquisition of Concrete Concepts by 4-year-olds5.6 Acquisition of Concrete Concepts by 5-year-olds5.7 Acquisition of Cognitive Processes by 3-year-olds5.8 Acquisition of Cognitive Processes by 4-year-olds5.9 Acquisition of Cognitive Processes by 5-year-olds

APPENDIX 6:TABLES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT6.1 Acquisition of Language Comprehension by 3-year-olds6.2 Acquisition of Language Comprehension by 4-year-olds6.3 Acquisition of Language Comprehension by 5-year-olds6.4 Acquisition of Language Production Skills by 3-year-olds6.5 Acquisition of Language Production Skills by 4-year-olds6.6 Acquisition of Language Production Skills by 5-year-olds

APPENDIX 7:TABLES OF PREACADEMIC LEARNING7.1 Acquisition of Mathematical Concepts by 3-year-olds7.2 Acquisition of Mathematical Concepts by 4-year-olds7.3 Acquisition of Mathematical Concepts by 5-year-olds7.4 Acquisition of Early Number Skills by 3-year-olds7.5 Acquisition of Early Number Skills by 4-year-olds7.6 Acquisition of Early Number Skills by 5-year-olds7.7 Acquisition of Arithmetic Skills by 4- and 5-year-olds7.8 Acquisition of Prewriting Skills by 3-year-olds7.9 Acquisition of Prewriting Skills by 4-year-olds

174

175

176

177

178

179

180180181182183184185186186187

188188189190191192193

194194195196197198199200201202

xiv LIST OF APPENDICES

7.10 Acquisition of Prewriting Skills by 5-year-olds7.11 Acquisition of Alphabet by 3-year-olds7.12 Acquisition of Alphabet by 4-year-olds7.13 Acquisition of Alphabet by 5-year-olds

203204205206

LIST OF APPENDICES xv

Preface

Due to the lack of information on the early development of preschoolchildren, early childhood educators in Hong Kong have few guidelines tohelp them prepare developmentally appropriate curriculum. As a result,developmental norms of Western children have often been used as aframework for curriculum development, based on the assumption thatpatterns of early child development are universal. Does this assumptionhold true? What is the developmental path of Hong Kong Chinese preschoolchildren? How do children of different ages differ in their development? Dothey follow the same pattern of early development as children from othercountries? The present study was launched in an effort to provide someanswers to these questions and to collect developmental information thatmay be of use to local early childhood educators on the three age groupsthat normally attend preschools in Hong Kong.

Child development is the result of both genetic and environmentalfactors. One factor of both universal and local interest is gender. Do boysand girls follow an identical progression in all areas of development duringtheir early years, or are there some areas where gender plays an importantrole, and others where it does not? What is the role of gender in earlydevelopment in Hong Kong?

Environmental factors may accelerate or delay early development bydetermining the experiences of young children. Of particular relevance toHong Kong is the type of preschool children attend. Most children in theterritory attend kindergartens registered with the Education Department,although a small proportion attend day nurseries registered with the SocialWelfare Department. Major structural and organizational differences existbetween these two types of preschool (Opper, 1992). Kindergartens and daynurseries differ in the length of time children spend in their programmes.The former generally offer half-day programmes, whereas the latter usuallyoffer full-day care and education. This difference in the time availableinfluences the experiences provided. Kindergarten programmes for 3-year-olds are more academic than day nurseries, although by the time children

reach 5 years both types of preschool offer similar programmes. Is thisdifference in programmes reflected in the development of the childrenattending them?

Hong Kong preschools are located in different parts of the territory:Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. The residentialpatterns and demographic characteristics of these three localities differ inways that may influence preschool programmes, and thus the experiencesof young children. Residential areas have been in existence on Hong KongIsland and some parts of Kowloon longer than in the New Territories. As aresult many preschools in these two localities, particularly on Hong KongIsland, have been in operation longer than those in the New Territories andhave had time to develop their programmes and traditions. In the NewTerritories, on the other hand, the rapid emergence of new towns populatedby young families with preschool children has led to the recent proliferationof preschools without the accumulated experience of preschools in the twoother localities. Do differences in programme between the three localitieshave repercussions on child development?

Finally, Hong Kong preschool children have certain unique experienceswhich may affect their early development. Nearly every 3-year-old childattends a group education or care programme. Does this early start inpreschool affect child development? Classes in Hong Kong preschools arelarge by world standards, often ranging from 28–35 children. Does this dailyexposure to a large number of other children affect early development,particularly social and language development? Programmes emphasizepreparation for primary school rather than learning through play. One mightexpect that such programmes would affect preacademic learning, but dothey also have repercussions on other areas of development? Does lengthof attendance in preschool have a cumulative effect that is reflected indifferences in child development between children of approximately the sameage at the beginning and the end of the school year?

The present study was designed to research the effect of age, gender,type of preschool, location, and length of preschool experience, on earlydevelopment and learning in a sample of 3000 Chinese preschool children,approximately 1000 from each of the three age levels of 3, 4, and 5 yearsrespectively. It does this by tracing the development of these children infive areas: motor; personal, social and self-care; cognitive; language; andpreacademic learning.

The study provides information that could be of use to persons who areeither directly or indirectly involved with young children. These includepreprimary teachers who have the major teaching responsibility for childrenof the age levels studied; primary school teachers who take over this teachingresponsibility from preprimary teachers and therefore need to understandthe development of the children they teach prior to their entry into theprimary level; curriculum developers and textbook writers who design andprepare programmes and activities for use by preschool teachers; policy

xviii PREFACE

makers who determine the educational policies that will affect earlychildhood curriculum and programmes; and parents of young children whoare the child’s first educators and continue to fulfil this role throughout theperiod of the preschool years.

PREFACE xix

Acknowledgements

I wish to extend my gratitude and thanks to a number of organizations andpersons who contributed financial resources, time and effort to this studyand without whom it would not have been completed.

The research was made possible by a grant from the Strategic ResearchGrants Committee of the University of Hong Kong which deservesacknowledgement and recognition.

My appreciation goes to the research team who helped to develop andpilot the instruments, collect and analyze the data. This includes Dr MirandaTse, Mrs Amy Lee, Mr Tim Lam, Mr Eric Tam, Miss Susanna Yip, and MissViol Chan. A special thanks to Miss Alice Chan who helped type and formatthe manuscript. I would also like to thank Yew Chung International Schoolfor permission to reproduce the cover photos.

The Hong Kong Preprimary Advisory Committee, whose names aregiven in Appendix I, are to be thanked for their advice and support.

Above all, my special thanks go to the sponsors, heads, and supervisorsof the sample of 68 kindergartens and day nurseries for having agreed toparticipate in this first large-scale study of early child development in HongKong children, and to the teachers, and child care workers of these preschoolsfor the major contribution they made to the study by collecting the vastamount of information required. I would also like to express my gratitudeto the 3000 children and their parents who accepted to participate in thestudy, and who provided the detailed information that is presented here.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband, Dr H.O. Brown,for his help and patience throughout the project.

Sylvia OpperMarch 1996

1Introduction

This chapter is a general introduction to the Preprimary Project (PPP) of theInternational Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement(IEA), its rationale, background, conceptual framework, aims, andmethodology. It presents a brief description of the scope and administrationof the first phase of a three-phase study into preprimary children, andhighlights the major questions raised.

RATIONALE, BACKGROUND AND CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

The period from three to six years is crucial in human development. Theseare the formative years when children build the foundations for futurelearning, and are introduced to the values and behaviours of their culture.Experiences and learning during this period have an important influenceon subsequent development. Despite a growing awareness of the importanceof this early period and an increasing body of information on developmentand the effects of early experiences on later achievement in Western countries,little is known about early development and learning, the settings in whichsuch learning occurs, and the effects of early learning and experiences onlater school achievement, in many non-Western cultures.

One organization that is well placed to carry out studies into factorsthat influence school achievement in different cultures is the IEA, a researchorganization that for many years has been conducting cross-national studiesinto school achievement at the secondary and primary levels. During the1970s educators in many countries, recognizing the role of education in socialand economic change, became increasingly interested in preprimaryeducation. A major concern at that time was the contribution of early learningexperiences to achievement at subsequent levels of education. A move intopreprimary education seemed a natural expansion for IEA studies.

The IEA General Assembly therefore adopted a proposal for a three-

2 HONG KONG'S YOUNG CHILDREN: THEIR EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING

phase study of four-year-old children, the role that early education and careplays in their lives, and the effect that it has on their immediate developmentand learning at the preschool level and on their later achievement in primaryschool.

The overall conceptual framework of the PPP is based onBronfenbrenner’s ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) which viewschild development and socialization as resulting from children’s interactionswith different levels of the environment. One of these levels is themicrosystem which consists of socialization settings such as the immediatefamily and other institutions, for instance preschools, which childrenregularly attend. The macrosystem, consisting of various cultural and socialfactors that indirectly affect children’s experiences, is another level thatinfluences development and learning.

In Hong Kong the microsystem of preschool children is unique. Everychild from the age of 3 onwards, and many as young as 2 years old, attend agroup education and care setting for part of each weekday. For 85% ofchildren, this setting is a kindergarten where they attend a half-dayprogramme. The remaining 15% attend day nurseries which usually offerfull-day programmes. Kindergartens and day nurseries are a crucial settingin the microsystem of young children growing up in Hong Kong. Themacrosystem of Hong Kong preschool children includes the locality in whichthey reside, and where their preschool is located. In view of the importanceof preschools as ecological settings for Hong Kong’s young children, thePPP study seeks to identify these settings, investigate their structure andprocesses, and explain relationships between these settings and children’sdevelopment.

Aims

The overall aim of the preprimary study is to investigate the impact of earlyeducation and care on later school achievement. In addition, each of thethree phases has its own specific aims. The international aim of Phase 1,entitled the Inventory of Settings, is to obtain descriptive data on the facilitiesavailable to and used by four-year-olds in the participating countries of thestudy. An additional aim of the Hong Kong study is to collect a data baseon early development and learning in preschool children aged three to fiveyears. The aims of Phase 2, entitled the Quality of Life Study, are to describethe life experiences and development of children in the early education andcare settings available in each country, and explore the relationships betweenthese settings and children’s development. The aim of Phase 3, the Follow-up Study, is to investigate the role that early childhood education and careplays in preparing children for formal schooling. This third phase will focuson the relationships between the experiences of the children in Phase 2 andtheir subsequent development, social competence and achievement duringthe early years of primary school.

INTRODUCTION 3

Methodology of IEA PPP

Similar to previous IEA studies, the PPP has both an international component,and a section devoted to national concerns and issues. To allow forinternational comparisons, all participating countries adopt a common,mutually accepted basic research plan. The cross-national data obtained bymeans of this common research plan provide a valuable baseline from whichto examine a wider range of experiences than would be available withinany single country. The data also tests the generalizability across differentcultures of country-specific explanations, which in the case of the PPP arethose of relationships between early experiences, and development andschool achievement in the early primary years. To ensure that participantsalso address the salient issues of each country, national research teamsinclude national options to the basic research plan through country-specificquestions or by means of major elaborations of the research design. Thesenational options provide information relevant to public policy formulationor educational and curriculum planning within specific countries.

PHASE ONE OF THE PREPRIMARY PROJECT

Hong Kong has been an active participating member in Phase 1 afterreceiving funding from the Strategic Grants Research Committee of theUniversity of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong research team was located withinthe Department of Education of the University of Hong Kong, which is theoverall IEA centre for Hong Kong. The team has been assisted by a localAdvisory Committee consisting of representatives (listed in Appendix I),from the following organizations:• Department of Education, The University of Hong Kong• School of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong• Kindergarten Inspectorate, Education Department• Social Work Section (Family and Child Care), Social Welfare Department• Child Care Division, Hong Kong Council of Social Services• Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education and Services

Phase 1 of the PPP consisted of two major components. On the onehand the cross-national research plan was intended to identify and describethe characteristics of out-of-home settings for preprimary children, the factorsthat determine the use of such settings, and the daily experiences ofpreprimary children. The results of this component have been published inHong Kong’s Young Children: Their Preschools and Families (Opper, 1992). Thesecond component, or national option, which provides the content of thepresent publication, consists of an investigation into child development andlearning in Hong Kong children during the preschool years. This componentprovides details on five developmental areas in 3, 4, and 5-year-old childrenwhich could serve as a useful database for teachers, caregivers and parents


of children of this age group. These areas are motor, personal and social,cognitive, language, and preacademic learning.

MAJOR VARIABLES AND QUESTIONS OF THE EARLYDEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING STUDY

A number of studies of development in infants and young childrenconducted in Western countries have resulted in norms for ages of acquisitionof various skills during the period from birth to 6 years (Sanford and Zelman,1981; Ames et al., 1980). Cultures which lack their own research on childdevelopment have tended to adopt these Western developmental norms fortheir children, particularly in early childhood education where there is anincreasing trend for programmes to be developmentally based. However, agrowing awareness that such norms may not always be applicable to otherpopulations has led researchers in some countries to attempt to establishlocal norms. The present study, which is a first attempt to providedevelopmental norms on Hong Kong Chinese preschool children, presentsdata on the age of acquisition of various motor, personal, social, cognitive,language and preacademic skills in children aged 3 to 5 years.

Hong Kong preschool children differ from each other along a numberof dimensions. Some of these, such as age, gender or length of attendance inpreschool, are universal. Others, such as type of preschool or locality, aremore specific to the Hong Kong context. The five major categories of variablesselected for this study are age, gender, length of child’s attendance inpreschool referred to here as batch, type of preschool, and locality ofpreschool. These variables are described below.

Age

The sample children for the developmental outcomes component of the PPPPhase 1 range from three years (3 years 0 months to 3 years 11 months) to fiveyears inclusive (5 years 0 months to 5 years 11 months). During this three-year period tremendous changes occur in the development of competenciesand skills. Three-year-old children are relatively immature, taking their firststeps away from infancy but still very dependent upon the adults aroundthem. By contrast, six-year-olds are relatively complex, sophisticated, andindependent persons who have acquired a large number of physical, personal,social, intellectual and linguistic skills. Such generalizations about preschoolchildren convey only a broad picture that is of little help to adults whose aimis to promote early development and learning. More precise details on thespecific skills, knowledge and understandings of Hong Kong Chinese childrenat each of the three age levels from three to five years, and of the changes thatoccur between each level, are needed. This study investigates the generaleffects of age on a variety of child outcomes in five developmental areas.

INTRODUCTION 5

Gender

One variable of particular interest in developmental psychology is the effectof a child’s gender on behaviour, particularly at this early stage of life. Areboys more efficient than girls in physical skills? Are girls more efficient inlanguage? Or are there no significant gender differences between childrenaged three to five years? The present study investigates this issue of theinfluence of gender on behaviour in relationship to Hong Kong preschoolchildren aged 3-5 years in the various developmental areas selected.

Effect of Preschool (Batch)

Another major issue in developmental psychology is the relative influenceof maturation and environment on children’s behaviour. Do thedevelopmental differences that may be found between young children comeabout as a result of physical growth and mental maturation, or do variousenvironmental factors have some effect on these changes? The present studyinvestigates one such environmental factor. It compares developmentaloutcomes of children within rather than between age levels by using aresearch design that examines the performance of a sample of children ofapproximately the same age at three periods during the school year. In thisway, the effect of age or maturation is held constant to allow for the studyof the effects of length of time in preschool on development and learning.The sample children were divided into three batches, A, B, and C, whichrepresent different periods during the data collection year: October-December, January-March, and April-June respectively. The age of the samplechildren of each batch was kept as close as possible to the midpoint of theage range, three years six months, four years six months, and five years sixmonths. Any differences found in child development related to the variableof batch would suggest that length of attendance at preschool during a singleschool year has an effect on early development.

Type of Preschool

The two types of regular daily early education and care programmes inexistence in Hong Kong, kindergartens and day nurseries, are covered byseparate governmental ordinances. Kindergartens are regulated by theEducation Department, fall within the scope of the Education Ordinance,and have primarily an educational function. Day nurseries are regulated bythe Social Welfare Department and are governed by the Child Care CentresOrdinance, which specifically mandates that care and supervision shouldbe the main functions of all child care centres, including day nurseries.These administrative and functional differences result in differentprogrammes for young children. Do they also result in differences in childdevelopment?


Locality of Preschool

Hong Kong preschools are found in all three administrative regions of theterritory: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. Despitesome similarities between these three localities due to the ethnic, linguisticand cultural homogeneity of the population of the territory, there are alsoimportant differences, particularly in the residential patterns of the threelocalities. Large population centres have been in existence for a longer periodin Hong Kong Island and certain parts of Kowloon, than in the NewTerritories. The latter locality generally consist of new towns built duringthe past decade, and a few remaining rural villages. These new towns arelargely populated by young families of lower to middle socio-economicstatus. These locality differences result in differences in preschoolprogrammes (Opper, 1992). Are these locality differences also reflected indifferences in child development?

ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT

The present publication, which is the second volume to present the findingsof Phase 1 of the PPP, covers the developmental outcomes of the samplechildren. The focus is local Chinese children of three age levels, 3, 4 and 5years.

Chapter 2 covers sampling procedures and strategies, gives briefdescriptions of the various developmental instruments used, describes theactual administration of the study, and provides some family backgroundinformation on the sample children. Chapters 3 through 7 present the actualfindings as they relate to the variable of age. Chapter 3 covers motordevelopment and some aspects of the health of the sample children. Chapter 4presents personal and social development, and examines interactive skills,self-awareness, self-care and social competency. Chapter 5 presents thefindings on various aspects of cognition; chapter 6 covers receptive andexpressive language; and chapter 7 presents findings on three areas ofpreacademic learning, number, prewriting, and the learning of the Englishalphabet. Chapter 8 presents an integration of the findings of the previousfive chapters on the different developmental areas in the form of threeprofiles of early development and learning, one for each of the age levelsstudied. Chapter 9 presents the findings on the four other variables studied,gender, effect of time spent in preschool, type and locality of the preschool.Finally, chapter 10 presents a summary and discussion of the findings asthey relate to the research questions, and draws general conclusions.Appendices include the developmental outcome instruments, detailed tablesshowing the findings for each developmental area, and other relevantinformation. Throughout the report, when referring to a child the terms heand she are used interchangeably.

2Sampling, Instruments,

Administration of the Study and

Sample Description

SAMPLING

This study of child development in Hong Kong preschool children is anational option component of Phase 1 of the IEA Preprimary Project, aninternational survey into the preschools and families of young children,whose findings have been written up elsewhere (Opper, 1992). Samplingprocedures for both the IEA survey and this optional Hong Kong study ofchild development were more or less identical with respect to targetpopulation, sampling methods, sample children, selection of data collectors,and schedule of data collection. The main difference was the instruments:for the survey component this consisted of a questionnaire to parents,whereas for the developmental component the instruments consisted of testsof various aspects of child development.

Target population

The target population for the child development component of the IEAPreprimary Project was all Cantonese-speaking children within the age rangeof three years six months, four years six months, and five years six months,plus or minus six months, attending a registered preschool in Hong Kong,either kindergarten or nursery. The three age groups of the target age range,3 years 0 months to 3 years 11 months, 4 years 0 months to 4 years 11months, and 5 years 0 months to 5 years 11 months, are found in threeeducational levels in kindergartens: nursery, lower kindergarten and upperkindergarten classes respectively, and in the corresponding classes for thethree age groups in day nurseries.


Intended and Achieved Sample Size

The sample children for the developmental component of this study werethe same as for the Hong Kong study on preschools and families. Theintended sample size was fixed at 3000 children, 1000 at each of the preschooleducational levels. This figure was determined by the size of the four-year-old sample for the IEA international survey, which was calculated to be1000 children, equally distributed by sex, according to a formularecommended by the IEA Sampling Committee (Opper, 1992). The achievedsample size sometimes varied for individual tests, but in most cases wasclose to the intended sample size.

Sample Stratification

A two-stage stratified sampling procedure was used to select the samplechildren for the local study. Three factors were adopted as stratumdescriptors: locality, type of preschool, and size of preschool. Locality refersto the three administrative districts of the territory of Hong Kong: HongKong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. Type of preschool refersto kindergartens and day nurseries. Size of preschool refers to large andsmall preschools. Large kindergartens were defined as those with anenrolment of 250 children or more; small ones with an enrolment of 249children or fewer. Large day nurseries were defined as those with two classesof 4-year-old children, and small ones as having only one class of this agegroup.

First stage sampling: selection of preschools First stage sampling involved aproportionate random sampling of preschools within each locality by typeand size, with the probability of a preschool being chosen in proportion tothe overall distribution of preschools. To achieve the targeted number ofchildren, at least 67 preschools were needed. A set of 80 preschools, randomlyselected from within the localities by type and size, was invited to participatein the study. If any of these did not have children at one of the age levelsstudied, another preschool was selected. Any selected preschool that declinedto participate in the study was replaced by another from the same set. Initially73 preschools agreed to participate in the study. Five of these withdrewearly in the study, leaving 68 preschools. Although this was one above theoriginal estimation, it was decided to keep all these preschools in case otherswithdrew during the period of data collection. The reluctance of some ofthe selected preschools to participate in the study prevented a completelyrepresentative sample, particularly with respect to size. Since this resultedin some empty cells, size was later excluded as a sample descriptor. Table2.1 shows the distribution of the achieved sample of 68 preschools, 58kindergartens and 10 day nurseries, by type, size and locality.

SAMPLING, INSTRUMENTS, ADMINISTRATION AND DESCRIPTION 9

Table 2.1 Number of Preschools by Type, Size and Locality

Kindergarten Day NurseryLocality Large Small Large Small Total

Hong Kong 13 10 2 2 27Kowloon 11 4 0 3 18New Territories 12 8 0 3 23

Total 36 22 2 8 68

Second-stage sampling: selection of children Second-stage sampling involvedselecting from each of the sample preschools chosen during the first stageone class of children at each of the three educational levels, followed byrandom sampling by the research team of 15 children of the appropriateage within each class. Since the testing was intended to last approximatelynine months, and a certain degree of attrition was expected, it was decidedto over-sample the number of children at all three levels. In each of thesample preschools, the principal or supervisor selected classes of childrenat each of the three levels to participate in the study. Generally only oneclass of children was selected for each level, but in some of the largerpreschools more than one class was included. Kindergarten teachers andchild care workers of the selected classes were requested to send their classregister to the research team which randomly selected 15 children withinthe age range to constitute the sample of children. In order to control forseasonal effects on the children; to keep their ages as close to the target ageas possible; to study the effects of length of attendance in preschool; and tofacilitate data collection throughout the data collection year from October tothe following June, three sampling points were selected: 15 November 1987,14 February 1988, and 15 May 1988. Three data collection periods werescheduled to coincide with these sampling points: October-December,January-March, and April-June. Children from these data collection periodswere identified as belonging to batches A, B, and C respectively. Five childrenfrom each class whose age was nearest the mid-point of the age group wereselected for testing during each of the three data collection periods. Theachieved overall sample of children for the developmental testing consistedof 3038 children. Table 2.2 shows the distribution of the achieved sample ofchildren by age level, gender, type of preschool, locality, and batch.

Differences between the intended and achieved samples were due tovarious reasons. At the level of the preschool, some principals, particularlythose from the New Territories, were very cautious about participating in atype of study never attempted before in Hong Kong. Principals of preschoolson Hong Kong Island were more willing to cooperate, which accounts foran over-representation of preschools from this locality. At the level of theclass, some teachers resigned or withdrew from the study due to pressure


Table 2.2 Number of Children by Age, Gender, Type of Preschool, Localityand Batch (N=3038)

Age 3 years 4 years 5 years983 966 1089

Gender Female Male1494 1544

Type of Preschool Kindergarten Day Nursery2684 354

Locality HK Island Kowloon New Territories1098 833 1107

Batch A B C1041 1010 987

of work. At the level of the child, some children withdrew from the studyduring the year of data collection due to enrolment in another preschool ordeparture from Hong Kong. Furthermore, some children were absent fromthe preschool on the day or days when testing for a particular developmentalarea was conducted. This resulted in the variation in achieved sample sizefor the various developmental tests.

INSTRUMENTS

One major aim of the developmental component of the Preprimary Projectwas to gather data from Hong Kong preschool children in order to establisha normative framework of development for preschool Chinese children. Sincethis was the first attempt to gather information on young children withinthe preschool setting in Hong Kong, it was decided to initially gain a broadoverview of development and include skills in a variety of developmentalareas. The results could thus provide a database for the preparation of profilesof Hong Kong Chinese children aged three to five years. The selection oftest items was for the most part based on abilities that the existing literatureon developmental assessment and testing from elsewhere indicated wereimportant for children of the target age to acquire. Of particular importancewere skills that allow young children to adjust to the preschool setting.

Selection and Translation of Instruments

Prior to selecting the instruments for this component of the study, theresearch team carried out an extensive search of the literature ondevelopmental assessment and testing. In view of the lack of standardizedinstruments and existing norms for the development of young children inHong Kong, especially within the preschool setting, the items selected for


the present study were to a large extent based on instruments from Westerncountries. Several of these instruments included identical items. For example,the gross motor skill of walking up and down stairs alternating feet wasfound in at least three different tests, as was the ability to name three commonobjects. The major differences between the tests were methodological, suchas details of instructions, scoring methods, or scope of coverage.

In the selection and development of items for the present study,particular reference was made to the Learning Accomplishment Profile —LAP (Sanford and Zelman, 1981). The LAP is a comprehensive criterion-referenced test for children in the age range from three to six years withitems in seven developmental areas: gross motor, fine motor, pre-writing,cognition, language, self-help and personal-social development. This test wascompiled using items from 27 developmental scales, checklists, or tests, usedextensively in the United Kingdom and the United States. Reference wasalso made to a local instrument, the Developmental Assessment Chart orDAC (Heep Hong and Opper, 1988), a developmental assessment chartdeveloped for Hong Kong preschool handicapped children aged 1 month to6 years.

Translation Into Chinese

The various instruments were translated into Chinese by a bilingual personwhose mother tongue was Cantonese and whose English was fluent. Thetranslated version was back-translated into English by another bilingualperson whose mother tongue was Cantonese and whose English was alsofluent. The two English versions, original and back-translation, werecompared and very few differences in meaning were found. The twotranslators discussed these differences and agreed upon a final Chineseversion.

Developmental Instruments

Instruments for the collection of developmental data include items in thefollowing five areas: motor, personal and social, cognition, language, andpreacademic skills. In view of the extensive sample of children of thepreprimary study and the relatively large number of developmental testsused, it was necessary to reduce the scope of each test. With this in mind,existing instruments were used selectively and only items which seemeddirectly relevant and appropriate to Hong Kong preschool children werechosen. The various tests used in the study are described briefly below anddetails are shown as Appendix II, 2.1–2.5.

Motor Development: Two tests were designed to cover this developmentalarea: gross motor (Appendix II 2.1a), and fine motor (Appendix II 2.1b). Theemphasis for motor development was on obtaining information on the child’s


spontaneous performance. Whenever possible data collectors observed theitems during regular class activities. Details were also obtained from parentson some aspects of the children’s health.

a) Gross Motor: Items of this test include the major gross motor skillsthat children acquire during the preschool period from three to fiveyears: walking (up and down stairs, on tiptoes, etc.); running (roundobstacles, stopping); jumping (forwards, down); hopping andskipping; catching, throwing and kicking balls; and various balanceand flexibility items.

b) Fine Motor: Items selected for the fine motor test cover the skillsthat children acquire throughout the period from three to five yearsthat are particularly emphasized in preschool activities such aspainting (grasp of brush, content of picture); writing (grasp of pencil,control of paper); manipulation of plasticine; stringing beads;building blocks; folding and cutting paper; pouring liquids; andfinger manipulation.

Personal, Social and Self-care Development: Four tests were designed to coverthis developmental area: interactive and self awareness skills (Appendix II,2.2a-b), self-care (Appendix II, 2.2c), and social competency (Appendix II,2.2d). Three instruments were used as the basis for the personal, social andself-care items: the Manual for Assessment in Nursery Education, MANE(Bate and Smith, 1978), the California Preschool Social Competency Scale(Levine et al., 1969), and the Humanics National Child Assessment Form.Ages 3–6 (1982).

a) Interactive and Self-awareness: Items for the interactive test includeinteraction (greetings, taking turns, etc.); playing and knowing namesof peers; level of play; and compliance (following instructions andrules, returning toys, helping adults, etc). Those of self-awarenessinclude the child’s knowledge of name, own sex, names and numberof siblings, home address, current age, and date of birth.

b) Self-care Skills: Self-care items include washing and grooming (driesand washes hands, and face, turns water taps, brushes and combshair, wipes nose); dressing (hangs clothes on hooks, undresses anddresses, fastens buttons, puts shoes on correct feet, zips zipper);toileting; and eating (drinking, use of knife, and chopsticks).

c) Social Competency: Ten items were selected for the socialcompetency area under three broad categories of social andemotional development that were deemed important for the targetchildren: autonomy and self-control (initiating and completing tasks,concentration in tasks, reaction to frustration, independence);relationships with peers (sharing possessions or toys, borrowingproperty, returning borrowed property); and social interaction with


adults and peers (communicating wants, conversation skills,response to unfamiliar adults). Unlike the majority of developmentaloutcome items where information was collected solely by the child’steacher, the information on self-care skills was collected from parents,and that on social competency skills from both teachers and parents.

Cognition: Three tests were designed to cover the cognitive area. Oneinvestigated the child’s acquisition of various concepts by means of pictures(Appendix II, 2.3a), another tested additional concepts by means of concretesituations (Appendix II, 2.3b), and a third examined some cognitive processesused by young children (Appendix II, 2.3c). Two instruments were used asa basis for the selection of the cognitive items: the MANE (Bate and Smith,1978), and the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (1971).

a) Pictorial Concepts: This test includes the recognition of singleattributes (size, space, location, similarities and differences);combined attributes (small, round, etc.); association of two familiarobjects (shoe-sock/ table/chair, etc.); and sorting.

b) Concrete Situations: This test includes items such as labelling coloursand shapes; gender and age discrimination; physical characteristicsof objects; and left/right discrimination.

c) Cognitive Processes: This test includes items covering the processesof perception; sequencing; prediction; and memory.

Language: Two tests were designed to cover language, receptive orcomprehension (Appendix II 2.4a), and expressive or production(Appendix II 2.4b). A variety of tests were used as a basis for the selectionof the language items, including the Verbal Language Developmental Scale(Mecham, 1971), the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development(Hedrick et al., 1976), the Reynell Developmental Language Scale (NFER,1969), the LAP (Sanford and Zelman, 1981), and the Uniform PerformanceAssessment System (White et al., 1978).

a) Receptive Language: The receptive items cover a variety of skillsand levels of complexity, both cognitive and linguistic. They includethe ability to recognize the functions of common objects (cup-drink,shoe-on foot, knife-to cut, etc.); to identify common actions (run,eat, sleep); respond correctly to the words for spatial and temporalrelationships (on, under, behind, etc.); and to understand simple 3-step instructions.

b) Expressive Language: Items of this section were designed to assessthe child’s level of verbal expression, and cover different levels ofabstraction, familiarity and complexity such as describing functionsof common objects (cup-drink, shoe-on foot, etc.); naming functionsof sense organs (eyes, ears, etc.); reacting to common physical needs


(sleepy, hungry, sad); labelling three basic emotions (sad, happy,angry); naming body parts; naming the composition of objects (book,window, etc.); labelling source of action (what bounces, bites, burns,etc.); expressing knowledge of time and days of week; givingopposites by analogy (hot/cold, big/small, light/dark), or by directquestioning (fast, short, wide); and verbal fluency (producing namesof animals).

Preacademic skills: A number of tests were designed to cover three areasof preacademic skills, number (Appendix II, 2.5a), prewriting and recognitionof the English alphabet (Appendix II, 2.5b). One major source for the selectionof the preacademic items was the LAP (Sanford and Zelman, 1981).

a) Number: Three aspects were included in the number tests: mathsand number concepts, number recognition and symbols, and simplearithmetic.Maths and Number Concepts: Items of this test include theunderstanding of quantity terms (big/small, many/few, etc.); order(first, second, third, etc.); space (middle); and fractions (half, quarter,third).Number Skills: Items of this test include various aspects of counting;recognizing numerals; matching sets to numerals; ordering series(by size, length); knowledge of time and fractions; identifying coins;and using number knowledge in practical situations (dialingtelephone, stating number of fingers on two hands).Arithmetic: This test includes items of simple addition andsubtraction (written and mental).

b) Prewriting: Prewriting items comprise the following: drawing ahouse; and person; writing numerals (1–100); writing own name(Chinese, English); and copying shapes, letters, and imaginaryChinese characters.

c) Alphabet: This test involves recognizing and naming all 26 lettersof the alphabet for both capitals and small letters.

Piloting of Instruments

To ensure that the wording of the questions and the format of the instrumentswere appropriate for the target children, all instruments were piloted priorto their final adoption. In some cases, several pilot tests were necessary beforethe research team felt satisfied with the form and substance of theinstruments. Three pilot tests were carried out with the developmentalinstruments. During the first test 13 children, 7 boys and 6 girls, were giventhe cognitive, language, and preacademic items. Feedback from this testhelped to modify the original instruments. In particular it was foundnecessary to administer the tests in several sessions so as to maintain


children’s interest and motivation. Test instructions for some items neededmodification since the children found them too long and complex.

A second pilot test was held with 15 children, 8 boys and 7 girls, selectedfrom three preschools, using a revised version of the above tests. Resultsindicated that the children were better able to respond to the items of thisshortened version. However, materials for some items still neededmodification. It was also decided to prepare a testing manual for use by thedata collectors, giving detailed instructions on administering and scoringthe test items.

A third pilot test was held in which members of the research team aswell as preschool teachers acted as testers. Not only were additional testsincluded in this third piloting, such as gross and fine motor, personal andsocial, and additional preacademic skills, but it was also an opportunity topilot the testing manual with preschool teachers.

Findings of this final pilot session indicated that preschool teachers couldbe reliable data collectors. However, they needed training prior to datacollection. Close supervision, guidance and assistance were also requiredthroughout the data collection period. It was decided to combine instructionsand scoring for each developmental test on a single sheet in order to reducethe amount of paper work for the data collectors.

After these three pilot sessions, the developmental instruments werefinalized and printed. A comprehensive testing kit was prepared for eachdata collector containing the testing materials and the administrationinstructions/scoring sheets for each batch of five children.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE STUDY

Recruitment of Preschools

This preprimary study needed careful planning to ensure the close co-operation of kindergarten and day nursery supervisors, teachers andchildren. The research team adopted a number of measures to achieve thisco-operation. One crucial measure was to obtain official government approvalof the study. The Directors of Education and of Social Welfare kindlyconsented to send letters of endorsement of the study to all kindergartensand day nurseries of the sample pool. In addition, a project AdvisoryCommittee was set up comprising representatives from all major groupsinterested in the preprimary field. This Committee advised on appropriatesteps to take for the recruitment of preschools. An active informationcampaign was also carried out by the research team, including releases tothe mass media, open public meetings to explain the study, and more detailedexplanations to potential participating preschools.


Selection and Training of Data Collectors

Selection: In view of the large number of children involved in thedevelopmental component of the preprimary study, class teachers of thesample children were invited to act as data collectors. Preschool principalsor supervisors of the sample schools selected classes of children and theirteachers for the study. The selected teachers were officially invited by theresearch team to collaborate in the preprimary study as data collectors.Principals acted as honorary supervisors of data collection in their preschooland gave selected staff the necessary assistance and support.

Training: The research coordinator and senior research assistant, underthe supervision of the principal investigator, conducted fifteen half-daytraining sessions in Cantonese throughout the summer prior to datacollection. A total of 220 teachers and 73 supervisors from 83 preschoolsattended these training sessions. During the training programme details weregiven on the general background of the IEA Preprimary international andlocal studies. Participants were instructed in the administration of thedevelopmental instruments as well as other instruments of the study (Opper,1992). A video prepared in a kindergarten with children of the age levelsstudied, provided visual details on the specific procedures for all thedevelopmental tests. Participants were given the opportunity to have hands-on experience with the testing procedures for the developmental tasks, andto score some of the items. Time was allowed during training to clarify anyproblems or questions that data collectors and supervisors might have. Anyperson wishing to view the video again was invited to visit the researchcentre. Data collectors were encouraged to contact the research teamwhenever they felt the need for assistance during the entire data collectionperiod.

Supervision, Consultation and Assistance by the Research Team

Every data collector was contacted at least once, either by telephone or by apreschool visit, during the data collection period. The data collectors all hadthe telephone number of the research team and were encouraged to use itwhenever they had problems or wished to discuss testing procedures.

Attrition of Data Collectors

Several preschools decided immediately after the training programme notto participate in the study. Two of the remainder withdrew in the course ofthe year of data collection, one because of the closure of the school, and theother due to pressure of work. A total of 68 preschools, 58 kindergartensand 10 nurseries, remained in the study for the developmental componentof the preprimary study.


Schedule of Data Collection

The developmental data were collected from October 1987 to June 1988during three sampling periods, October-December, 1987, January-March, andApril-June, 1988.

Organization of Data Collection

Each designated teacher or child care worker collected developmental dataon the 15 children of her class that had been randomly selected by theresearch team from the class register. This sample of 15 children was dividedinto three batches of 5 children (A, B, and C), one for each data collectionperiod. Children whose age was closest to the mid-point of the age level (3years 6 months; 4 years 6 months and 5 years 6 months respectively) wereselected for each batch. The purpose of this was twofold. First, the ages ofthe children were kept as close as possible to the mid-point of the target agefor the international study. Second, by maintaining age more or less constantacross educational level, it was possible to investigate the effects of lengthof time spent in preschool on child developmental outcomes. As soon asresearch data had been collected, it was sent to the research team who thenforwarded another set of tests for the subsequent batch of children.

Monitoring Procedures

Data collectors sent the data in three batches to the research centre. Uponreceipt of each batch the recording sheets were checked to determine theaccuracy of reporting. The research team provided guidance and advice fordata collectors who reported problems. After reviewing each batch of datafor potential problems, the research team despatched the following set ofdevelopmental tests for the next batch of children. This new despatch wasaccompanied by a letter which attempted to clarify important points andprevent future difficulties.

Data Entry and Analysis

All the developmental data were scored and entered into the computer.Analysis of the data involved descriptive statistics such as percentages ofsuccess at various test items, as well as t-tests and analysis of variance,ANOVA, between the developmental data and the various variables selectedfor study.

Results

This publication provides details on the findings for the outcomes in thefive developmental areas selected for study. For each developmental area


descriptive statistics giving percentages of success for each item by age areshown. A criterion of acquisition of 66% of the responses was adopted forthis study. Since figures have been rounded off to the nearest whole number,totals do not always amount to 100 percent. Comparisons are also made foreach developmental area along the dimensions of age, gender, batch, typeof preschool, and locality. ANOVA and/or t-tests were calculated for eachtest at two levels, first for the overall sample, and then at each of the threeages separately. In view of the large size of the sample, a level of p<.001was adopted as the measure of probability.

SAMPLE DESCRIPTION

The majority of the sample children were born in Hong Kong where, at thetime of the study, their parents had been living for over 20 years. The childrencome from relatively small nuclear families with one to three children, andare frequently the oldest or second child in the family. A higher proportionof large families is found in the New Territories than in the two otherlocalities. Children from larger families are more likely to attendkindergartens than day nurseries. Almost all the sample children haveCantonese as their mother tongue. Very few of them speak a secondlanguage, but if they do, English is the most commonly spoken, particularlyby families from Hong Kong Island.

Living accommodation for the families, which is almost equally dividedbetween rented and self-owned housing, generally consists of one livingand two bedrooms. About one third of the families have grandparents orother relatives living with them, although very few have a maid. Thestandard of living of the homes of these children is relatively high with themajority having television, refrigerator, telephone, radio, and washingmachine. On the other hand, very few have a dishwasher, microwave oven,encyclopedia, or computer. Most families have access to a play area for thechildren, which is used by the majority of the families at least one to twotimes a week, mostly on weekends.

All parents have completed at least Primary 6 level of education, aboutone quarter lower secondary, and one third upper secondary level. The vastmajority of fathers work full-time, but only half the sample mothers work.More mothers from Hong Kong Island have a job. Fathers tend to work inthe sales and production sectors, whereas working mothers tend to haveclerical positions. Level of income is highest among Hong Kong Islandfamilies where parents are more likely to hold white collar positions, andlowest amongst New Territories families, where mothers often do not workand fathers hold blue collar jobs.

3Motor Development and Health

Parents and early childhood educators in daily contact with young childrentend to take early physical and motor development for granted because itoccurs naturally, apparently without specific encouragement or facilitationfrom others. The majority of children reach the physical and motor milestonesof the early years according to an observable, predictable sequence. Motordevelopment, or the ability to move around in space and control variousbody parts, generally proceeds smoothly although there may be variationsin pace due to genetic, nutritional or experiential factors. Furthermore,without being told or shown how, young children spontaneously seek outexperiences that will promote their normal physical development. As a result,adults may feel that there is little they can or need to do to enhance physicaland motor development during this period of life.

While this is generally the case, a knowledge of normal physicaldevelopment can help caregivers observe children’s motor skills, interpretthese observations accurately, and select activities that facilitate motordevelopment. If early childhood educators in particular are familiar withthe normal sequence of development and the range of individual differencesbetween children during the preschool years, they can provide appropriatephysical and motor activities for all children in their care, especially forthose who show a lag in motor proficiency and need additional assistance.

This chapter first gives a brief introduction to motor development beforeand during the preschool period, and shows the ages of acquisition of somemajor developmental milestones from three to five years in Western children.It then presents the findings on motor development of Hong Kong preschoolchildren aged three to five years. In particular it provides an indication ofthe ages of acquisition of Hong Kong children for certain gross and finemotor skills, and compares the Hong Kong findings with those fromelsewhere. It also presents findings on the health of young children in HongKong.


INTRODUCTION

Motor development during the preschool period from three to five yearscovers two main areas: gross and fine motor. Gross motor developmentrefers to the use of the large muscles involved in a wide variety of movementsthat require the whole body, either in movement or locomotion, such aswalking, running, jumping, skipping, and throwing or catching balls; or instationary situations, such as sitting, or standing. Success at these variousgross motor skills requires competency in balance and coordination. Finemotor development refers to the use of the small muscles involved inmovements that require the functioning of the extremities, particularly thehands and fingers, to manipulate objects. Fine motor development alsorequires coordination, particularly eye-hand coordination or the ability toregulate the use of eyes and hands together in a variety of movements suchas grasping or releasing objects; writing, drawing, and colouring using apencil or crayon; cutting and pasting, and using a spoon, cup or toothbrush.

Many of these manipulative skills are acquired during the preschoolperiod. Motor skills are not only important in themselves, but combine withother aspects of development such as cognition, language, and personal-social abilities, to play a significant role in the child’s mental and physicalhealth and well-being.

Health, although not truly part of physical or motor development, isdirectly related to it. A healthy child is more likely to achieve a normalsequence of physical and motor development whereas a child with healthproblems is more likely to be at risk for delays in this development.

Motor Development and Health Before 3 Years

Motor development: Physical maturation occurs rapidly during the infancyand toddler periods. Children show significant increases in height and weightduring their first two years of life and acquire a wide repertory of relativelysophisticated motor skills. At birth the baby has available a number of reflexbehaviours that initially he is not able to control, but which allow him toadapt to the environment. These include the rooting, sucking, grasping andprotective reaction reflexes. As the central nervous system matures, thesereflexes gradually become weaker and are replaced by intentional orvoluntary movements that the child slowly perfects during the first fewyears of life.

In the area of gross motor development, the child acquires the abilitywhen lying on his stomach, to lift first his head, then his shoulders, to rollover, crawl, sit, and stand. By the end of their first year most children taketheir first step and by 3 years they are starting to run, jump and walk upstairs.

In the area of fine motor development, the infant moves from thegrasping reflex present at birth to the ability to grasp and release objects

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH 21

voluntarily. By 3 years most children can hold a crayon or pencil to scribbleon paper, are beginning to feed and dress themselves independently, andcan control and combine the use of more than one object at a time, such asbuilding with blocks, or putting small objects into a container.

This early motor development proceeds according to two basic principlesof development. Gross motor maturation follows the cephalo-caudal principlewhereby the muscles of the upper part of the body, those closest to thehead, mature before those of the lower body, those closest to the toes. Bythe time the child starts to walk, the muscles of the upper torso are sufficientlymature and strong enough to support the trunk during the variousmovements involved in locomotion. Fine motor maturation follows theproximo-distal principle whereby the muscles closest to the centre of thebody mature before those of the extremities, such as hands and fingers.Before being able to control the fingers sufficiently to hold a pencil, thechild learns first to control his or her shoulders, arms and wrists.

In addition to maturation, gross and fine motor development duringthe early years requires a great deal of effort and practice. One majorcharacteristic of babies and young children is their tremendous physicalenergy as they continuously repeat and exercise movements in an effort toperfect and improve their emerging physical and motor skills.

Health: Children during the period from birth to two years are possiblymore healthy than at any other time during childhood (Schickedanz et al.,1990). This is partly due to the infant health and immunization programmesthat many countries have introduced against the more commoncommunicable childhood diseases such a diptheria, tetanus, whooping cough,rubella, measles and mumps. Parents are also more aware today than in thepast of the appropriate steps to promote infant health.

Motor Development and Health From 3 to 5 years

Motor development: Preschoolers continue to be physically very active,constantly on the move as they try out and practise new motor skills andcombine previously isolated skills to acquire more complex movements. Asthey grow older, children are able to move more quickly, and respond morerapidly to external stimulation. Their movements become more controlledand smooth. At each age level from 3 to 5 years the child builds on andexpands previous motor skills so that by the end of the preschool period, at6 years, the child has acquired a wide range of gross and fine motor skills.Children acquire many of these motor skills in the course of play. Piagethas demonstrated that play reflects what children are learning physically,cognitively, socially and emotionally. Play provides an opportunity forchildren to take in new information at their own level of maturity and itallows them to decide the pace of their development.

Norms established on children from elsewhere (Skinner, 1979; Ames et


al., 1980; Sanford and Zelman, 1981; Cratty, 1986) indicate that by the age of3 years, walking has become automatic. The child is able to walk up, butnot down, stairs in adult fashion, walk along a straight line heel-to-toe, andon tiptoes. He can jump from an 8-inch high step and land on both feet, andpour liquid from a pitcher without spilling. When throwing a ball, his bodyfaces the direction of the throw and both feet remain fixed in place. Finemotor skills include the ability to unbutton buttons and to feed and dresshimself with help, to copy a circle and square, to snip paper with scissors,and to build simple structures with construction toys.

At 4 years the child begins to control her running, particularly whenstarting and stopping. She can climb down stairs, hop on one foot, carry acup of water without spilling, dress herself, skip on alternate feet, and catcha large ball. When throwing a ball she now rotates her body to prepare forthe movement, and rotates her body after the throw. Fine motor skills includethe ability to draw a person with two body parts, fold paper horizontally,vertically and diagonally, cut along a line with scissors, write some lettersof the alphabet, as well as increasing competence in dressing and feeding.

By 5 years the child can run smoothly, starting, stopping and turningwith ease. He can skip, kick a stationary ball, and catch a ball with twohands. When throwing a ball he takes a step forward. Fine motor skillsinclude the ability to fasten buttons, make a recognizable shape out of clay,draw a recognizable house, and person with 6–7 body parts. The child isalso more skillful with scissors and can cut around a square.

Health: As children grow older, illnesses become more frequent. The mostcommon illnesses of young children are infections of the ear and of therespiratory system. Since health and development are closely related duringthe early years, children with frequent illnesses or ear infections, or thosewhose families are under stress for extended periods of time, are more likelyto show developmental delays (Anselmo, 1987), and to exhibit behaviourproblems and disturbed sleep patterns.

Gender differences: During infancy there appear to be no consistentdifferences between boys and girls in motor development. However, bypreschool age some differences emerge. Boys on average have larger muscles,run faster, jump further, climb higher, and throw further than girls (Cratty,1986). Boys also spend more time in various large muscle activities such asrunning, climbing, jumping, and playing with balls. Girls are generally moreflexible, have better eye-motor coordination (Thomas and French, 1985), andappear to be ahead of boys in small muscle activities by as much as sixmonths. Girls cut with scissors, and copy basic forms earlier than boys (Ameset al., 1986). Despite these differences developmental norms tend to be basedon combined data for boys and girls.


HONG KONG CHILDREN

Gross Motor Development

A total of 27 gross motor items were selected for this study. These covered avariety of gross motor skills that are important for children’s earlydevelopment and have been studied in children from elsewhere. They includelocomotion (walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping); manipulatingballs (throwing, catching, kicking); and static balance (standing on one leg,swinging leg back and forth, touching toes; see Appendix II, 2.1a for details).

The findings of Hong Kong children’s acquisition of these skills inrelation to age (3, 4, 5 years) are presented here. The findings on gender, typeof preschool, locality and batch are presented in chapter 9. Details on thenumber of children on the gross and fine motor items are given in Table 3.1.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in grossmotor skills with age. This can be seen in the increase in overall mean scoresfrom 38.1 at 3 years, to 43.7 at 4 years and 46.8 at 5 years (see Table 3.2); inthe ANOVA results which show that age is highly significant for the overallsample; in the ANOVA and t-tests comparing individual items between ageswhich show overall differences between the three age groups with theexception of two items between 4 and 5 years, walking up stairs and standingon tiptoes for 10 seconds; and in the sequence in age of acquisition of thevarious gross motor skills in Hong Kong children from 3 to 5 years basedon a criterion of acquisition of 66% of a given age group for each individualitem (Appendix III, Tables 3.1, 3.2, 3.3).• At 3 years Hong Kong children are able to progress beyond walking

along a straight surface to walking upstairs one foot at a time. The childof this age has sufficient control of her body and legs to be able to landon both feet after jumping down and forwards. Skills of manipulating

Table 3.1 Sample size for Gross and Fine Motor Items by Age, Gender,Type of Preschool, Locality, and Batch (N=3009)





Batch A B C958 918 859


Table 3.2 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by Age* (in % of success)

3 years 4 years 5 yearsN (968) (964) (1077)

DYNAMIC MOVEMENTWalking

Straight line(heel-toe) 56 89* 96On tiptoes 58 77* 85

ClimbingUpstairs 4–6 steps 89* 98 97Downstairs 4–6 steps 56 89* 96

RunningAvoids obstacles 65 92* 96Stops with ease 64 89* 93

Throwing (medium ball)Underhand 78* 82 90Into container# 31 41 53Overhand 10 feet# 18 34 56

CatchingBall/bent arms 56 71* 82Bounced ball 27 53 72*One hand# 5 14 32

J u m p i n gDown 8 inches w/2 feet 75* 83 93Forwards 8 inches 69* 83 89Running broad jump 32 58 73*

Hopping3 steps preferred leg 38 82* 906 steps both legs 9 43 73*Skips 10 times# 11 39 60

KickingRun to stationary ball 79* 87 93Moving ball 8 feet forward 39 58 72*

STATIC BALANCEPreferred leg 5 secs. 46 77* 88Preferred leg 8 secs. 21 47 67*On tiptoes 5 secs. 34 57 66*Either leg 8 secs.# 16 36 57Preferred leg eyes closed# 16 35 54Swings preferred leg# 30 61 61Touches toes# 21 47 59

M e a n 38.1 43.7 46.8

* Criterion of Acquisition of all developmental tests items = 66% of age cohort# Skill not acquired by sample children

balls are emerging, and the average 3-year-old can throw a medium-sized ball underhand, and run up to and kick a stationary ball.

• The age of 4 years appears to be crucial for gross motor skills, particularlyfor locomotion and balance. The child of this age has good control of


several aspects of locomotion such as walking downstairs one foot atthe time, along a straight line heel-to-toe, and on tiptoes, and can avoidobstacles and stop smoothly when running. Balance has becomesufficiently controlled for the child to hop forwards on one leg for threesteps, and to stand on one leg, the preferred one, for a brief period of 5seconds. The average 4-year-old is also able to coordinate eyes, armsand body sufficiently to catch a ball with bent arms rather than adoptingthe stiff-armed posture of the younger child.

• By 5 years the child has improved his balance sufficiently to be able tostand on the preferred leg for 8 seconds, on tiptoes for 5 seconds, andhop forwards 6 steps. Five-year-olds can also make a running broadjump, catch a bounced ball and kick a moving ball.

Fine Motor Development

A total of 34 fine motor items were selected for this study. The rationale forselection was similar to that for the gross motor items: the items are importantfor young children’s early development and have been studied elsewhere.These fine motor items include the controlled use of drawing and writingtools (holding paintbrush, pencil and paper); modelling plasticine/clay(pounding, making snake, round cake, ball, recognizable object); stringingbeads (large, small); building blocks (3-block bridge, 9-block tower, 5-blockgate); folding paper (horizontal, vertical, diagonal, inserting into envelope);controlled use of scissors (snipping, cutting straight line, square, curved line,around simple picture); managing liquid without spilling (walking, pouring);and manipulating various objects using fingers and thumbs with ease(wiggling thumb, clipping clothes peg, putting small objects into container,winding spool, using paper clip, and pencil sharpener, tying knot). (SeeAppendix II, 2.1b for details).

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in finemotor skills with age. This can be seen in the highly significant increase inmean overall scores for the fine motor items from 29.3 at 3 years, to 40.5 at 4years and 47.0 at 5 years; in the ANOVA and t-tests comparing the individualitems between ages which show highly significant differences between 3and 4 years and between 3 and 5 years for all the fine motor items, but notbetween 4 and 5 years for many items; and in the ages of acquisition of thevarious fine motor skills in Hong Kong children from 3 to 5 years (seeTable 3.3).• Three years is a critical period for Hong Kong children in the acquisition

of the fine motor skills selected for this study. Children of this age masterthe basic skills of coordinating pencil and paper to paint, draw and write;they manipulate plasticine to pound, squeeze, pull, and roll into a snake,ball, and flat cake; they insert paper into an envelope, and fold ithorizontally; they build simple shapes with up to nine blocks; and string


Table 3.3 Acquisition of Fine Motor Skills by Age (in % of success)


PrewritingPaper control 93* 97 99Mature Pencil Grasp 93* 99 98

PaintingMature Brush hold 81* 95 97Paints picture 40 83* 96

Modelling Clay/PlasticinePounds, squeezes, pulls 89* 95 98Rolls into snake 75* 92 96Makes flat round cake 70* 91 92Rolls into ball 69* 92 96Makes recognizable object 28 60 82*

Pouring waterWalks without spilling 60 80* 88Pours without spilling 54 79* 85

Folding PaperInserts envelope 84* 97 97Folds horizontal 79* 97 95Folds vertical 58 89* 90Folds diagonal 42 83* 91

Cutting PaperSnips 24 68* 75Cuts straight line 21 69* 85Cuts square 15 63* 81Cuts curved line 14 60 79*Cuts out simple picture 7 50 77*

Building BlocksBridge with 3 blocks 87* 97 98Tower with 9 blocks 72* 94 96Gate with 5 blocks 35 63 78*

Stringing BeadsStrings 4 large beads 89* 95 98Strings 4 small beads 80* 93 97

ManipulationCloses fist/wiggles thumb 87* 98 97Clips clothes peg 82* 96 97Places 10 objects container 77* 92 95Crumples tissue 69* 90 93Winds thread onto spool 64 83* 93Touches fingers with thumb 60 84* 92Clips 2 pages 37 76* 89Sharpens pencil 19 63 88*Ties knot 9 40 73*

M e a n 29.3 40.5 47.0

* Criterion of Acquisition for all developmental tests items = 66% of age cohort


a limited number of large and small beads within one minute. Theyalso exhibit various skills involving thumb/finger opposition andcoordinated movements of fingers and palm, such as wiggling thumb,clipping clothes pegs onto the rim of a cup, putting small objects into acontainer, and crumpling a tissue into a ball with one hand.

• At 4 years children continue to refine their fine motor skills and cannow fold paper vertically and diagonally. They are beginning to usescissors to snip paper, cut along a straight line and around a square.Their improved thumb/finger opposition and coordination of both handsallows them to wind a thread onto a spool, touch each finger to theirthumb, and attach two pages of paper together using a paper clip. Theyare also able to coordinate fine motor skills with those in otherdevelopmental areas. For example, not only can they pour liquid from ajug without spilling, but can also walk a short distance holding a cup ofwater without spilling, a skill that requires a combination of gross andfine motor skills. They can also paint a recognizable picture whichrequires both fine motor and cognitive skills.

• By 5 years children can manipulate plasticine well enough to produce arecognizable object, can cut along a curved line and around a simplepicture, use a pencil sharpener and tie a single knot, all skills that requirethe coordination of both hands. In addition they can build a 5-blockgate, an activity that requires the combination of fine motor and cognitiveskills. All the fine motor items tested in this study were achieved by theage of 5 years.

Age of Acquisition of Motor Skills

The summary of the age of acquisition of the various motor skills tested inthis study is shown in Table 3.4.

The following skills are not achieved by 66% of the 5-year age groupbut appear to be emerging since for many of them the percentages ofacquisition range from 54% to 61%. The one exception is ‘catches small ballwith one hand’, 32%, which suggests that this skill might not even beachieved by Hong Kong children by 6 years.

1. Swings preferred leg back and forth 5 times (61%)2. Skips 10 times (60%)3. Touches toes with legs straight (59%)4. Balances on either leg 8 seconds (57%)5. Throws overhand 10 feet (56%)6. Balances on one leg with eyes closed for 5 seconds (54%)7. Throws into container 5 feet away (54%)8. Catches small ball with one hand (32%)


Table 3.4 Age of Acquisition of Gross and Fine Motor Skills in Hong KongPreschool Children

3 years 4 years 5 years

Gross MotorWalks upstairs Walks downstairs Stands preferred legJumps down Walks straight line 8 secondsJumps forwards Walks tiptoes Stands tiptoes 10Throws ball under- Runs and avoids obstacles secs .

h a n d Runs and stops easily Hops forwards 6Kicks stationary ball Hops forwards 3 steps s t eps

Stands one leg 5 secs. Running broad jumpCatches ball with bent Catches bounced ball

a r m s Kicks moving ball

Fine MotorMature paintbrush Paints picture Makes object with

and pencil grasp Folds paper vertical and plasticinePounds plasticine diagonal Cuts curved lineRolls plasticine into Snips paper Cuts out picture

snake and ball Cuts straight line Makes 5-block gateMakes plasticine into Cuts square Sharpens pencil

flat cake Walks without spilling Ties single knotInserts paper into water

envelope Pours water withoutFolds paper horizontal spillingBuilds 3-block bridge Winds thread on spoolBuilds 9-block tower Touches fingers to thumbStrings large and Clips two pages

small beadsCloses fist and

wiggles thumbClips clothes pegPlaces objects into

containerCrumples paper

Cross-cultural Comparisons

Gross Motor: Comparisons with norms from elsewhere (Ames et al., 1980;Sanford and Zelman, 1981) show that, with a few minor exceptions, HongKong preschool children generally follow a similar pace of gross motordevelopment to that of children from other countries. Hong Kong 3-year-olds achieve the same gross motor skills as their counterparts elsewherewith a slight delay for walking on tiptoes, achieved at 3 years elsewhere,but not until 4 years by the local children. On the other hand, Hong Kong 3-year-olds can walk up to and kick a stationary ball, a skill that is not achieveduntil 5 years elsewhere.

Four-year-olds too have mastered very similar gross motor skills to


children of the same age elsewhere, with the exception of catching a bouncedball, and the running broad jump, which are both achieved at 5 years byHong Kong children, but at 4 years by children from elsewhere.

Similarly five-year-olds appear to be on target when compared withchildren from elsewhere. Throwing ball overhand, however, is only achievedby 56% of Hong Kong 5-year-olds, but is achieved at 4 years elsewhere.Several skills such as swinging each leg back and forth, skipping, touchingtoes with both hands, and standing on each foot separately, which arecategorized as ‘emerging’ in this study because they are not achieved by66% of the 5-year-old children, are usually achieved at 5 years elsewhere.The skills of standing on each foot alternatively with eyes closed, and catchinga ball with one hand, which are not achieved by Hong Kong children at 5years, are also not achieved until 6 years elsewhere (see Table 3.5).

These minor variations may be due to the adoption of a different criterionof achievement by different studies. The standard adopted for this studywas 66% of the age level. If this were reduced to 50%, which appears to bethe criterion adopted by Ames et al. (1980), a number of these emergingskills would have been achieved by 5 years in Hong Kong children.Consequently, it seems accurate to state that in the area of gross motordevelopment, Hong Kong preschool children follow closely the norms fromelsewhere.

Table 3.5 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Gross MotorI tems

US Children HK Children

Jumps down 8 inches 3 years 3 yearsJumps forwards 8 inches 3 years 3 yearsWalks upstairs 3 years 3 yearsWalks on tiptoes 3 years 4 yearsStands preferred leg 5 secs. 4 years 4 yearsHops preferred leg 3 steps 4 years 4 yearsWalks straight line (heel-toe) 4 years 4 yearsCatches ball bent arms 4 years 4 yearsWalks downstairs 4 years 4 yearsCatches bounced ball 4 years 5 yearsRunning broad jump 4 years 5 yearsThrows ball overhand 10 ft. 4 years NA(56%)Walks up and kicks ball 5 years 3 yearsStands on tiptoes 5 years 4 yearsHops each leg 5 years 5 yearsTouches toes 5 years NA (59%)Skips 5 years NA (60%)Swings preferred each leg 5 years NA (61%)

NA=66% criterion not achieved by 5 year group.


Fine Motor: As with the gross motor items, Hong Kong children seem tofollow closely the fine motor development norms from elsewhere with afew exceptions. In some cases Hong Kong children are ahead of, in othersthey are behind their counterparts from elsewhere (see Table 3.6). The majordifferences are the following. Local 3-year-olds are able to insert a prefoldedsheet of paper into an envelope and crumple a tissue paper with one hand,both skills which are only acquired at 5 years elsewhere. They are also ableto place small objects into a container and control the paper when drawingor writing, skills achieved at 4 years elsewhere. At 4 years Hong Kongchildren can paint a recognizable picture, wind thread on to a spool, andcut out a square, all skills achieved at 5 years elsewhere. At 5 years HongKong children can cut out a magazine picture, a skill achieved at 6 yearselsewhere. On the other hand, at 4 years local children can fold and crease apaper vertically, and snip paper, skills achieved at 3 years elsewhere. At 5years local children can use a pencil sharpener and make a gate with 5blocks, skills achieved at 4 years elsewhere. On the whole the discrepanciesare minor and may be due to differences in the criterion of acquisitionadopted, already mentioned with reference to gross motor skills.

Table 3.6 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Fine MotorI tems


Mature Pencil grasp 3 years 3 yearsBuilds bridge 3 blocks 3 years 3 yearsBuilds tower 9 blocks 3 years 3 yearsCloses fist/wiggles thumb 3 years 3 yearsStrings large beads 3 years 3 yearsStrings small beads 3 years 3 yearsMakes snake, cake, ball from clay 3 years 3 yearsFolds/creases paper horizontally 3 years 3 yearsFolds/creases paper vertically 3 years 4 yearsSnips paper with scissors 3 years 4 yearsPaper control 4 years 3 yearsPlaces small objects container 4 years 3 yearsTouches fingers with thumb 4 years 4 yearsFolds/creases paper diagonally 4 years 4 yearsCuts straight line 4 years 4 yearsClips 2 pages 4 years 4 yearsBuilds gate 5 blocks 4 years 5 yearsSharpens pencil 4 years 5 yearsInserts paper envelope 5 years 3 yearsCrumples tissue one hand 5 years 3 yearsWinds thread on spool 5 years 4 yearsCuts square 5 years 4 yearsPaints recognizable picture 5 years 4 yearsMakes recognizable object clay 5 years 5 yearsTies knot 5 years 5 yearsCuts out magazine picture 6 years 5 years


Health

Hong Kong has an extensive immunization programme for infants andyoung children offered through a network of Maternal and Child HealthClinics, and government and government-assisted hospitals located invarious parts of the territory. By the age of 3 years most children have beenimmunized against tuberculosis, polio, dyptheria, whooping cough, tetanusand measles. A previous study by Field and Baber (1973) shows that HongKong infants, after an initial period of good health lasting until around 2–9months, begin to show a relatively high incidence of illnesses related to therespiratory and digestive systems. Then at 18–24 months when the child’sdiet improves, muscle tone increases and children become more cooperativein testing situations. The major causes of death in Hong Kong preschoolchildren are accidents, congenital malformations, pneumonia andmalignancies. Respiratory infections are the third most common cause forhospital admission in children between one to four years (Ip, 1980).

The IEA Preprimary study used two indicators to examine the health ofthe sample children. Parents were asked to rate their child’s general healthon a 4-point scale, ranging from excellent to poor, and to indicate from a listof common childhood health and behaviour problems, those that had beena problem for their child during the previous six months. According to theparents’ overall rating, the health of Hong Kong children is satisfactory:14% of parents report that their child’s health is excellent, 41% report good,43% report fair, and only 2% report poor health. Responses to this itemindicate a very similar pattern for children of the three ages, two types ofpreschool and the three localities studied.

The most frequent health problems of young children in Hong Kongare flu and fever (see Table 3.7). Half the children have poor appetite, about

Table 3.7 Health Problems of Hong Kong Children by Age (% of Parentsreporting Sometimes/Often a problem)

Health Problem 3 years 4 years 5 years Whole Sample

Flu 93 89 87* 90Fever 79 73 66* 72Poor appetite 51 50 50 50Moodiness 40 36 34 36Digestive 31 29 24 28Headache 4 5 13* 8Ear infections 8 7 7 7Asthma 6 6 5 6Vision problems 2 3 3 3Stomach-ache 2 3 3 3Hearing problems 1 1 2 1Others(cough, skin, etc.) 3 3 4 3

* Chi-square indicates a significant age difference


one-third are moody, and slightly more than one-quarter have digestiveproblems, all relatively minor ailments. With the exception of headaches,from which 13% of 5-year-olds suffer, less than 10% of the sample sufferfrom more serious illnesses such as ear infections, asthma, or sight andhearing problems. Younger children suffer significantly more from flu andfever than older ones and 5-year-olds are significantly more likely to sufferfrom headaches than younger children. Only 2% of parents report that theirchild has suffered an accident or serious illness during the previous sixmonths (Opper, 1992).

On the whole the Hong Kong findings are consistent with those fromelsewhere where findings indicate that illnesses in preschoolers are usuallynot very serious (Schickedanz et al., 1990). The health of Hong Kong’s youngchildren tends to improve during the preschool years, with the exception ofheadaches which are significantly more common amongst the older children.

Summary

Hong Kong children show a regular progression with age for both grossand fine motor development and this progression is similar to that foundelsewhere. At 3 years they are in the early stages of mastering their controlof balance and coordination in various basic skills of locomotion andthrowing and catching balls. Their eye-hand coordination is sufficientlydeveloped to allow them to use a number of fine motor skills such as workingwith plasticine, blocks, beads, folding paper and various actions involvingcontrol of fingers and thumb. Four years is a crucial period for gross motordevelopment. As children of this age achieve greater control of their body,balance and coordination, they are able to refine walking and running skillsand can now perform skills requiring separate control of each side of thebody, e.g. hopping, standing on one leg. They become more competent inhandling balls, throwing, catching, kicking, and so on. Improvement is alsonoted for fine motor skills such as coordinating pencil and paper, control ofscissors and various activities that require the coordination of fingers-thumb-both hands. By 5 years balance and control have greatly improved, as toohave ball manipulation skills. Children of this age have improved plasticineand scissor-cutting skills, and are successful at more complex finger-thumbopposition skills.

Hong Kong children’s health is relatively good and improves throughoutthe preschool years. The most frequent health problems are flu and fever,significantly more frequent amongst 3-year-olds, and headaches, significantlymore frequent amongst 5-year-olds. This pattern is also similar to childrenfrom elsewhere.

4Personal, Social and Self-Care

Development

As with the other aspects of child development selected for this study,personal and social behaviour, or how children feel about themselves andtheir relationships with others, undergoes a number of changes throughoutthe preschool period. Children of this age are at the stage of preoperationalthinking which is characterized by egocentrism or a focus on personal viewsand the inability to grasp the perspective of others (Piaget, 1965). Egocentricthinking affects the child’s relationships with other persons. During thepreoperational period the child’s social world expands considerably as hemoves from the home, with its limited range of social relationships, to theworld outside where opportunities for a wider variety of social interactions,particularly with peers, are available. Increased interactions with persons ofthe same age and level of maturity help young children decentre from theirown perspective and begin to understand different, contrasting viewpoints.This leads to a decrease in egocentric thinking and an increase in socialcompetence.

Hong Kong children experience this wider social world at a very earlyage. By three years the vast majority spend some part of each day in apreschool setting, often with as many as 30 children to a class. In preschoolsyoung children have more opportunities than in the home environment tointeract with peers and non-family members and thus to improve certainsocial skills. Research has found that sociability in preschool children iscorrelated with the length of their nursery experience (Sylva and Lunt, 1982).On the other hand, the presence of a relatively large number of youngchildren in a formal educational context creates the need for more rules andregulations than are necessary in the home. Compliance with these rulesrequires a high degree of self-control and may also inhibit self-expression,initiative and personal freedom. In brief, preschools have a contribution tomake to social development by encouraging certain social and emotionalskills. They provide a setting for the development of social competence,


compliance and self-control, but they may also constrain self-expression,independence and initiative.

The norms and rules of socially appropriate behaviour vary acrosscultures, but in all cultures children need to learn to get along with adultsand peers. They do this through a process of socialization by which eachchild gradually internalizes the norms, rules, values, beliefs, moral standardsand appropriate behaviours of a culture. Early childhood is an active periodof socialization when much of the learning of these appropriate behavioursoccurs (Harris and Liebert, 1992). This socialization process originates in thehome and is later pursued in the broader social world, particularly in thepreschool.

This chapter gives a brief introduction to personal and socialdevelopment before and during the preschool period, and then presents thefindings on this topic for Hong Kong preschool children aged 3 to 5 years.In particular it provides indications of ages of acquisition of Hong Kongchildren for various personal, social and self-care skills which are generallyacquired during this period of life and compares these findings on personaland social development with those from elsewhere.

INTRODUCTION

Personal and social development during the early years covers a variety ofdimensions including behaviours, feelings, and self-knowledge. This study,whose target population is young children in preschools, seeks to investigatemore particularly the personal and social understandings and behavioursthat are appropriate to the preschool setting. These include the developmentaltasks of infancy and early childhood, such as trust, autonomy and initiative(Erikson, 1963), competence in social relations with adults and peers, socialcognition and self-awareness.

Erikson’s three psychosocial tasks, the acquisition of trust during infancy,of autonomy during the toddler period, and of initiative during the preschoolyears, are important milestones in the personal and social development ofbabies and young children. These tasks involve other people although theirconsequences are directly related to the individual’s relationships with self.The social competencies that result from the positive achievement of thesethree tasks help the child develop feelings of trust towards others, ofcompetence and self-worth, and the ability to take decisions and initiateactivities. All these personal and social skills allow for a healthy adaptationto the social world.

One major component of social development is the ability to interacteffectively with other persons. Social competence in the early years isnecessary in two different types of relationships: with adults and with peers.Relationships between young children and adults are sometimes describedas vertical because the latter have more social power and knowledge, whereas

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND SELF-CARE DEVELOPMENT 35

relationships with peers are horizontal because they involve persons of thesame level of social power and knowledge. The social skills required in thesetwo types of relationships are different. In vertical relationships adults playa crucial role as socializing agents by teaching children social knowledge.They help children become aware of the conventions and rituals of socialperformance of their own particular society. Vertical relationships often placechildren in a position of inferiority. Children have to comply with the rulesand regulations of social life set by adults (Berk, 1991). Compliance, whichcalls for self-control of feelings and behaviour, takes time to acquire. Veryyoung children lack self-control and often express their emotionsimmediately and directly. Older children have a higher degree of self-controland a wider repertory of socially accepted behaviours. They are more ableto express strong negative emotions by using verbal strategies or to disguisetheir feelings in role play or drawings. Because of this unequal power-sharingbetween adults and young children, the presence of adults inhibits certainaspects of social development.

Horizontal relationships with peers, on the other hand, call for socialskills that are based on mutuality and reciprocity. Socially competent childrenuse a number of strategies to play and interact effectively with other children(Hendrick, 1991). They know how to successfully initiate interactions withothers, to handle these social engagements to the satisfaction of both parties,and to terminate them smoothly in order to maintain future positiverelationships. They are able to engage in prosocial behaviour and restrainundesirable antisocial impulses. The accomplishment of these variousinteractive skills requires the ability to engage in role-taking, or the abilityto understand and adopt the behaviours, viewpoints and feelings of others.Role-taking ability improves with development as the child moves fromegocentrism to social perspective-taking. Horizontal relationships require awider variety of complex social behaviours than vertical relationships. Thepresence of peers facilitates these aspects of social development.

Both types of social relationships, with adults and with peers, call forsocial awareness, understanding and knowledge. Children must learn therules of social conventions, be aware of what constitutes acceptable andunacceptable behaviour, and be sensitive towards the feelings and reactionsof others. The understanding of the social behaviours of others and the selfconstitutes social cognition. Social cognition improves with age althoughhigher levels of social knowledge are not necessarily reflected in appropriateactions (Schickedanz et al., 1990). Just as in the area of cognition the childgradually organizes isolated bits of knowledge into integrated concepts, sotoo in social cognition, children’s understanding of others becomesincreasingly organized as they integrate their thinking about separate isolatedsocial behaviours into coherent, socially relevant concepts.


Personal and Social Development Before 3 Years

The roots of personal and social behaviour lie in the first few years of life.Early forms of social interaction already emerge during the first year of life,but because interactions with others require a wide variety of complex andsophisticated abilities, it takes several years before the individual is sociallycompetent.

During the first three years of life the young child is building thefoundations for a variety of later social and personal skills. From birth to 3years, the child works on Erikson’s first two psychosocial tasks: trust whichis the salient issue from birth to 18 months, and autonomy which is thesalient issue from 18 to 30 months. Through the attention and care the babyreceives from caregivers, he learns to trust his primary caregiver and laterto extend this trust to the wider social world. By 3 years of age he alsolearns to move from a high level of dependency on the caregiver to fulfill allhis needs, to a certain degree of independence. This independence isparticularly relevant at the physical level. Children from 2 to 3 years start tocontrol their body and acquire various independent self-care skills such aseating, eliminating, washing, dressing and grooming. These skills allow themto manage their life with a greater degree of autonomy than before.

The first three years are significant ones in the development of self-awareness. The baby moves from an initial symbiotic relationship with theprimary caregiver, through a global concept of self during the first year(Peters and Willis, 1978), to an increasingly acute awareness of variouspersonal and individual characteristics. At first these characteristics areconcrete, visible and tangible features, such as parts of the body, gender,and ownership. Later children become more aware of their emotions andfeelings. Accompanying this growing awareness of the body and feelings isan increasing need for self-control. The social world requires the child toachieve various self-care skills, and to control emotions, particularly negativeones.

Parallel with an awareness of self goes an awareness of others. From avery young age babies show interest in other persons. By 6 months theysmile at faces and pull the caregiver’s hair and nose. Their first socialinteractions are generally with the mother, who is normally the primarycaregiver. During the first year of life the infant develops a close attachmentto the mother and shows this in a very direct way. When about to beseparated from her, the baby cries and tries to cling to the mother. Slowlythe nature of the attachment changes and becomes more symbolic and distal.Representation, which emerges around 1–2 years, greatly helps this process.By 3 years the child learns to separate physically from the mother withouttoo much trauma and begins to function in a more independent manner.

Closely related to children’s attachment to adults is their willingness tocomply. At 12–18 months young children gladly follow the adult’s directionsand instructions. At 2 years they go through a period marked by outbursts of


opposition, followed at 3 years by a return to compliance with adult requestsand a willingness to please authority figures such as parents or teachers.

Children from a very young age are interested in and willing to interactwith peers but at first lack appropriate behavioural skills. During the firstyear or so their interest in peers competes with their interest in objects. By14–18 months they engage in parallel play, an activity that involves playingalongside rather than with others. At 2 years they show a consistentpreference for one or two particular playmates and by 3 years they engagein pretend play with others and display an increased awareness of thecharacteristics of other children.

In brief, by 3 years the child has learned to trust the world, acquired acertain degree of independence and awareness of self and others; is beginningto be able to control his body, behaviours and feelings; and can maintaincontacts with both adults and peers.

Personal and Social Development From 3 to 5 Years

The salient psychosocial task of the preschool years from 3 to 5 is that ofinitiative, when the child learns to initiate actions, to take decisions andabide by the consequences of those decisions. Erikson’s fourth developmentaltask, that of industry, has in the past been considered as occurring duringmiddle childhood, at the time when the child enters school. However,increasingly in the world today, and certainly in Hong Kong, already at 3years young children enter the structured environment of a preschool wherethey have to work hard, and to persist at tasks which are often unchallengingand boring. This requires industry. It seems likely therefore that nowadaysyoung children are facing the developmental task of industry at an earlierage than in the past.

Self-control improves during the period from 3–5 years. Responses nolonger have to be physical and direct but can now be verbally mediated.Feelings, particularly of loss, sorrow or anger, can be expressed indirectlyin drawings or in role play. This control helps children handle a wide rangeof positive and negative feelings in socially acceptable ways.

During this period children become increasingly aware of themselves,who they are and how others expect them to act. They become willing tocomply with the social rules that adults adopt to regulate behaviour andfeelings (Craig, 1986). They also begin to form expectations of how othersare supposed to act, which constitutes their first understanding of roles.

Perhaps the aspect of personal and social development where the mostchanges are observed during the preschool period is in relationships withpeers (Bee, 1989). During preschool years, affiliation with the peer group isa salient issue, and peers play an increasingly central role. Around 3–4 yearschildren engage in associative play, or play with others, which involves agreat deal of sharing. By 4 years, genuine signs of friendship emerge andchildren are ready for cooperative play when several children work together


on a common goal. Successful play with others calls for a refinement ofinteractive skills and negotiating strategies to ensure smooth socialrelationships. Children must learn to initiate access to play situations,maintain good relationships throughout the period of play, withdraw fromplay situations without upsetting other children (Smith, 1982), take turns,and share toys and property with others. Peer acceptance is directly relatedto adequate social skills. Young children become increasingly adept at thesevarious interactive skills during the preschool years.

A crucial step in the move towards social competency is an increase inrole-taking ability between 3 and 5 years. Although role-taking is not fullyfunctional until middle childhood, it has its beginnings in early childhoodand is probably related to a decline in egocentrism and the resultingimprovement in the ability to understand the perspectives of others.

Gender Differences: During the preschool period, girls appear to be slightlyahead of boys for some aspects of personal and social development,particularly those related to social awareness. Girls give their own age, sex,number of siblings in the family and date of birth from 6 months to oneyear earlier than boys (Ames et al., 1980). However, most developmentaltesting instruments do not take this slight advance into consideration. Theypresent overall norms by age rather than separately by sex.

HONG KONG CHILDREN

Personal, Social and Self-care Development

Four instruments were used to study various aspects of personal and socialdevelopment and self-care in both the home and preschool settings. Twoinstruments were used by the child’s teacher, one by the child’s parents,and one by both teacher and parents. The two instruments for the teacherconsisted of a checklist covering various social skills in the areas ofinteraction, play and compliance, and a series of questions relating to thechild’s self-awareness (for details see Appendix II, 2.2a-b); the instrumentfor the parent consisted of a checklist covering a number of self-care skillsrelated to washing, grooming, toileting, dressing, and eating (for details seeAppendix II, 2.2c); the instrument for both teacher and parent consisted of10 items to be rated on a 4-point scale which covered social competencyskills in the areas of relations with adults and with peers, autonomy,concentration, self-control, and compliance (for details see Appendix II, 2.2d).The intention of these four instruments was to obtain an indication ofchildren’s social and independent self-care skills in the home and preschoolsettings, and the degree of self-awareness of young children in Hong Kong.The findings of the four tests — interactive skills, self-awareness, self-care,and social competency — are presented and discussed separately.


Details on the number of children assessed on the various personal andsocial items are given in Table 4.1.

Interactive Skills (Teacher Assessment)

The 14 interactive items selected for this study cover a number of socialskills that teachers feel are important for children’s satisfactoryadaptation to an early education and care setting. These are related topoliteness, compliance, obedience, respect for the property of others,and interaction with peers.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement withage for these interactive skills. This can be seen in the highly significantincrease in the overall means between age groups from 10.9 at 3 yearsto 12.9 at 4 years and 13.7 at 5 years; in the t-tests and ANOVA resultswhich show that age is highly significant for the interactive items forthe overall sample; in highly significant age differences for all the

Table 4.1 Sample size for Interactive, Self-awareness and SocialCompetency Items by Age, Gender, Type of Preschool, Localityand Batch

Teachers (N=3016)Age 3 years 4 years 5 years

977 965 1074




Batch A B C1017 1004 995

Parents (N=2843)Age 3 years 4 years 5 years

920 895 1028




Batch A B C960 897 842


individual interactive items between 3 and 4, and 3 and 5 years, and a smallernumber of items between 4 and 5 years (asks permission, uses names, typeof play, follows rules, acts without a reminder); and in the sequence in ageof acquisition of the various items studied (Table 4.2).

Table 4.2 Acquisition of Interactive Skills by Age* (in % of success)

3 years 4 years 5 yearsN 977 965 1094

ComplianceReturns Toys with Supervision 91* 95 92Helps Adult 84* 89 90Joins Group time 56 67* 68Acts w/out Reminder# 34 44 56

InteractionGreetings 57 69* 73Takes Turns 59 76* 79Asks Permission Toys 38 62 69*Has Friend 54 73* 76Group Leader# 16 23 28

Names Friends:5 or less 100* 100 1006–10 59 77* 88All playmates 34 53 66*

Play levelAlone 100 100 100Associative 86* 91 94Cooperative 42 58 67*Dramatic Play# 52 61 59Follows Directions 70* 77 80Follows Rules 52 75* 81

M e a n 10.9 12.9 13.7

* Criterion of Acquisition for all developmental items = 66% of age cohort# Skill not acquired by sample children

• At 3 years Hong Kong children have already acquired social skills thatreflect a degree of compliance, and awareness of adults and peers. Theyare able to put toys away under supervision, and help adults with simpletasks. They know the names of up to five other children, have gonebeyond the stage of parallel play to engage in associative play with smallgroups of 1–2 other children, and follow directions when playing.

• At 4 years, children have become more aware of certain rituals of socialperformance and are able to engage in more sustained interactions withpeers. They join in group time, initiate greetings, take turns in play,play consistently with the same child or children, know the names of 6–10 other children in the class, and follow rules when playing.


• By 5 years Hong Kong children ask permission to use toys belonging toothers, can name almost all the other children in their class, and engagein cooperative play.

Self-awareness (Teacher Assessment)

The seven self-awareness items selected for this study include knowledgeof own name, sex, age, number of siblings in family, home address, andbirthday.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement with agefor the self-awareness skills. This can be seen in the highly significant increasein the overall means between age groups from 4.8 at 3 years to 5.5 at 4 yearsand 6.1 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show that age is highlysignificant for the overall sample; and in highly significant age differencesfor all the individual self-awareness items between 3 and 4 years, and 3 and5 years. The sequence in age of acquisition of the various self-awarenessitems shows little progress, however, except for knowledge of completeaddress, since most of the items are already acquired by two-thirds of thegroup at 3 years (Table 4.3).

• At 3 years Hong Kong children already have a beginning awarenessof who they are as persons, particularly in relation to their name,sex, age, and the composition of their immediate family. They canalso indicate part of their home address.

• At 5 years children can provide their complete address. Thecriterion of acquisition was not achieved by the sample forknowledge of birthday.

Table 4.3 Acquisition of Self-awareness Items by Age (in % of success)


N a m e 96* 100 100S e x 90* 99 99Age 79* 93 99Number Siblings 70* 87 92Partial Address 81* 95 100Complete Address 20 41 68*Birthday# 4 17 47

M e a n 4.8 5.5 6.1



Self-care (Parent Assessment)

Parents were asked to rate their child on 17 self-care skills that childrenacquire between the ages of 3 to 5 years such as washing and grooming,toileting, dressing, and feeding.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in self-care skills with age. This can be seen in the highly significant increase inoverall means between 3 and 4 from 11.1 to 13.0, and between 3 and 5 yearsfrom 11.1 to 14.2, but not between 4 and 5 years; in the highly significantage difference for the self-care items for the overall sample; in highlysignificant age differences for a number of individual items between 3 and5 years; and in the sequence in age of acquisition of the various self-careitems (Table 4.4). All individual items show significant age differencesbetween 3 and 4 years except wash hands, turn taps, drink from cup holdinghandle, and use chopsticks for meat. Significant age differences are foundfor all the self-care items between 3 and 5 years, with the exception of dryhands and use chopsticks for meat.• By 3 years Hong Kong children have already acquired a certain degree

of independence and are beginning to manage their physical needs and

Table 4.4 Acquisition of Self-care Skills by Age (in % of success)


Dries Hands 92* 96 95Washes Hands 76* 82 93Washes Face 69* 85 92Turns Taps on/off 75* 80 84Wipes Nose 66* 79 84Goes Toilet independently 57 70* 81Combs Hair 43 58 66*Hangs up Clothes 61 75* 78Takes off Clothes by self 73* 83 92Puts on Clothes by self 53 75* 88Buttons up Clothes 59 79* 90Zips up Clothes 78* 87 90Puts Shoes Correct Foot 68* 83 89Holds Cup by Handle 59 58 68*Cuts with Knife 46 67* 72Uses Chopsticks/Rice 77* 89 92Uses Chopsticks/Meat # 56 59 63

M e a n 11.1 13.0 14.2



requirements fairly satisfactorily. They can wash and dry hands andface, turn taps on and off, wipe their nose when necessary, althoughmany still need some help with toileting and combing their hair. Theyare able to undress themselves without help, zip up zippers, know thecorrect shoe for each foot, and use chopsticks to scoop up rice, althoughthey cannot yet pick up large bits of food with chopsticks.

• At 4 years they can go to the toilet independently, hang up their clothes,dress themselves and button up without help, and use a knife to cutfood.

• By 5 years they can comb their hair without help, and drink from a cupholding only the handle. At 5 years of age they are still not able to usechopsticks to pick up pieces of food such as meat, although the 63%rate is close to the criterion of acquisition for the overall sample.However, this skill appears to be mastered towards the end of the 5thyear since batch C children of this age who were tested at the end of theyear have achieved the 66% criterion.

Social Competency (Teacher and Parent Assessment)

The social competency test, which includes 10 items considered importantfor children to achieve in the preschool and home settings, was given toboth the teacher and the parent for their response. The test involves a 4-point rating scale for each item, labelled as a, b, c, and d. The behaviours areassumed to belong to a hierarchy, with ‘a’ being the least and ‘d’ the mostmature level of behaviour (for details on specific levels for each task seeinstrument description in Appendix II, 2.2d). The criterion of 66% wasapplied to each of the four levels. The results for teachers and parents willfirst be presented separately, and then comparisons will be made betweenthe two groups.

Social Competency in the Preschool (Teacher Assessment)

Age Differences: The findings indicate a clear improvement with age forthe social competency skills in the preschool setting. This can be seen in thehighly significant increase in overall mean scores ranging from 26.9 at 3years to 29.9 at 4 years and 31.6 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results whichshow that age is highly significant for the social competency skills in thepreschool for the overall sample; in the ANOVA and t-test comparisonswhich show significant differences between the three age groups for allindividual items except independence between 3 and 4 years, andconcentration and conversation between 4 and 5 years; and in the age ofacquisition of the items from 3 to 5 years (Table 4.5). Items which show noincrease in the age of acquisition between 3 and 5 years in the preschoolsetting are conversation skills, sharing, reaction to frustration, independence,and concentration.


Table 4.5 Acquisition of Social Competency Skills by Age Assessed byTeachers and Parents (Cumulative %)

3 years 4 years 5 yearsT P T P T P

N 977 920 965 895 1074 1028

Compliance (item 1)1. Performing Tasks

a . Takes Time 100 100* 100 100* 100 100*b . Dawdles 82* 64 87* 62 88 62c. Slowly 58 40 62 35 69* 40d . Promptly 32 18 39 13 45 14

Language (items 2, 9)2. Communicates needs

a . Points 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Combines 91 96 96 97 88 97c. More Verbal 75* 68* 85* 66* 83 67*d . Verbal 36 22 52 22 68* 21

9. Conversationa . Single Word 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Self Talk 79 94 85 95 88 94c. Appropriate Response 70* 72* 75* 72* 79* 70*d . Lead Talk 26 31 31 24 38 25

Interaction Skills (items 3, 6, 7, 10)3. Shar ing

a . N o n e 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Upon instruction 96 93 98 97 99 97c. Occasionally 72* 66* 83* 67* 91* 70*d . Frequently 27 23 52 27 62 28

6. Borrowing Toys or Propertya . Not Ask 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Occasionally Ask 80* 69* 93 77* 94 82*c. Frequently Ask 38 32 67* 38 71* 46d . Always Ask 9 10 20 15 33 14

7. Returning Toys or Propertya . No Return 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Occasionally Return 85* 87* 96 90 98 94c. Frequently Return 54 60 83* 66* 88* 72*d . Always Return 18 27 46 30 59 32

10. Response to Unfamiliar Adultsa . Avoid 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Respond 89* 88* 92* 84* 95 87*c. Passive Movement 47 51 58 54 68* 59d . Active Movement 15 35 19 39 25 40

Independence (items 4, 5, 8)4. Reaction to Frustration

a . Bad Temper 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Substi tute 90 81 93 87 96 89c. Seeks Help 71* 66* 79* 69* 84* 71*d . Tries by Self 29 31 38 30 46 32

5. Independencea . Relies Help 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Tries Nothing 72* 76* 76* 73* 82* 74*c. Tries First 49 47 53 41 59 43d . Tries Alone 14 15 19 13 22 11

8. Concentrationa . No Settle 100 100 100 100 100 100b . Run Around 84 81* 90 82* 91 85*c. With Encouragement 70* 46 79* 43 80* 49d . Concentration 34 13 40 11 48 15

M e a n 26.9 26.6 29.9 27.6 31.6 27.6

* Criterion of Acquisition for all developmental tests items = 66% of age cohort


• Three-year-old children show relatively low levels of social competencyin the preschool. As far as compliance is concerned, children of this ageneed several reminders before performing a task. In the area of language,they can verbalize some needs although they still need the help of actionsto communicate effectively, and are able to respond appropriately toquestions addressed to them. Their interactive skills are emerging sincethey occasionally share their toys or property, ask permission to borrowtoys, and return these toys after use. Although they do not initiate aconversation with adults they will respond to adult initiatives after awarm-up period. In the area of independence, they seek help ratherthan try things out by themselves, tend to remain with familiar tasksrather than trying out new ones, and need encouragement to concentrate.

• Four-year-olds show some progress in social competency. Although theyare at still the same level as 3-year-olds for eight of the ten items, thefrequency of success is greater for the older children. Moreover, theyhave moved up a level for two items and now frequently ask permissionto borrow toys or property, and also frequently return these after use.

• Five-year-olds show noticeable progress in social competency. They nowperform tasks slowly rather than needing reminders, are almost alwaysable to communicate their needs, and make an initial movement towardsunfamiliar adults. For the other items, however, they continue to remainat the same level as 4-year-olds except that their frequencies of successare higher.A summary of the levels achieved at each age for the individual items

in the preschool and the home is shown in Table 4.6.

Table 4.6 Levels at Social Competency Tasks as Assessed by Teachersand Parents

Teachers ParentsI tems 3 yrs 4 yrs 5 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5 yrs

Compliance1. Performs tasks b b c a a a

Language2. Communicates c c d c c c

n e e d s9. Conversation c c c c c c

Interaction3. Shar ing c c c c c c6. Borrowing b c c b b b7. Returning Property b c c b b c10. Response to b b c b b b

unfamiliar AdultsIndependence

4. Reaction Frustration c c c c c c5. Independence b b b b b b8. Concentration c c c b b b


Social Competency in the Home (Parent assessment)

Age Differences: Unlike the findings for the teacher assessment, those forthe parent assessment indicate a less clear pattern. The findings for socialcompetency in the home show a significant increase in overall mean scoresonly between 3 and 4 years from 26.6 to 27.6 (Table 4.5), but the ANOVAresults show that age is not highly significant for the overall sample. Withregard to the individual items, significant differences were only found forborrowing toys between 3 and 4, and 3 and 5 years, and for returning toysbetween 3 and 5 years. The lack of significant differences between 3 and 4years, and between 4 and 5 years is also reflected in the lack of movementin the levels achieved at the different ages for a number of items whichshow similar levels of response for all three ages for most items with theexception of returning toys and property (item 7), where children movefrom level b to level c between 4 and 5 years (Table 4.6).

Comparison Preschool/Home for Social Competency

Comparisons between the scores obtained by teachers and parents presenta different picture of children’s social competency in the preschool and inthe home. First, the levels of acquisition (based on 66% criterion) indicatethat in the preschool, children show some progress between levels as theygrow older, particularly for the items of borrow and return property, wherechildren move forward a level between 3 and 4 years, and perform tasks,communicate needs, and respond to unfamiliar adults, where children moveforward a level between 4 and 5 years (Table 4.6). The situation in the homeis different. Children remain at the same level for all three ages for all itemswith the exception of return toys or property. The discrepancy between homeand preschool becomes more apparent as children grow older and move toa higher level of social competency in the preschool, but remain at the samelevel in the home. These differences are supported by the results of t-testsbetween the means which indicate significant differences between teachersand parents for most items at all three ages (Table 4.7).

In particular, at 3 years there are highly significant differences for 7items and significant differences for two. Only independence is notsignificant. At 4 years, 8 items show highly significant differences betweenpreschool and home. At 5 years 9 items show highly significant differences;only response to unfamiliar adults is not significant.

In brief, in the preschool, children’s progress in social competency isslow but steady, and becomes noticeable at 5 years where level d has beenreached for one item, communicating wants, level c for eight items, andonly one, independence, is still at level b. Little progress is achieved in thepreschool in independence, where all three items remain at the same levelat all three ages. The items of conversation and sharing also remain at thesame level. In the home, on the other hand, children show little progress


Table 4.7 Means of Teachers and Parents for Social Competency Items byAge

3 years 4 years 5 yearsT P T P T P

N 977 920 965 895 1077 1028

CompliancePerform Tasks 2.7 2.2** 2.9 2.1** 3.0 2.2**

LanguageCommunicate Needs 3.0 2.9** 3.3 2.8** 3.6 2.8**Conversation 2.8 3.0** 2.9 2.9 ns 3.0 2.9**

InteractionShare Possessions 2.9 2.8* 3.3 2.9** 3.5 2.9**Borrow Toys 2.3 2.1** 2.8 2.3** 3.0 2.4**Return Toys 2.6 2.7** 3.3 2.8** 3.4 3.0**Response to unfamiliar 2.5 2.7** 2.7 2.8 ns 2.9 2.9 ns

AdultIndependence

Reacts Frustration 2.9 2.8* 3.1 2.9** 3.3 2.9**Independence 2.3 2.4 ns 2.5 2.3** 2.6 2.3**

Concentration 2.8 2.4** 3.1 2.4** 3.2 2.5**

* Significant at p<.05 and ** at p<.001

overall in social competency with age, and even at 5 years show five itemsat level c, four at level b, and one, performs tasks, still at level a (Table 4.6).

These findings suggest that socialization into the various socialcompetency tasks is situation-specific. In preschools, where young childrenneed to get along with peers and abide by specific rules that regulateinteractions between persons, children progressively reach more advancedlevels with age in social skills related to compliance, some aspects of languageand some interactive skills, although not for the three independence items.In the home, however, where the child has no or few siblings and whereparents are possibly more tolerant of non-compliance with rules andregulations, the child appears to indulge in less mature types of socialbehaviour. Consequently social skills are at less advanced levels in the homethan in the preschool. The differences are particularly marked at 5 years forperforms tasks, and communicate needs, where there is a difference of twolevels between preschool and home, and borrows property, responds tounfamiliar adults, and concentration, where there is a difference of one level.Items where there are no apparent differences in levels between home andpreschool at all three ages are conversation, shares toys and property, reactionto frustration, and independence.

Age of Acquisition of Social Skills

The summary of the age of acquisition of the various social skills tested inthis study is shown in Table 4.8.


Table 4.8 Age of Acquisition of Personal, Social and Self-care Skills in HongKong Preschool Children


Interactive Skills (Teacher assessment)Follows Instructions Greetings Asks PermissionReturns Toys Takes Turns to Use ToysHelps Adult Joins Group time Names All PeersNames 5 Peers Follows Rules Cooperative PlayAssociative Play Consistent Friends

Names 6–10 peers

Self-awareness (Teacher assessment)Name, Sex, Age, Complete addressSiblingsPartial Address

Self-care Skills (Parent assessment)Dries Washes Hands, Face Toilet Independence Combs HairTurns Taps, Wipes Nose Hangs up clothes Holds cup by

Undresses, Zips, Correct Dresses self handleShoes, Chopsticks/Rice Buttons up

Cuts/knife

Social Competency Skills in Preschool (Teacher assessment)Needs reminder for tasks Frequently asks to Begins task slowly,Usually verbalizes needs bor row Always verbalizesResponds appropriately in Frequently returns n e e d s

conversation property (other Responds toOccasionally shares items same as unfamiliar adultsOccasionally asks permission 3 years) (other items

to borrow same as 4 years)Occasionally returns propertyReponds to unfamiliar adultsSeeks help to solve problemsPrefers familiar activitiesConcentrates with

encouragement

Social Competency Skills at Home (Parent assessment)Takes time to start task Frequently returns (All items same asUsually verbalizes needs property (other 4 years)Responds appropriately to items same as

others in conversation 3 yearsOccasionally sharesOccasionally asks to borrowOccasionally returns propertyResponds to unfamiliar

adul tsSeeks help solving problemsPrefers familiar activitiesHas difficulty concentrating


Behaviours or skills not achieved by the sample children are: followinstructions without a reminder, initiate group games, and engage indramatic play, which shows little developmental progression and is acquiredby a similar proportion of 50–60% at all three ages. Children of the agegroup studied were also not able to give their exact birthday even at 5 years,although almost half the sample are aware of this information.


A comparison was made between several personal, social and self-care itemscommon to the Hong Kong study and the findings from elsewhere (Sanfordand Zelman, 1981; Ames et al., 1980) which indicates that a number ofinteractive skills are achieved by children of both groups at around the sameage of 3 years (see Table 4.9).

Table 4.9 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Personal, Social and Self-CareItems for US and HK Children


InteractionReturns toys w/supervision 3 years 3 yearsHelps adult with tasks 3 years 3 yearsPlays with others 3 years 3 yearsOffers greetings 3 years 4 yearsTakes turns 3 years 4 yearsAsks permission use toys 3 years 5 yearsPlays cooperatively 4 years 5 yearsPlays dramatic roles 4 years 5 yearsHas consistent friend 5 years 4 years

Self-awarenessS e x 3 years 3 yearsAge 3 years 3 yearsNumber of siblings 3 years 3 yearsFull name 5 years 3 yearsDate of birth 6 years (47% at 5 yrs)

Self-careDries hands 3 years 3 yearsWashes hands 3 years 3 yearsTurns taps on/off 3 years 3 yearsHangs up clothes 3 years 4 yearsPuts on clothes self 4 years 4 yearsButtons up clothes 4 years 4 yearsGoes to toilet independently 4 years 4 yearsPuts shoe on correct foot 4 years 3 yearsWashes face 4 years 3 yearsTakes off clothes by self 5 years 4 yearsCuts with knife 6 years 4 yearsCombs hair 6 years 5 years


Some items such as greetings, taking turns, asking permission to usetoys, playing cooperatively, and dramatic play are achieved by Americanchildren 1–2 years earlier than Hong Kong children. Hong Kong children,on the other hand, tend to have a consistent friend by 4 years whereasAmerican children take one year longer to achieve this social skill. In briefsocial skills of politeness and some play skills appear to be more advancedin American children, whereas Hong Kong children select a friend at anearlier age than their American counterparts.

In the area of self-awareness, Hong Kong children are at a similar levelof development as their counterparts elsewhere for knowledge of sex, age,and number of siblings, and appear to be at the same level for knowledge ofdate of birth. They are, however, two years ahead in their knowledge oftheir full name.

A number of self-care skills are achieved by children of both groups ataround the same age. At 3 years children of both samples are able to washand dry their hands, and turn taps on and off. At 4 years both groups ofchildren are able to put on clothes, button up without help, and go to thetoilet independently. Skills where there are differences between the twogroups are hanging up clothes, which American children do successfully at3 years, but Hong Kong children do at 4 years; putting the correct shoe oneach foot, washing face, undressing alone, and combing hair, which HongKong children achieve one year earlier than American children, and cuttingwith a knife which, Hong Kong children are able to do two years ahead oftheir counterparts in the United States. In brief, Hong Kong children are atthe same level as their American counterparts for most self-care skills, butare ahead or behind for a few items.

Summary

In the area of personal, social and self-care development, Hong Kong childrenprogress considerably during the 3-year period covered by the study. From3 to 5 years, they acquire a variety of social and interactive skills and improvetheir awareness of self and social knowledge.

At 3 years they are already able to function in an interactive situationwith adults and comply with certain explicit and implicit rules andregulations. They put away toys under supervision by adults, play withtheir peers, and know the names of approximately five of their playmates inthe classroom. They are aware of themselves as distinct persons with regardto their name, sex, age, and number of brothers and sisters in the family.They also have a general idea of where they live. They have achieved acertain level of independence with regard to their physical needs and well-being. They can wash and dry hands and face by themselves, are beginningto undress and are even successful at some aspects of dressing without help.They are beginning to eat with chopsticks. With regards to social behaviourin the preschool, they tend to dawdle when asked to carry out a task, but


can communicate satisfactorily by expressing their needs verbally andresponding appropriately to adults. They occasionally share their toys, askpermission to borrow, and respond to adult initiatives after a warm-upperiod. They are, however, still relatively dependent in task situations andseek help when faced with a problem, prefer repeating familiar tasks totrying out new ones, and only concentrate on a task with encouragement.Their behaviour in the home is rather similar to that in the preschool, exceptthat they have to be told one or two times before they start a task, and tendto run around and not settle down or concentrate on tasks.

At 4 years, children become more socialized and able to observe certainrituals of effective social interaction with adults and peers. They join in groupplay, greet adults, take turns in play, play consistently with one or morefriend, and know the names of 6–10 peers in the classroom. They haveacquired additional self-care skills, particularly in relation to dressing. Theycan now take care of their toilet needs, hang up their clothes after undressing,dress completely by self, and use a knife to cut food. Their interaction skillshave improved in the preschool. They now frequently ask permission toborrow toys and property, and return it after use. In the home, however,they show little progress except that they frequently return borrowedproperty to its owner after use.

At 5 years children know the names of all their classmates, and havemoved to the stage of cooperative play. They know their complete address,are able to comb their hair without help, and to drink from a cup holdingonly the handle. In the preschool they start on tasks immediately when asked,although they may still carry them out slowly, are almost always able tocommunicate their needs, and respond to unfamiliar adults, although theyremain at the same level as the 4-year-olds for the other social competencyitems, both in the preschool and at home.

5Cognitive Development

The early years of life are crucial for many aspects of child development.During this period children begin to master a variety of abilities that formthe foundations for subsequent adaptation to the environment. Physicaldevelopment, discussed in chapter 3, is one major area where young childrenachieve these fundamental skills. Cognition, or the processes of knowing,thinking, reasoning, and understanding the world, is another equallyimportant area. Since cognitive or intellectual development is not alwayseasy to observe during the early years, caregivers of young children areoften not as familiar with the early development of cognition as they arewith the milestones of physical development. Learning to understand theworld is a covert and often personal process that young children do noteasily share with others. Only occasionally, through a child’s question,remark or behaviour, can the perceptive adult catch a rare glimpse of whatis occurring in the child’s mind. Because nothing appears to be happeningin the area of cognitive development, unlike physical development wherereassuring signs of progress are readily available, adults often feel that theyshould actively assist the course of intellectual development in the youngchild.

Despite these differences, cognitive and physical development share anumber of common characteristics. First, just as there is a regulardevelopmental sequence in the acquisition of physical and motor skillsduring the first few years of life, so too do children acquire cognitive skillsin a regular sequential fashion. Young children do not wait to be shownhow to think but, similar to physical development, spontaneously create orsearch for experiences that will allow them to practise their emergingintellectual skills and promote normal cognitive development. Furthermore,neither cognitive nor physical development are acquired instantly. Just aschildren gradually increase their mastery of more and more complex physicaland motor skills, so too does cognition becomes increasingly complex withdevelopment as children move to deeper and deeper levels of understanding(Lund, 1983).


This chapter first gives a brief introduction to cognitive developmentbefore and during the preschool period, and then presents the findings oncognitive development of the study of Hong Kong preschool children aged3 to 5 years. In particular it provides indications of ages of acquisition ofHong Kong children for various concepts and cognitive processing skillsgenerally acquired during this period of life.

INTRODUCTION

Cognitive development has been viewed from a variety of perspectives.Piaget, an outstanding scholar on the development of cognition in children,distinguishes between cognitive processes, which he also refers to as mentalstructures, and cognitive content, which consists of the various conceptsthat result from cognitive processing. He describes the development ofcognitive processes in terms of four major stages: sensorimotor, ranging frombirth to 2 years, preoperational, ranging from 2 to 6 years, concreteoperational, from 6 to 11 years, and formal operational, from 11 yearsonwards. Each stage is characterized by certain types of mental structuresor processes of thinking which directly affect the nature of concepts andthus the content of cognition. During the sensorimotor period one majorcognitive acquisition is the understanding of the permanent object, or theunderstanding that an object continues to exist even when out of view. Theperiod of preoperational thinking is characterized by the acquisition ofsymbols, representation, intuitive thinking, and the concept of identity. Theperiod of concrete operational thinking is dominated by the acquisition oflogical thinking processes, such as classification, ordering, and conservationas applied to concrete objects and direct experiences. The formal operationalperiod, which represents the culmination of all previous development, ischaracterized by the application of logical thinking processes to abstractsituations and events.

The information-processing perspective, on the other hand, investigatesvarious cognitive processes such as sensory functioning and memory. Aschildren grow older their ability to process sensory information improves.This results in increased skills in differentiating the invariant features andpatterns of objects. Memory strategies also improve with age which leads toprogress in short and long-term memory.

One of the most basic forms of cognition is the learning and use ofconcepts (Bruner et al., 1962). Concept learning is a complex process thatinvolves categorization, or the process of grouping objects or eventsaccording to the crucial similarities and differences that distinguish betweenmembers and non-members of a category (Clarke-Stewart and Koch, 1983).Categorization, which calls for the recognition and understanding of thedefining features and boundaries of concepts, is only achieved gradually asthe child makes use of the various intellectual processes at his disposal. As

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 55

a result of this intellectual activity, children build up their understanding ofthe characteristics of familiar objects, persons, and actions. Many conceptsare constructed during the first years of life and grow out of the preconceptsassociated with intuitive thinking. Bruner and other researchers (Bruner,1988) who have investigated the processes of categorization that underpinconcept learning, find that the criteria or defining features that children usefor their categorization change over time.

Children learn concepts in a variety of ways: perceptually, cognitively,and through association. Piaget distinguishes between figurative andoperative learning (Piaget and Inhelder, 1971). In figurative learning theperson acquires knowledge of the perceptual, visible and static aspects ofobjects or events. Operative or cognitive learning involves understandingthe processes of change both within and between objects. In associativelearning a stimulus and response, or two objects, that are regularly pairedin the same context become linked. Associative learning does not necessarilyimply that the learner understands the relationship between the two objects,merely that certain aspects of reality become associated through a processof contiguity.

Cognitive development in the early years often proceeds in conjunctionwith other aspects of development, particularly physical and languagedevelopment. Through physical actions young children work out theirunderstanding of many basic scientific and mathematical concepts such asspeed, force, energy, number, time, space, size, shape, and texture (Craig,1986). The relationship between language and cognitive development is well-known. Language helps the child to symbolize, refine, categorize andcommunicate ideas.

Young children are capable of learning a great deal by themselvesthrough play and interactions with objects. Their cognitive development canalso be helped within what Vygotsky (1962) terms the zone of proximaldevelopment, or the area of learning that is slightly beyond their owncapabilities and for which they need some assistance. Adults or moreexperienced peers can help in this respect by a process called scaffolding.This entails setting up an appropriate learning environment that will takechildren’s learning beyond what they can manage by themselves.

Early childhood educators intent on scaffolding children’s learningwithin the zone of proximal development can benefit from a knowledge ofthe development of early concepts and of how and what children learn bestat different ages. This knowledge will allow them to provide a stimulating,challenging, developmentally appropriate environment for children toacquire the basic skills that form part of normal cognitive developmentduring this stage of life.

Cognitive Development Before 3 Years

The period from birth to 3 years involves a great deal of cognitive


development. Children are born with certain physical abilities that help themadjust to the world around them. These include senses such as sight, hearing,and touch, and a number of motor actions or reflexes. At first the babylearns exclusively through the use of these senses and motor actions. Helooks at objects, picks them up, touches, shakes, throws, tastes, bites, andmouths them. These various actions help him to recognize the persons andobjects with which he is in regular contact. With the maturation of the centralnervous system, the early motor actions change from being purely reflexiveto become intentional behaviour as the growing baby slowly learns to controlhis actions. During the first two years the child also masters the concept ofthe permanent object, or the understanding that objects continue to existeven when out of sight.

With the appearance of mental representation at the end of the secondyear, the child moves to the preoperational period. He can now mentallyrepresent understandings previously acquired through direct actions. Thisnew ability significantly extends the scope of cognition. But representationalso imposes constraints. The increase in volume of the incoming informationrequires that it be organized. Recognition of persons or objects based ontheir perceptual features requires a fairly simple mental structure for storinginformation. With the onset of representation, the child must go beyondthese perceptual categories to the grouping of objects into categories basedon features that sometimes need to be inferred because they are not alwaysgiven directly in the object. The establishment of more and more complexsystems of classification or categorization is required. True classificationrequires an understanding of features of constancy and identity, or the notionthat an object remains the same, despite changes in its appearance, as longas certain defining basic characteristics are present (Bruner, 1988). The childstarts to acquire these notions with representation.

During the early years of the preoperational stage from 2 to 3 years, thechild’s thinking is intuitive. The categorization process is not perfect. Youngchildren first categorize on the basis of the perceptual properties of objectsand only later move to features of functional equivalence (Bruner et al.,1966). The child gradually learns to distinguish essential from non-essential,defining from non-defining, features of a concept. Language providesconsiderable assistance in the categorization process by helping the child torepresent and integrate new knowledge with old. Despite the additionalmental abilities made possible by representation, the move from thesensorimotor stage to preoperational thinking consists of a process of steadygrowth. Understanding and thinking continue to be built on priorachievements.

Cognitive Development From 3 to 5 Years

The period from 3 to 5 years falls within the latter part of the preoperationalstage. This is a time when young children acquire ways of regulating the


features of their environment, of integrating these with past and futureknowledge, and of increasingly distancing themselves from reality. Althoughchildren continue to learn through actions, they can now transform this directlearning into symbolic thinking by means of representation. As youngchildren learn to represent objects, persons and events by means of personalsymbols such as images or drawings, or by conventional signs such aslanguage, they gradually transpose their understanding from the plane ofaction to the plane of thought. At the same time they acquire a large numberof basic physical, logical-mathematical and social concepts (Bolton, 1977).They acquire certain cognitive processes such as matching similar objects,pairing objects that are often associated such as shoe and sock, table andchair, grouping objects on the basis of a common property, and orderingobjects according to relationships of size, temporal relations, or number(Hendrick, 1991).

Researchers such as Piaget and Vygotsky have found stages in the earlydevelopment of concepts. Initially children create isolated general categoriessuch as big, red, large, or long, based on randomly selected perceptualcharacteristics of objects. This results in figural collections, or small groupsof objects that are linked by idiosyncratic criteria. For example, one childmay group an apple and a red ball because they are both red; another maylink a triangle and a square because when placed alongside they look like ahouse. This process of grouping reflects the ability to perceive some commonproperty between different objects and is the initial form of classification.

At a later stage children begin to adopt some, but not all, of the criteriaused by adults to define categories. However, since they do not yet usethese criteria systematically, each category consists of a limited number ofsub-groups, often containing not more than two members. For example, theconcept of size will include big and little objects, that of length will includelong and short objects. While this preliminary simplified categorization doesnot result in the formation of true concepts, it is an important step forwards.The co-existence of more than one sub-group within a particular categorycalls for a comparison, which leads to the establishment of inter-relationshipsbetween the sub-groups. This simple dichotomy is the beginning of a largersystem of relationships.

With the addition of more and more intermediate groups between thetwo extremes, the child constructs a continuum based on the understandingthat a category can be broken down into an infinite number of groupsbetween the two opposite ends. At this point the category or concept consistsof a system of graded relationships between an infinite number of sub-groups. The understanding of the system of relationships within a conceptapplies to various categories or concepts such as size, time, length, quantity,colour, and number. This development explains why young children appearto have problems with opposites such as wide/narrow, long/short, more/less. Unlike adults who understand these as the extremes of a continuum,or even as a dichotomy, young children first understand these various


features as isolated categories, and only gradually build up the notion of acontinuum joining the two extremes.

Another area where children acquire concepts during the preoperationalperiod is that of spatial relationships. Initially they understand only directspatial relationships between themselves and objects; only later do they graspthe spatial relationships between objects. For space, as for all types ofconcepts, language plays a significant role. Linguistic labels that describespace, such as in, on, behind, in front, under, over, help children define andrefine their direct spatial concepts and in this way integrate new knowledgewith old.

Children create and further their understanding of the world byinteracting with objects and persons. To do this, they seek out experiencesthat will help them address the concepts they are working on. As withphysical development, play is an important tool in concept learning. Itprovides the opportunity for children to practise thinking. When childrenplay, they select learning experiences at their own level of understandingand expand their understanding of the world around them and of theirown role in this world.

Gender differences: Research has not found any significant differences incognitive development between boys and girls at the preschool level,although girls have slightly better verbal abilities between birth to 3 years(Bee, 1978).

HONG KONG CHILDREN

Two different aspects of cognition were studied in this research: conceptacquisition, and cognitive processes. With regard to the former, the studyincluded a number of concepts that children generally acquire during theperiod from three to five years. These concepts were studied by means oftwo tests, each of which used different measures, pictures and concreteobjects. In the first test the children were shown a series of pictures andwere required to point to the one that corresponded to the conceptcommunicated by the tester. In the second test, the children had to indicatetheir understanding of various concepts in concrete situations. The studyalso examined a number of cognitive processes such as the perception ofembedded figures, ordering of time relations, prediction of sequence in apattern, and memory of sentences.

Concept Acquisition

The acquisition of various types of concepts was studied by means of twotests, one using the medium of pictures and the other concrete situations.These two tests together contained 70 items.


Concepts Tested With Pictures

A total of 33 items were selected to study concept development by means ofpictures. These included concepts of physical characteristics of objects,volume, space, time, similarity and difference, association of familiar objects,categories of people, food, animals, and clothing, and negation (for detailssee Appendix II, 2.3a). Details on the number of children for the concepttests are given in Table 5.1.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in theacquisition of the pictorial concepts with age. This can be seen in the highlysignificant increase in overall mean scores ranging from 24.2 at 3 years, to28.6 at 4 years, and 32.1 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show thatage is highly significant overall for the pictorial concepts; and in the ages ofacquisition of the various concepts in Hong Kong children from 3 to 5 years(Table 5.2).• At 3 years Hong Kong children have acquired a range of attributes

to describe various perceptual characteristics of objects and persons(clean/dirty, fat/thin applied to persons, open/closed). They have abeginning understanding of physical concepts such as time (night/day);volume (full/empty); and grasp the concept of different although notyet that of same; understand the spatial relationship of nearest, althoughnot yet furthest. They are able to sort a collection of objects on thebasis of a single dimension and its negation (people/non-people, food/non-food, animals/non-animals, clothes/non-clothes). They can alsorecognize an object when it is described by one attribute and an action(fat cat sleeping, thin man jumping); and can group together two familiarobjects in a paired relationship provided these relate directly to theself (shoe/sock).

Table 5.1 Sample size for Concept Items by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch (N=3038)





Batch A B C1041 1010 987


Table 5.2 Acquisition of Pictorial Concepts by Age (in % of success)


ConceptsClean 96* 100 98Dirty 96* 99 99Fat 95* 99 99Thin (person) 81* 97 99O p e n 98* 100 99Closed 94* 99 99Night 81* 97 98Day 79* 95 97Full 89* 97 98Empty 86* 97 98Different 73* 92 96S a m e 23 61 81*Nearest 66* 85 93Corner 63 88* 96Thick (object) 55 58 77*Thin (object) 56 68* 83Widest 47 49 72*Almost 42 67* 87Furthest 25 51 77*

SortingPeople/non-people 85* 97 96Food/non-food 78* 95 96Animal/non-animal 78* 94 96Clothes/non-clothes 72* 90 93

Object/attribute/actionFat cat sleeping 90* 98 98Thin man jumping 77* 88 93Small round present 51 85* 95

GroupingShoe/sock 74* 91 95Table/chair 58 86* 93Brush/easel 40 76* 90Torch/battery 45 76* 88

NegationNot (book) 62 90* 94Not (fruit) 54 93* 97Not (first/last) 28 66* 88

M e a n 24.2 28.6 32.1

* Criterion of Acquisition of 66% of age cohort

• By 4 years they have acquired a number of additional concepts. Theyhave expanded their spatial understanding (corner); refined their conceptof thin (now applied to objects); understand the concept of partialcompletion (almost); can recognize an object using two attributes (smalland round); are beginning to grasp the notion of paired relationships


between familiar objects not directly related to self (table/chair, brush/easel, torch/battery); and understand the negative form in relation tocommon objects (book, fruit) and order concepts (first, last).

• At 5 years Hong Kong children have achieved most of the conceptsselected for study by pictorial means. They now understand the idea ofsimilarity, and size (thick); and have additional concepts of space (widest,furthest). Additional conceptual development at this age can be notedin other areas investigated in this study, such as language andpreacademic mathematics.

Concepts Tested in Concrete Situations

A total of 37 items were selected to study concept development by means ofconcrete situations. These included colours, shape, gender/age, physicalcharacteristics, and left/right orientation (for details see Appendix II, 2.3).

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in theacquisition of the concrete concepts with age. This can be seen in the highlysignificant increase in overall mean scores ranging from 23.6 at 3 years, to29.5 at 4 years, and 32.7 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show thatage is highly significant overall for the concrete concepts; and in the ages ofacquisition of the various concrete concepts in Hong Kong children from 3to 5 years (Table 5.3).• At 3 years Hong Kong children know the names of five basic colours

(red, yellow, black, green, white); and can recognize certain simple shapes(circle, star, square, triangle). They also recognize a number of physicalcharacteristics such as hot/cold, loud/soft, heavy/light, hard/soft, andsmooth/rough.

• By 4 years they have acquired a number of additional concepts. Theynow know the names for additional colours (blue, orange, brown,purple), and shapes (rectangle); can discriminate between boys and girls,and are beginning to grasp the concept of left/right in relationship tothe right hand.

• At 5 years Hong Kong children have achieved most of the concreteconcepts selected for this study. They can now make the distinctionbetween men and women, in addition to the previous one for boys andgirls, and have a clear discrimination of left and right when applied tovarious body parts of the self. The two concepts not acquired by thesample children are the shapes of semi-circle and hexagon, which arenamed correctly by 63% and 39% of 5-year-olds respectively.

In sum, the findings of the present study on concept acquisition, whethertested by pictures or concrete situations, suggest that even at 3 years youngchildren in Hong Kong understand a wide range of attributes and actionsrelated to the self, to familiar persons and to objects. At 4 years they acquire


Table 5.3 Acquisition of Concrete Concepts by Age (in % of success)


Sorts 4 colours 83* 96 97

Names ColoursRed 82* 93 97Yellow 76* 94 97Black 75* 95 96Green 67* 91 95White 67* 92 96Blue 65 90* 95Orange 61 84* 92Brown 54 83* 87Purple 44 78* 90

Names ShapesCircle 80* 95 95Star 69* 76 83Squa re 66* 89 90Triangle 66* 91 94Rectangle 46 87* 93Semicircle# 11 36 63Hexagon# 5 19 39

Names Gender/AgeBoys 64 70* 77M e n 33 51 67*Girls 65 70* 78W o m e n 32 51 68*

Recognizes concrete conceptsHot 96* 99 99Cold 96* 99 98Loud 95* 98 99Soft 93* 98 98Heavy 93* 98 99Light 92* 98 99Hard 83* 93 98Soft 83* 93 98S m o o t h 75* 86 94Rough 74* 85 93

Right/Left OrientationRight Hand 55 71* 81Left Leg 38 62 77*Left Ear 33 56 76*Right Eye 47 62 78*Right Leg 44 64 80*Left Hand 38 64 78*

M e a n 23.6 29.5 32.7

* Criterion of Acquisition of 66% of age cohort# Item not acquired by the age group studied


concepts that require comparisons between more than one object. They arestarting to acquire labels for a number of spatial relationships, and tounderstand regularities of association between certain objects not directlyrelated to themselves. By 5 years they have gained an extensiveunderstanding of spatial relationships.

These findings also show that during the initial stages children do notnecessarily grasp opposite attributes at the same time. For instance, childrenunderstand the concept of different at 3 years, but not until 5 years do theyunderstand the notion of same; nearest is understood at 3 years, whereasfurthest is only grasped at 5 years; thin, as applied to objects, is grasped at 4years, but thick only at 5 years. When first learning concepts children appearto master them as isolated categories. With time these categories graduallybecome integrated into a single continuum or dichotomy with opposites ateach end.

Cognitive Processes

Hong Kong children’s acquisition of various cognitive processes was studiedby means of 14 items which included the perception of embedded figures,temporal ordering, prediction of a repeated sequence, and short-termmemory (for details see Appendix II, 2.3c). Details on the number of childrenfor these cognitive process items are given in Table 5.4.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in thedevelopment of cognitive processes with age. This can be seen in thesignificant increase in mean scores for this test ranging from 14.2 at 3 years,to 17.7 at 4 years and 21.1 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which showthat age is highly significant overall for this test; in the t-tests comparingindividual items between ages where all items except the first memory itemare highly significant between 4 and 5 years; and in the ages of acquisitionof the various processes from 3 to 5 years (Table 5.5).

Table 5.4 Sample size for Cognitive Processes by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch (N=2982)





Batch A B C979 948 882


Table 5.5 Acquisition of Cognitive Processes by Age (in % of success)


Perception (Embedded figures)Hide Children 52 77* 82Children with Glasses 41 60 71*Boy with Glasses 37 55 67*

OrderingBlow ball 22 60 89*Flower 9 37 76*Get up 14 39 67*

Pattern PredictionPos.1 40 60 85*Pos.2# 14 37 59Pos.3# 12 21 44Pos.4# 8 16 28

M e m o r yMem1(4 words) 96* 98 99Mem2(6 words) 68* 83 91Mem3(9 words)# 30 46 61Mem4(15 words)# 4 7 14

M e a n 14.2 17.7 21.1

* Criterion of Acquisition of 66% of age cohort# Item not acquired within sample age range

• At 3 years children are able to memorize sentences of up to 6 words.With longer sentences of 9 or more words, they can reproduce correctlyonly 1–2 of the major meaning words.

• At 4 years their perceptual processes have improved and they are ableto point at all the children in an embedded figures picture. As far asmemory is concerned, their frequencies of success are higher thanyounger children, although they are still at the same level.

• By 5 years children have made significant progress in their cognitiveprocessing. They can correctly distinguish foreground from background,and select embedded items from a complex pattern such as all boys (asopposed to girls), wearing spectacles (as opposed to not wearing them);they are able to correctly represent the temporal sequence of familiarscenes such a blowing up a balloon, life span of a flower, and gettingup in the morning; they can predict the next element in a simplerepetitive pattern; and by the end of their fifth year have almost reachedthe criterion for memorizing sentences up to 9 words (61%).

Age of Acquisition of Cognitive Skills

A summary of the age of acquisition of the various concepts and cognitiveprocesses tested in this study is shown in Table 5.6.


Table 5.6 Age of Acquisition of Concepts and Cognitive Processes in HongKong Preschool Children


Concepts (Pictures)Clean/Dirty Corner S a m eFat/Thin (person) Thin (object) Thick (obj.)Open/Closed, Night/Day Almost WidestDifferent/Nearest Obj./2 attr.: FurthestSorts: People, Food, Small round present

Animals, Clothes Groups: Table/chair,Obj./attr./action: Brush/easel,

Fat cat sleeps, Torch/batteryThin man jumps Negation: Book, Fruit,

Groups: Shoe/sock First/last

Concepts (Concrete situations)Sorts 4 colours Names : Blue, Orange, Men/WomenNames: Red, Yellow, Brown, Purple Left/Right

Black, Green, White RectangleCircle, Star, Square, Triangle Boys/GirlsHot/Cold, Loud/Soft, Right HandHeavy/Light, Hard/Soft,Smooth/Rough

Cognitive ProcessesMemorizes 6-word sentences Perceives simple Perceives

embedded figures complexe m b e d d e dfigures

Orders spatialrelations

Predicts simplepat tern

Skills not achieved within the age range studied include namingsemicircle (achieved by batch C 5-year-olds) and hexagon, pattern predictionfor complex patterns, and memorizing sentences longer than 9 words(achieved by batch C Children of 5 years).


A comparison was made between several cognitive items that were commonto the Hong Kong study and the findings from elsewhere, in particular fromthe Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (Boehm, 1971) and the LearningAccomplishment Profile (Sanford and Zelman, 1981). This comparison(Table 5.7) shows that Hong Kong children appear to be slightly ahead oftheir North American counterparts on a number of items of the Boehm Test


Table 5.7 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of CognitiveItems

US children HK children

Concepts tested by pictures (% of success of 5-year-old children)Corner 78–84 96Nearest 81–82 93Not first/not last 60–72 88Almost 69–79 87Farthest 87–92 77Widest 81–83 72

Concepts tested in concrete situations (Age of Acquisition)Different 3 years 3 yearsHeavy 4 years 3 yearsRough/Smooth 4 years 3 yearsDay/Night 4 years 3 yearsLeft/Right 6 years 5 years

of Basic Concepts. For example, Hong Kong 5-year-olds have a slightly higherfrequency of success than North American kindergarten children of mid-SES tested in the middle of the year for all items except furthest and widest.It must be pointed out, however, that the United States norms for the Boehmtest date from 1971 and these may have changed since that date.

This advance in concepts is also found for comparisons on conceptstested in concrete situations. Although the concept of different is acquiredat 3 years in both sets of findings, many others, such as heavy, rough, smooth,day, night, and the left-right distinction are acquired at a slightly youngerage by Hong Kong children than their counterparts in the United States.

Summary

In the area of cognitive development, Hong Kong children show considerableprogress during the three-year period covered by the study. From 3 to 5years they acquire a wide variety of concepts and improve their cognitiveprocessing.

Already at 3 years the concepts they have acquired include variousdescriptors of persons and objects, and some basic physical and scientificconcepts of space and time. They are able to sort objects into a single categoryand its negation, can make a simple association between familiar objects,and know some colours and simple shapes. Their short-term memory allowsthem to repeat correctly a sentence of up to 6 words.

At 4 years children improve on their physical knowledge of thecharacteristics of objects, gain an improved grasp of spatial relationships,can make associations between two relatively uncommon objects, and have


extended their understanding of negation. They can name almost all basiccolours and shapes, are able to make sex discriminations between male andfemale when it applies to children but not to adults, and understand theconcept of right hand. They can also perceive a figure embedded within asimple context.

By 5 years most of the concepts selected for study are acquired. Childrennow understand the concept of same, and have a more extensive grasp ofspatial relations, age discrimination and left/right distinction. Their cognitiveprocessing has improved considerably. They can perceive figures in acomplex embedded situation, are able to place a series of pictures in anordered temporal sequence, can predict the next element in a simple repeatedpattern, and, at the end of the school year, can correctly name semi-circleand memorize a sentence of up to 9 words.

6Language Development

Language is a major human achievement during the first few years of life.Learning to talk is as much a part of natural human development as learningto walk, smile, or think. All persons have an innate capacity to learn languageand this capacity is triggered by experiences of the early years (Naremoreand Hopper, 1990). The process begins almost from birth and is largelycomplete by the age of 5–6 years. During this brief period virtually everychild acquires an abstract and highly complex system of linguistic structureand use (Lindfors, 1987).

Language shares a number of common characteristics with other areasof early child development. Similar to cognitive and physical development,children follow a predictable general sequence of stages in acquiringlanguage. This similarity may be related to the biological underpinnings ofall three developmental areas. One biological component of particularrelevance to language acquisition is the maturation of the brain and itslateralization. Another is the maturation of the vocal tract, or the parts ofthe body involved in the production of sound, which is particularly relevantto the acquisition of speech. Early language development is also closely linkedto cognition, since children’s initial vocabulary often reflects their knowledgeof objects and situations encountered during infancy (Berk, 1991). Languageis an indicator of children’s understanding of the world around them and ofthe concepts they are in the process of acquiring (Bee, 1989).

Children are not explicitly taught to speak. They learn language throughbeing active participants in interactions with others. Young children noticepatterns in the speech that they hear around them and make guesses aboutthe rules that underlie these patterns. Their initial guesses are often incorrect,but they continue to revise and replace them by more correct ones, untileventually their system becomes similar to that of the adult speaker (Harrisand Liebert, 1991). At all stages of language acquisition, comprehension isgenerally more advanced and varied than language production (Schickedanz,Hansen and Forsyth, 1990).

This chapter first gives a brief introduction to language development


before and during the preschool years, then presents the findings on languagedevelopment of the study of Hong Kong children aged 3 to 5 years. Similarto other aspects of the study it provides indications of ages of acquisition ofHong Kong children for language comprehension and production, andcompares some Hong Kong findings with those from elsewhere.

INTRODUCTION

Language development, which includes both comprehension and production,understanding, and talking, can be viewed as the process by which thelanguage-learning child acquires the four major linguistic components:phonology, or the sounds of language; semantics, or the meaning underlyingwords and sentences; syntax, or the understanding of relations betweenwords or parts of words; and pragmatics, or the use of language in context.

The phonological component, or the acquisition of the sounds of aparticular language, is of crucial importance during the first 2–3 years oflife. Through a sequence of cooing, babbling, production of single and thencombinations of words, children practise and gradually produce the rangeof sounds accepted by their linguistic community. By the age of 2 years,many children are able to pronounce these sounds in isolation but it is notuntil four and a half years that they can correctly produce most of thecombined sounds of their mother tongue (Grunwell, 1987).

The semantic component, or the acquisition of word or part-wordmeanings, develops slowly at first and then exhibits a lift-off during thepreschool years from 2–5. One of the least understood aspects of languagedevelopment is how young children learn to attach meanings to the languagesystem. Clearly there is a close relationship between language and children’sunderstanding of the world. When children first begin to talk, they expresswhat they know about the physical and social events in their environment(Lindfors, 1987; Naremore and Hopper, 1990). Early language is a reflectionof how children organize their reality into conceptual categories. Children’sfirst words often have a rather different meaning to that of the adult user.Gradually as children’s experiences expand, their conceptual categories, andthe language that refers to these categories, become more refined and closerto those of the adult. Although by the age of 6 years children have acquireda fairly extensive vocabulary, which is more or less similar in meaning tothat of the adult, semantic development does not stop here but continuesthroughout adult life.

The syntactic component, or the acquisition of grammar, starts whenchildren begin to put words together to form sentences. At first thesesentences may consist of only one word. By the age of 5 years, however,children are able to use complex, lengthy sentences to communicate a varietyof meanings.

The pragmatic component, or the use of language in context, entails the

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 71

learning of conversational rules appropriate to different situations such asturn-taking, topic introduction and maintenance, and conversational repairs.During the first year of life babies make limited use of conversational rules,although they begin to understand the process of turn-taking. During thepreschool years, however, children broaden their repertory of conversationalrules considerably.

The early acquisition of all four linguistic components generally takesplace within the home environment. Language acquisition is a social processfor which parents bear the major responsibility. They fulfil this responsibilitynot by giving their children explicit instructions in language, nor by planninga sequenced curriculum for their language-learning child. Rather they uselanguage in their children’s presence and interact with them in many differentcontexts. In the course of these diverse experiences children begin to discernpatterns in the language used around them and to use these patterns tocreate their own language (Lindfors, 1987).

Interactions are crucial to language acquisition. Studies of day careprogrammes show that language development is closely related toprogramme quality. Settings which have few staff with many children areassociated with slower language growth due to the lack of opportunities foradults to talk with the children (Baron, 1992). Particularly crucial to languagedevelopment is conversation where adults communicate information ratherthan give directions or instructions (Harris and Liebert, 1991).

Early childhood educators who are concerned about promoting languagedevelopment in the children under their responsibility can benefit from aknowledge of how language develops during the early years and of how bestto set up a social and physical environment that will facilitate this development.

Language Development Before 3 Years

Contrary to common belief, language does not start with the child’s firstword. This event has been preceded by a great deal of preverbal experienceswhich provide the foundations for communication and linguistic interaction.Some of these experiences are social, others cognitive. Although babies arerelatively unsophisticated in their language abilities during the first year oflife, their early interactions with caregivers help them acquire social skills,such as turn-taking and joint attention, that improve their later ability totalk and understand speech. Infants also develop many concepts andcognitive abilities during the first year that are important prerequisites tolinguistic expression. They learn to differentiate between persons and objects;develop concepts of actors, actions, and agents; distinguish between endresults and the means used to achieve these results; recognize change andmovement; and organize reality based on the actions that they perform onobjects. Children build an understanding of the world by acting on itphysically and by noticing the results of their actions, and it is this realitythat they will first talk about.


Language develops rapidly during the first three years. Starting at birthwith some limited forms of communication — crying, smiling and gazing— the infant moves through a recognized sequence of cooing, babbling,first word at approximately one year, to a combination of words into short,simple sentences at 2 years, and to longer, more complex sentences at 3years. Toddlers talk about people, objects, and events that fill their lives.Their early vocabulary includes a large proportion of nouns, as well as actionwords, social expressions, locatives, descriptors, and rejection, request, andabsence words (Lindfors, 1987). Their early words refer to objects they cando something with and events that move or change. Toddlers rarely nameobjects with which they have little interaction (James, 1990).

Children’s first descriptors often refer to salient perceptual attributes ofobjects such as size, and colour, as well as to possession. Later thesedescriptors apply to the functions of objects. Terms that have generalapplication such as big and small are acquired before those that are morespecific. Temporal terms used at this stage, such as now, or then, refer tothe here and now. Early spatial terms include in, on, and under, followed atapproximately 3 years by top/bottom. Between 2 and 3 years children alsobegin to use personal pronouns such as he, she, and me (Berk, 1991).

Infants and toddlers receive a tremendous impetus to use language fromtheir caregivers, particularly mothers, who help the process of early languageacquisition by using a special type of language which has been calledmotherese or baby talk. Mothers make sure the child is paying attentionand listening before they talk, they exaggerate the intonation of what theyare saying, speak slowly, in short sentences, pause at the end of eachutterance, use a great deal of repetition, and often refer in their speech towhat the child is doing at that particular moment. By adopting these variousstrategies, mothers create a language-learning environment that isappropriate to the child’s level of linguistic and cognitive maturity and thusfacilitate progress in language acquisition.

Language Development From 3 to 5 Years

While the child makes significant progress in language acquisition duringthe first three years, the explosion of language abilities during the preschoolyears is spectacular. During this period children move from being ableto use short, simple sentences, talking about the here and now, and havinga limited set of conversation skills at 2–3 years, to being able to producelong, complex sentences, refer to events in the past and the future, andmaintain a conversation for several turns at 5–6 years (James, 1990). By5 years of age, children have acquired most of the basic principles ofsyntax and the sentences they use are usually grammatically correct. Theyare able to interpret and produce sentences of different types, express ideasin more than one way, and can use a variety of language structures toserve different purposes in their lives (Lindfors, 1987; Naremore and


Hopper, 1990). Their phonological system is also close to that of the adult(Grunwell, 1987).

Children’s vocabulary expands dramatically during the preschool years,with the acquisition of approximately 10 new words each day. So too doesthe length and complexity of the sentences they are able to produce usingthese words. In the early stages of language development, word use isdirectly tied to objects and events in the immediate environment. Duringthe preschool years, however, children learn words for abstractions and beginto talk about the past and the future (Baron, 1992).

The major semantic development during this period is the ability tounderstand and produce relational words that refer to relationships betweenpeople, things, events and actions (James, 1990; Naremore and Hopper, 1990).The general terms for size used by younger children such as big and littleare followed by tall, short, high, low, wide, narrow, deep, and shallow. At4–5 years children extend their use of prepositions to include beside, in front,behind. They use more varied terms to refer to quantity, such as more, andless, and to size, such as long, short, thick, and thin. At around 5 years theyuse temporal terms denoting the order of events, such as before/after, lateruse terms denoting duration, such as since or until, and make reference tospecific days, today, yesterday, or tomorrow. During the preschool yearschildren also acquire and use a wide range of question words. These includequestions aimed at obtaining knowledge of objects, actions, location, andpeople: what, where, and who questions. Later, questions seeking to acquireknowledge about causality, manner and time — why, how and whenquestions — are asked.

By the time children start school, they have a large vocabulary, can talkabout relationships among objects and events, are able to produce andunderstand many simple and some complex sentences, are able to carry onconversations, and adapt their speech style to that of the listener. They willcontinue to acquire a few remaining complex grammatical forms until 11–12 years. Their understanding of word meaning will continue to evolvebeyond the preschool years.

Early language learning is context-bound and directly related to theefforts that young children make to understand their daily lives and theworld around them. During the school years, language becomesdecontextualized. Older children become able to reflect on language, withno direct connection to their real lives (Schickedanz et al., 1990). Schoolchildren become more effective conversationalists. They also learn to readand write which requires a number of prerequisite skills such as the visualability to distinguish between minor distinctive features of letters, thecognitive ability to relate the shape of a letter to its name and sound, thepatience to work through the complex decoding process, and finally themotivation to become literate (James, 1990; Baron, 1992).


Gender Differences: Boys tend to lag behind girls in their languageabilities until adolescence (Baron, 1992).

HONG KONG CHILDREN

Various aspects of language were included in the two tests used for thestudy. The first test covered items that called for language comprehension,or the use of short, often one-word, responses such as naming the use ofobjects or actions, understanding prepositions, use of present continuousand past tenses, and the ability to follow a 3-step instruction in the correctsequence. The second test focused more particularly on language productionand required longer answers to questions pertaining to the functions ofobjects, body awareness (use of senses, appropriate response to physicalneeds, recognizing various feelings, body parts), consistency of objects,determining the source of action, temporal awareness (relating events to thetime of day, definition of use of clock, naming days of the week), namingopposites, and verbal fluency (naming various animals). (Details of the twolanguage tests are given in Appendix II, 2.4a and 2.4b).

Details on the number of children for these language tests are given inTable 6.1.

Table 6.1 Sample size for Language Items by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch

Language Comprehension (N=3038)Age 3 years 4 years 5 years

983 966 1089Gender Female Male

1544 1494Type of Preschool Kindergarten Day Nursery

2684 354Locality HK Island Kowloon New Territories

1098 833 1107Batch A B C

1041 1010 987

Language Production (N=2257)Age 3 years 4 years 5 years

748 710 799Gender Female Male

1163 1094Type of Preschool Kindergarten Day Nursery

2015 242Locality HK Island Kowloon New Territories

799 614 844Batch A B C

774 759 724


Language Comprehension

The 22 items of this test covered five broad categories: providing a shortanswer to questions concerning the use of familiar objects, naming fourfamiliar actions, use of five prepositions, grammatical knowledge of presentcontinuous and past tenses for three common verbs, and the accurateresponse to two items involving a 3-step sequence of actions (for details seeAppendix II, 2.4a).

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate an improvement in languagecomprehension with age. This can be seen in the increase in overall meanscores for the test of comprehension and short answer items from 20.2 at 3years, to 23.5 at 4 years, and 23.9 at 5 years, with a significant increasebetween 3 and 4 years, but not between 4 and 5 years; in the ANOVA resultswhich show that age is highly significant in the overall sample for theselanguage items; in the ANOVA and t-tests comparing the individual itemsbetween ages which show that age is highly significant for all individualitems between 3 and 4 years with the exception of those relating to the useof objects and the preposition ‘on’, and between 3 and 5 years for all itemsexcept the preposition ‘on’; and in the sequence of the age of acquisition ofthe various language comprehension items in Hong Kong children(Table 6.2).• At 3 years almost all the sample children are able to indicate the objects

used to carry out certain familiar actions, such as what goes on the feet,used for drinking, cutting, reading, and driving; are able to name fourcommon actions such as sleeping, eating, running, and dressing; andalready understand the prepositions on, under, and behind. Many ofthem correctly use the present continuous tense for two out of threesimple, familiar verbs related to their daily lives such as eat, paint anddress, although they do not systematically use this grammatical formfor all three verbs. They can also provide the past tense for one out ofthree of these verbs, and are on the verge of achieving the criterion ofacquisition for two. They are also able to follow correctly a simple 3-step instruction in some but not all situations.

• At 4 years they grasp the two additional prepositions of in front andbeside, and are able to systematically use the present continuous andpast tenses in all three of the test situations, as well as follow a 3-stepinstruction in all situations. At this age children have achieved thecriterion of acquisition for all the items included in this test.

Language Production

The 55 items of this test covered seven broad categories: defining thefunctions of objects (5 items), body awareness (20 items), consistency ofobjects (5 items), naming source of action (11 items), temporal awareness(7 items), knowledge of opposites (6 items), and language fluency (1 item).


Table 6.2 Acquisition of Language Comprehension Items by Age (in % ofsuccess)


Objects used in ActionsFeet 99* 95 85Drinking 97* 96 89Cutting 94* 94 88Reading 93* 94 87Driving 89* 94 87

ActionsSleeping 96* 98 99Eating 84* 95 98Running 78* 93 97Dressing 72* 91 96

PrepositionsO n 92* 94 94Under 79* 90 91Behind 66* 86 92In Front 57 84* 92Beside 50 73* 86

Use of Verb TensesPresent Continuous (-ing)

All 3 correct 63 89* 942 correct 84* 98 981 correct 93 99 99

Past (-ed)All 3 correct 39 70* 852 correct 62 88 951 correct 78* 96 98

Follows 3-step Instruction1st instruction

3 steps 70* 85 882 steps 82 94 931 step 90 99 98

2nd instruction3 steps 57 75* 792 steps 69* 86 861 step 86 96 96

M e a n 20.2 23.5 23.9


Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement inlanguage production with age. This can be seen in the significant increasein overall mean scores for this test from 47.3 at 3 years, to 62.1 at 4 years,and 68.9 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show that age is highlysignificant in the overall sample for these language production items; in theANOVA and t-tests comparing the individual items between ages which


show that age is highly significant for a number of individual items between3 and 4 years, and for almost every item between 3 and 5 and between 4and 5 years; and in the sequence of the age of acquisition of the variouslanguage production items in Hong Kong children (Table 6.3).• At 3 years Hong Kong children know the functions of keys, books and

woks, they have a fairly extensive knowledge of their body, can namethe use of all four sensory organs of the mouth, eyes, ears, and nose,know the appropriate action to take when hungry, cold and sleepy, andcan name two body parts, the head and hand. They can also name thesource of action in relation to flying, swimming, burning, cutting, andbiting, know the appropriate time to sleep, eat breakfast and get up,and can name a clock. They know the opposite of hot, and can namefrom 1 to 5 animals within one minute.

• At 4 years children can recognize the emotion of angry, can name threemore body parts including eyebrow, thumb, and chin, know theconsistency of chairs and windows, and know what shoots and melts.They are able to name all the days of the week except Sunday, andknow the opposite of big, and light. Their fluency has improved andthey can now name from 6 to 10 animals within one minute.

• At 5 years they know the functions of lights, know the consistency ofbooks, clothing, and houses, can identify what barks, define the use of aclock, are able to name all seven days of the week, and know the oppositeof short. Their language fluency is still between 6 to 10 animals withinone minute, although the frequency of success is greater at this age thanat 4 years.

Age of Acquisition of Language Skills

A summary of the age of acquisition of the various language items tested inthis study is given in Table 6.4.

Language production items not acquired by the sample children are thefunctions of cars, naming happy and sad feelings, naming various bodyparts such as knee, palm, arm, heel, and elbow, naming the source of actionof boiling, running fast, and floating, knowing the opposite of fast and wide,and being able to name more than 10 animals within one minute.


A comparison was made between several language items common to theHong Kong study and the Learning Accomplishment Profile (Stanford andZelman, 1981) which shows that in many respects Hong Kong childrenachieve a number of language items at around the same age as childrenfrom elsewhere (see Table 6.5). Language items that are achieved by HongKong children before their counterparts elsewhere are following a 3-stepinstruction (4 versus 5 years), tells use of four senses (3 versus 4 years),


Table 6.3 Acquisition of Language Production Items by Age (in % ofsuccess)


Functions of ObjectsKeys 85* 91 87Books 75* 84 89Wok 67* 83 90Lights 39 60 74*Car# 40 48 42

Body AwarenessUse of senses

Mouth 94* 99 98Eyes 87* 96 97Ears 79* 97 98N o s e 69* 92 95

Appropriate BehaviourHungry 91* 97 99Cold 84* 93 95Sleepy 78* 87 89

FeelingsAngry 44 66* 76Happy# 17 19 24Sad # 4 4 8

Body PartsHead 84* 84 82Hand 71* 69 70Eyebrow 44 77* 82Thumb 48 69* 76Chin 45 69* 71Knee# 26 51 61Palm# 19 45 56Arm# 14 28 45Heel# 4 22 34Elbow# 5 18 30

Consistency of ObjectsChair 47 82* 93Window 44 82* 90Book 26 62 80*Clothing 26 60 80*House 32 56 67*

Source of ActionFlies 86* 94 96Swims 73* 83 89Burns 71* 83 89Cuts 67* 83 90Bites 67* 80 87Shoo t s 52 72* 83Melts 44 70* 75Barks 46 57 73*Boils# 44 52 60Runs fast# 44 51 56


Table 6.3 Cont’d


Floats# 19 32 39Temporal Awareness

Relationship time/actionSleep (night) 83* 90 96Eat breakfast (morning) 73* 93 96Get up (morning) 71* 89 92

ClockN a m e s 95* 97 97U s e 32 56 66

Days of weekMonday-Saturday 55 80* 93Sunday 14 36 71*

Opposi tesHot 73* 90 93Big 59 86* 92Light 43 77* 84Shor t 16 32 66*Fast# 15 29 62Wide# 2 8 18

Language Fluency (Naming animals)1–5 92* 97 996–10 40 67* 7711–15# 6 19 27

M e a n 47.3 62.1 68.9

* Criterion of Acquisition of 66% of age cohort# Item not acquired by the age group studied

names seven days of week (5 versus 6 years), and names eight animals inone minute (4–5 years versus 6 years).

Summary

The results on the two aspects of language investigated show clear differencesbetween the three ages studied in Hong Kong children.

At 3 years Hong Kong children already have a relatively extensive graspof both the receptive and productive aspects of language. They are able tostate what is the appropriate object to use in a number of familiar situationssuch as when drinking, cutting, reading, etc. They can name familiar actionsof their daily lives such as sleeping, eating, running, or dressing. Theyrecognize prepositions on, under, and behind, are beginning to use complexgrammatical forms such as the present continuous and past tenses in somebut not all situations, and are able to follow some but not all steps of a 3-step instruction. They can define the functions of familiar objects such as


Table 6.4 Age of Acquisition of Language Skills in Hong Kong PreschoolChildren


ComprehensionUse of objects: In front, Beside All test items already

feet, drinking, cutting, Present continuous achieved at 4 yearsreading, driving (all three tested)

Actions: Past (all threesleeping, eating, situations tested)running, dressing 3-step instruction

On, under, behindPresent continuous

(some verbs)Past (some verbs)3-step instruction

(some situations)

ProductionDefines functions of Angry Defines functions of

key, book, wok Eyebrow, thumb, chin lightsUse of mouth, eyes, Consistency of chair, Consistency of book,

ears, nose window clothing, houseAppropriate behaviour What shoots, melts What barks

when hungry, cold, 6 weekdays Defines use of clocksleepy Opposite of big, light Sunday

Head, hand Names 6–10 animals Opposite of shortWhat flies, swims,

burns, cuts, bitesWhen to sleep, eat

breakfast, get upOpposite of hotNames 1–5 animals

Table 6.5 Cross-cultural comparisons of Age of Acquisition of SomeLanguage Skills

I tem US children Hong Kong children

Language ComprehensionNames 3 common actions 3 years 3 yearsUnderstands 3 prepositions 3 years 3 yearsUnderstands 4 prepositions 4 years 4 yearsFollows 3-step instruction 5 years 4 years

Language ProductionAnswers 3 questions about 4 years 4 years

physical needsTells use of 4 senses 4 years 3 yearsTells 2 opposites 4 years 4 yearsTells consistency of 4 common objects 4 years 5 yearsNames source of 8 actions 5 years 5 yearsNames and tells use of clock 5 years 5 yearsNames 7 days of week 6 years 5 yearsNames 8 animals in 1 minute 6 years 4–5 yrs


keys, books or a wok, and have some body awareness such as what to dowhen hungry, cold or sleepy, can state the use of mouth, eyes, arms andnose, and can name two important body parts, the head and hand. Theycan answer questions relating to the source of actions that they encounter intheir daily lives, such as what flies, swims, burns, cuts, and bites, and knowthe opposite of hot. Their knowledge of language relating to time includeswhat happens regularly within a day, such as sleeping at night, eatingbreakfast and getting up in the morning, and naming a clock. They are alsoable to give the names of up to five animals within one minute.

At 4 years Hong Kong children extend their knowledge of spatial termsto include in front and beside, make systematic use of grammatical forms ofpresent continuous and past tenses, and follow all three steps in a 3-stepinstruction. Their awareness of the body has moved to the psychologicallevel and is becoming more differentiated. They are able to recognize andname angry feelings, and can now name less easily distinguishable parts ofthe body such as eyebrow, thumb and chin. They are able to name theconsistency of familiar objects such as chair and window, know the namesof objects used in shooting or what melts, and can name all the days of theweek except Sunday. Their knowledge of opposites now includes big andlight. They also have increased their verbal fluency and are able to namefrom 6–10 animals within one minute.

By 5 years children are able to define the function of lights. They knowthe consistency of objects such as books, clothing and houses, are able toname what barks, and can explain the use of a clock. They can name all thedays of the week including Sunday (*), and know the opposite of short.Although their verbal fluency is still within 6–10 names of animals withinone minute, slightly more than one quarter of the children of this age levelare able to give the names of 11–15 animals.

(*) Chinese-speaking children’s ability to name Monday to Friday mayreflect their ability to recite the numbers attached to these days, rather thana real understanding of the notion of a week. That so few are able to correctlylabel Sunday whose name, unlike the days from Monday to Saturday, is adeviation from the number sequence used for these six days, suggests thatthis is the case.

7Preacademic Learning

Almost every child in Hong Kong between the ages of 3 to 6 years attends agroup education or care setting, either kindergarten or day nursery, for atleast part of the day. This high rate of attendance in preschool at such ayoung age is a clear indication of the importance that parents attribute toearly education, which they believe is an important step in preparing youngchildren for primary school. One consequence of this emphasis on earlyeducation is a focus on preacademic skills, particularly those of early number,writing and reading, in the preprimary curriculum. In view of the role ofpreacademic learning in the lives of Hong Kong’s young children, this aspectwas included in the present study.

Throughout the first years of life children are continually acquiring newknowledge and expanding on their existing understanding. Knowledge ismultifaceted, covering many different types of experiences. Piaget (1971)distinguishes between three major categories of knowledge: physical, logical-mathematical, and social, each of which is acquired in different ways.

Physical knowledge consists of the understanding of physical propertiesof objects, their colour, shape, texture, or size, and is abstracted directlyfrom the objects themselves.

Logical-mathematical knowledge unlike physical knowledge is notcontained in objects and therefore cannot be directly extracted from them. Itis derived from the mental actions that the person carries out on these objects,such as classification, and relations of order, quantity, or number. When achild counts a certain number of objects, the numbers are not contained inthe objects counted. Number is an abstraction that the child imposes onthese objects to reach some understanding of their quantity. In order to countobjects, the child must disregard their concrete and physical properties andtreat them as identical from the point of view of their number.

The third category of social knowledge is transmitted to the child by othermembers of society, parents, educators, and peers, and consists of names ofthings, rules of behaviour or morality, and cultural experiences. Socialknowledge is arbitrary and can only be learned within a social environment.


The preschool years are productive ones for the acquisition of all threecategories of knowledge. Young children build up an extensive andincreasingly accurate knowledge of the world around them through theirgrasp of the physical properties of objects, through establishing logical andmathematical relationships with and between these objects, and throughlearning the names of these objects and their significance in the daily life ofsociety. This early learning forms the foundations for later more complexunderstanding.

The specific areas of preacademic learning considered in this study —number, prewriting and prereading, or more specifically alphabet recognition— all fall within these three types of knowledge. Number in its early stagesis both social (the learning of the names of numbers) and logical-mathematical (relationships of individual numbers within the overall numbersystem). Prewriting, essentially a fine motor skill in its early stages,incorporates elements of social and physical knowledge when children startwriting letters or characters. Learning the alphabet also calls for physicaland social knowledge. Children must learn to recognize the physical featuresof the letters but their names are arbitrary and must be learned from others.

This chapter first gives a brief overview of the development of earlynumber, prewriting and prereading skills during the preschool period andthen presents the findings of Hong Kong children for these three aspects ofpreacademic learning.

INTRODUCTION

Early Number

The early acquisition of number consists largely of learning simplemathematical concepts and their related vocabulary, and of counting, anaspect of number of particular interest to educators and parents (Dawes,1977). Young children aged 2–6 years are in the preoperational stage duringwhich they are beginning to build up an organized system of mathematicalknowledge within which they will eventually be able to perform numberoperations such as addition and subtraction. One of the major difficultiesfacing the young child who is beginning to learn number is that the samenumber words are used in many different ways: in counting, cardinal,measure, and even non-numerical situations. Children require time to learnto distinguish between these different uses for the same words (Fuson, 1988).

During the early years children acquire a great many number skills andconcepts. At first these are learned in isolation, often without meaning, asfor example the sequence of number labels that young children learn torecite before they know what these labels mean. However, young childrenare not satisfied for too long with such meaningless knowledge. Soon theywill try to make sense of these isolated bits of information and will begin to

PREACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT 85

integrate them into larger segments of understanding. After learning theearly part of the conventional sequence of linguistic labels by rote, forexample the numbers from 1 to 5, they set about establishing relationshipsbetween these labels. At the same time they rote learn a further segment ofthe number sequence, for example, 6 to 10. Through this complex interplayof acquiring part of the sequence by rote and of making sense of variousrelationships within earlier sequences, the different isolated strands ofnumber knowledge and skills become integrated into a meaningful systemof number relationships. This process of integration continues throughoutthe preschool years (Wagner and Walters, 1982).

Cross-cultural evidence suggests a universal sequence in thedevelopment of early number, although differences in the speed at whichthe various concepts and skills are acquired may be due to the variety ofexperiences available. Opportunities to experiment freely and engage indirect experiences with concrete objects help children to learn mathematicalvocabulary and concepts, and to discover mathematical relationships. Lackof such experiences during the early stages of number development maycause difficulties in mathematical understanding at a later age (Thomas andBannister, 1974).

Development of Number Before 3 Years

The development of number proceeds through three stages: prenumber,number recognition and symbols, and number relationships (Thomas andBannister, 1974). Very young children, even before being formally taught,engage in mathematical learning and thinking at the prenumber level(Baroody, 1989; Ginsburg, 1977; Troutman and Lichtenberg, 1982). Frombirth onwards babies are constantly hearing number words around them,on the television, in nursery rhymes, songs, games and other experiencesprovided by parents and older siblings. This exposure to mathematicalvocabulary is the first aspect of using and understanding number (Meadows,1993). Infants also sort and match objects, both number experiences thatform the basis for later classification (Copeland, 1970). Similar to someanimals, very young children are able to perceptually recognize smallnumbers from 1 to 3. All these prenumber experiences lay the foundationsfor later mathematical understanding.

When the young child has acquired sufficient overall languageproficiency he starts saying the first numbers of the counting sequence. Theseearly attempts at counting are often based on nursery rhymes, for example,‘1, 2, Buckle my shoe’. By 3 years the child is ready to extend the countingsequence beyond the first three numbers. Counting at this level consists ofthe memorization of a string of number words, at first not always in thecorrect sequence, but gradually recited in their proper order. In its initialstage counting is a socially transmitted activity that consists essentially ofnames rather than quantity. However, as the child rote learns more names


in the number sequence, he starts to establish relationships on the earlysegment of numbers which will help him to perform simple addition andsubtraction, such as one more or one less, with small numbers of objectsranging from 1 to 3 (Copeland, 1970).

Development of Number From 3 to 5 Years

Between 3 and 5 years children are very active in the second phase of numberdevelopment: number recognition and symbols. They learn to rote countthe number segments from 1–10, 11–20, then 20–100, and later to count by10s and 2s (evens, odds). As children become more proficient, countingbecomes more automatic. Generally after having learned the numbers from1–20, they start to understand the rules and sequence of the number system.As they learn the numbers of the following segment, they begin to elaboratenumber relationships on the segment they have already acquired. The earlyparts of the sequence may be elaborated at the same time as later parts arestill being acquired. Children show competence in more difficult situationswith smaller numbers before they are able to perform operations on largernumbers (Fuson, 1988).

Parallel with the rote learning of the number sequence is the beginningof an understanding of one-to-one correspondence. The combination of thecorrect counting sequence and the process of one-to-one correspondenceleads to rational or meaningful counting (Brians and Secada, 1988). Rationalcounting prepares the child for cardinality, or the understanding that thelast word in the sequence indicates the quantity of objects in the set. Withthe understanding of cardinality, numbers become more meaningful. Sincechildren are basically sense-makers, they move from rote to rational countingand then to cardinality without explicit instruction. Initially rote counting,rational counting, and cardinal operations develop separately, but throughoutthe preschool period the relationships between these three processes becomeintegrated within an overall number system (Bideaud et al., 1992).

When children have a good understanding of cardinality, they can useit to explore the numerical effects of transformations such as addition,substraction, and, beyond the preschool years, multiplication and division(Bideaud et al., 1992). This is the beginning of number relationships, thethird stage of number development. Initially children learn to add and takeaway using small numbers of concrete objects (Dickson et al., 1984). Theextensive number experiences in the real world of more or less than, or thesame as, help children learn concepts of numerosity, such as adding,subtracting and comparing two sets in the concrete situations of daily life.

By the end of the preschool period, around 5 years, children are welland truly in the second stage of number development, and even have abeginning grasp of the third stage. They have a working knowledge ofnumbers from 1 to 10, the ability to count and find the correct number ofobjects for sets within this number segment, to recognize and write the


numerals from 1 to 10, and to give correct answers to simple addition andsubtraction combinations presented verbally, with or without materials. Mostchildren of this age know the meaning of first, last and the ordinal positionsthrough to fifth, and have some knowledge of time, coins, simple fractionssuch as one-half, one-quarter, one-third, and basic geometric shapes. Somechildren can also count to 20 or beyond, and recite the number names by10s (10, 20, 30, etc.), although only a few can count by 2s or 5s (Suydan andWeave, 1975).

Although children of 5 years can carry out a range of simple additionand subtraction problems involving both concrete and hypothetical situationswithin the number sequence 1 to 10, many will have problems later withschool maths. The maths taught in schools involves larger numbers than inprevious years and relies heavily on written symbols (Copeland, 1970). Thisis very different from the informal maths situations of daily life and as aresult, the processes of addition and subtraction are not fully grasped before7 years.

Prewriting

Speaking, listening, reading, and writing are the four cornerstones oflanguage development. Listening and speaking emerge during the first twoyears of life and, as children improve their ability to listen and speak, theyfeel the need for symbolic communication (Seefeldt, 1980). Symbolism, acrucial feature of the preoperational stage, develops throughout the earlyyears from 2 to 6, starting with the first order symbolic systems of play anddrawing in the younger child, and continuing with the second order symbolsystems of reading and writing in the older preschool child (Mason, 1989).Similar to number, the development of writing skills involves the integrationof several initially isolated developmental strands: vocabulary, symbolism,fine motor control, and the need to communicate.

Writing integrates many physical, cognitive and linguistic processes(Meadows, 1993). Six prerequisite skills prepare children for this process: smallmuscle development, holding a writing tool, production of the basic strokes,eye-hand coordination, letter perception, and orientation to the printedlanguage (Hughes, 1975; Lamme, 1982). The act of writing involves first andforemost the use of the hand, an extraordinarily intricate and delicatemechanism controlled by a large number of muscles. Not only do all thesemuscles have to be precisely controlled in order to hold a writing tool andproduce a complex array of curved and straight lines, but the hand must alsobe coordinated with the wrist, arms, shoulder, eyes and head. As fine motorcontrol and coordination improve throughout childhood, so too do writingskills. Writing also has linguistic and cognitive prerequisites. Before embarkingon writing, children need to have acquired a relatively extensive vocabulary,feel a need to communicate, recognize the symbolism of printed words, and beable to distinguish the individual features of each letter or character.


Development of Prewriting Before 3 Years

The beginnings of writing can be found in two parallel developmentalstrands: fine motor and language. The fine motor basis of writing is reflectedin the early scribbles and drawings of young children (Leeper et al. 1979).As soon as infants have sufficient fine muscle control to hold a pencil, whichusually occurs around 2–3 years, they enjoy making marks, dots or lines onpaper (Mandel and Morris, 1989). This early scribbling helps them get a feelfor pencil and paper, the materials used for drawing and writing. Whendrawing and painting, children use all of the strokes that they will later usein writing, such as circles, ovals, straight and curved lines. The languagebasis of writing that develops in parallel with fine motor skills originates inthe preverbal communication of the infant, builds up into listening andtalking, and rapidly moves into symbolic play and communication around3 years of age.

Prewriting Development From 3 to 5 Years

Soon children are no longer satisfied with their early scribbles. Withimproved fine motor control, they feel the need to create symbols, initiallyexemplified by drawing but rapidly followed by a desire to write their ownname. This represents a move from the fine motor to the symbolic aspect ofwriting. Writing their own name soon leads to other types of writing suchas copying numerals. At this point the two previously isolated aspects ofwriting, fine motor and language, become integrated. Writing is a difficultskill to master. Letters have to be carefully formed. Their direction, size,joins, and the use of space must be strictly controlled. Movements must besmall, quick and precise. At first children scatter their writing all over thepage, but with increased fine motor control they learn to write smaller andsmaller letters and to use less space on the page. A number of activities inpreschools such as playing with playdough, construction toys, or drawing,all help children strengthen the relevant fine muscles and gain control ofthe tools of writing (Hughes, 1975).

Prereading (Alphabet)

Learning to read the letters of the alphabet is one part of the complex processof learning to read. Learning the alphabet involves learning to recognize thedistinctive features of each letter, or the characteristics that make one letterdifferent from another. These distinctive characteristics are vertical, horizontaland diagonal lines, straight or curved lines, open or closed figures, orientationin space, such as left/right or top/bottom distinctions, or a combination ofthese features. When first learning the alphabet, children focus on somefeatures but neglect others. Gradually, as they begin to take into accountthe differences between letters, they learn them more rapidly. Oneparticularly difficult distinctive feature is orientation in space, particularly


for letters such as m/w, p/q, b/d which are frequently confused in what istermed reversal errors. Despite the common practice for children to startlearning the alphabet at the preprimary level, some children continue toproduce reversal errors at the first levels of primary school.

HONG KONG CHILDREN

The findings in the three areas of preacademic learning selected for study,early number, prewriting and prereading, are discussed separately below.

Early Number

Three aspects of early number were included in the study. The first,essentially at the prenumber level, covers children’s understanding of variousmathematical and numerical concepts such as size, quantity, number, order,time, and space. The second aspect covers number skills related to numberrecognition and symbols that are learned during the early years, particularlyrote and object counting, recognizing numerals, matching sets to numerals,recognition of missing numbers, identification of local coins, ordering bysize and length, telling the time, and a functional knowledge of numbers.The third aspect of number covers specific arithmetic skills of simple additionand subtraction. (Details of the tests for these three aspects of number aregiven in Appendix II, 2.5a). Details on the number of children for thesevarious tests are given in Table 7.1.

Table 7.1 Sample size for Early Number Items by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch (N=3038)





Batch A B C1041 1010 987

Number Concepts

The 30 items of mathematical concepts selected for this study cover a varietyof basic mathematical understandings that children acquire between 3 and5 years such as size (big, tall, short, long, small, smaller), number in general


(many, all, few, each, more, less), order (first, second, third, last), space(scattered, around, middle), and part-whole relationships (half).

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in numberconcepts with age. This can be seen in the significant increase in overall meanscores for the test of mathematical concepts ranging from 19.4 at 3 years, to26.9 at 4 years and 31.0 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show that ageis highly significant in the overall sample for these concepts; in the ANOVAand t-tests comparing the individual items between ages which show that ageis highly significant for all individual items except big, one quarter and onehalf between 3 and 4 years, and for all items except big and small between 3and 5 years; and in the sequence of the age of acquisition of the variousmathematical and number concepts in Hong Kong children (Table 7.2).

Table 7.2 Acquisition of Mathematical Concepts by Age (in % of success)


Big 99* 100 99Tall 97* 100 99Short (man) 92* 99 99Long 97* 100 99Short (hair) 85* 99 99Small 96* 99 99Many 95* 99 99All 84* 96 96Smaller 78* 89 96Scat tered 76* 94 97Bigger 74* 92 98Same shape 75* 93 96Around 63 79* 87Few 56 74* 86Each 55 81* 93First 81* 99 99Second 40 85* 91Third 40 94* 99Last 59 94* 99Two Halves 36 69* 84Middle 3 objects 60 92* 98

“ 5 “ 31 74* 91“ 7 “ 29 74* 90“ Circle 61 87* 94

More: 9–3 87* 98 988–6 68* 89 9716–15 41 57 69*

Less: 9–3 89* 96 978–6 76* 93 9616–15 36 56 67*

M e a n 19.4 26.9 31.0



• At 3 years Hong Kong children have an understanding of variousmathematical concepts such as size (big, bigger, small, smaller, tall, long,short), general number (many, all), order (first), space (scattered),similarity of shape, and general quantity (more, less for sets within 10).

• At 4 years children acquire additional mathematical concepts in areasof space (around, middle), general number (few, each), order (second,third, last), and part-whole relationship (half).

• At 5 years they are able to distinguish between more and less for setsbetween 10–16, even when differences between the two sets to becompared are so small that they need to be counted (15 versus 16). Allthe mathematical concepts selected for the study were acquired by thechildren by 5 years of age.

Number Skills

The 24 number skill items selected for this study cover a variety of skillsthat children acquire throughout the period from 3 to 5 years. These includecounting, number recognition and naming, matching sets to numerals, fillingin missing numbers, seriation, knowledge of time, proportions, moneyrecognition and functional number knowledge.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in numberskills with age. This can be seen in the significant increase in overall meanscores for the test of early number skills ranging from 8.7 at 3 years to 19.0at 4 years and 28.4 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show that age ishighly significant in early number skills for the overall sample; in theANOVA and t-tests comparing the individual items between ages wherehighly significant differences are found between all three ages for allindividual items; and in the sequence of the age of acquisition of the variousnumber skills in Hong Kong children from 3 to 5 years (Table 7.3).• At 3 years Hong Kong children can rote count from 1 to 10 and engage

in number skills with small numbers from 1 to 3. For example, they areable to count out three objects, name numerals 1 to 3, and match sets tonumerals from 1 to 3. They are also able to recognize three coins.

• At 4 years they can count to 30 and sometimes beyond. They havemastered basic number skills from 1–10 and can count out at least sevenobjects, name numerals and match sets from 4 to 10, and indicate themissing number between 2 and 4. They are also able to order four circlesin a graded series, dial their own telephone number, and immediatelygive the number of fingers on two hands.

• By 5 years Hong Kong children are more familiar with the numbersystem, particularly with larger numbers up to 100. They have acquiredmore complex counting skills such as rote counting by tens to 100,although they have problems in filling in a missing number whichrequires an active knowledge of manipulating numbers by tens (70–90).


They can rote count by odds and evens within 20, and can fill in themissing number between 34 and 36. They can count out 29 objects ormore, name numerals up to 100 and match sets up to 25 and beyond.They can order seven sticks in a graded series, can tell the time by hours,know the proportion one-half, and can name five coins.

Table 7.3 Acquisition of Early Number Skills by Age (in % of success)


Rote Counts: 1–3 100* 100 1004–10 83* 100 10011–30 29 89* 100

By Tens 2 34 82*By Odds (1–19) 1 8 69*By Evens (2–20) 1 9 72*Counts Objects: 3 100* 100 100

7 21 98* 10015 3 55 99*29 1 25 88*

Names Numerals: 1–3 100* 100 1004–10 38 99* 10011–50 2 51 99*51–100 1 32 95*

Matches Sets: 1–3 100* 100 1004–10 17 87* 10011–25 1 32 97*

Missing Number: 2–4 53 96* 9734–36 5 58 93*70–90# 1 11 3512–16# 0 3 30

Order: 4 circles 51 83* 977 sticks 18 61 93*

Time: 6 o’clock 14 37 73*5 o’clock 16 44 77*9 o’clock 11 44 78*3.30 o’clock# 2 10 40

Proportions: One Half 27 62 84*One Quarter# 8 9 31One Third# 7 6 17

Money Knowledge:Recognizes 3 Coins 100* 100 100Names 3 Coins 46 60 88*Names 5 Coins 6 20 70*

Functional Number Knowledge:Own Telephone 21 73* 8810 fingers 2 hands 27 81* 95

M e a n 8.7 19.0 28.4

* Criterion of Acquisition of 66% of age cohort# Skill not acquired by sample age group


Arithmetic

The 15 arithmetic items selected for this study include written and mentaladdition and written and mental substraction within 5, 10, 20, and above.Since 3-year-olds have not yet acquired the understanding, linguistic labelsor number skills for the simple arithmetic operations of addition andsubtraction selected for study, they were not given the arithmetic test.Comparisons are only made between children of 4 and 5 years.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement inarithmetic skills with age. This can be seen in the significant increase inoverall mean scores for the arithmetic test from 0.7 at 4 years to 5.3 at 5years; in the ANOVA results which show that age is highly significant forthe overall sample; in the t-test comparisons for individual items betweenthe two ages which show that age is highly significant for all individualitems except the subtraction items over 20; and in the sequence of the age ofacquisition of the various number skills in Hong Kong children from 3 to 5years (Table 7.4).• The arithmetic skills tested are all too difficult for 4-year-olds.• At 5 years children were able to add within 5, both on paper and

mentally. Subtraction, both on paper and mentally, is still too difficult

Table 7.4 Acquisition of Arithmetic Skills by Age (in % of success)

4 years 5 years

Addition:3+2 22 93*6+7# 4 5419+18# 2 3035+18# 0 9

Mental Addition:5+3 13 68*14+6# 2 3322+9# 1 22

Subtraction:3–2# 14 648–5# 6 5619–7# 1 1837–19# 0 4

Mental Subtraction:6–3# 8 5516–4# 1 1827–9# 0 135–8# 0 2

M e a n 0.7 5.3



for this age group, although they are close to achieving the 66% criterionof success for subtraction within 5 on paper. Batch C children of 5 yearstested at the end of the year meet the 66% criterion for mental additionwithin 20, and substraction within 5.

Age of Acquisition of Early Number Skills

A summary of the age of acquisition of the various number items tested inthis study is given in table 7.5.

Items not achieving the 66% criterion of success even at 5 years includemissing numbers by tens (35%) and by twos (30%), knowledge of time byhalf-hours (40% of 5-year-olds), knowledge of one-quarter (31%) and one-third (17%), addition items above 20, and all subtraction items except thosewithin 5.


A comparison was made between several number items common to theHong Kong study and the findings of the Learning Accomplishment Profile(Sanford and Zelman, 1981) which shows that several early number items

Table 7.5 Age of Acquisition of Early Number Skills in Hong KongPreschool Children


Maths ConceptsBig, Bigger Around, Few, Each More, Less (10–20)Small, Smaller Second, Third, LastLong, Short 2 Halves, MiddleTall, ShortMany, AllSame ShapeScat teredFirstMore, Less (1–10)

Number SkillsRote counts 4–10 Rote counts 11–30 Counts by 10s, 2sCounts 3 objects Counts 7 objects Counts 30 objectsNames numerals 1–3 Names numerals 4–10 Names Numerals to 100Matches sets 1–3 Matches sets 4–10 Matches sets to 25Recognizes 3 coins Knows missing No. 2–4 Knows missing No. 34–36

Orders 4 circles Orders 7 sticksDials Telephone Tells Time in HoursKnows 10 Fingers Knows One Half

Names 5 coins

Arithmetic Adds (1–5)Mentally adds (1–5)


are achieved by children of both groups at around the same age of 3 years(see Table 7.6). Number skills that are achieved by Hong Kong children atan earlier age than their American counterparts are the concepts of first, lastand middle, and the number skills of rote counting, counting objects, andknowing numerals beyond 10, knowledge of less within 1–10, coins, orderingfour circles, half-whole relationship, time by hours, number of fingers onboth hands, and simple addition within 5. These findings suggest that theearly age of entry into preschool, and the academic programme of thesepreschools with its emphasis on learning number, may be affecting theacquisition of early number skills in Hong Kong young children.

Summary of Number Skills

In brief, the results on early number for the three aspects of mathematicalconcepts, number skills and arithmetic, show clear differences between thethree ages studied in Hong Kong children.

At 3 years Hong Kong children are in the process of building thefoundations for their subsequent grasp of the number system and itsoperation. This involves acquiring the concepts and linguistic labels for

Table 7.6 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of EarlyNumber Items

Item US children HK children

Mathematical ConceptsBig 3 years 3 yearsLittle/Small 3 years 3 yearsLong 3 years 3 yearsFirst 4 years 3 yearsLast 5 years 4 yearsMiddle 5 years 4 years

Early Number SkillsRote Counts 1–3 3 years 3 yearsRote Counts 1–15 4 years 3 yearsRote Counts 1–30 6 years 4 yearsCounts 3 objects 3 years 3 yearsCounts 10 objects 5 years 5 years (>30)Knows numerals 1–10 6 years 5 years (to 25)Knows less within 10 5 years 3 yearsKnows less within 15 NA 5 yearsRecognizes 3 coins 4 years 3 yearsOrders 4 circles 5 years 4 yearsKnows halves in whole 5 years 4 yearsTells time by hour 6 years 5 yearsKnows fingers both hands 6 years 4 years

ArithmeticAdds within 5 6 years 5 yearsSubtracts within 5 6 years >5 years


various aspects of size and quantity. Initially children understandmathematical concepts in absolute rather than relative terms: big, small, tall,and short. Concepts requiring the establishment of relationships betweensets and the use of terms such as more or less, are only in their beginningstage and applied to two sets where differences are large enough to be easilyperceived, such as between 8 and 3, or between 9 and 2. Moreover, although3-year-olds understand the concept of first in a series, they have not yetgrasped other ordinal relationships such as second, third, or last. This findingsuggests that the concept of first is also understood as an absolute ratherthan a relative category.

At 4 years Hong Kong children continue to acquire additional generalnumber concepts and labels. The major advances at this age consist of therecognition of number symbols, an increasing familiarity with the numbersystem, and the emerging ability to operate within this system. At first thesenumber operations are relatively simple. Children learn to count, first withinsmall numbers such as 5, then within 10, and gradually extend this abilityto larger numbers such as 25 or 30. They are also beginning to understandwhat these numbers represent and to use this knowledge to carry out simplemathematical operations with small sets of objects. For instance, they countout objects, match objects to numerals, and provide the missing numberbetween two numbers such as between 2 and 4. They are also beginning tounderstand relationships of size, and can order a set of four objects ofdiffering size, although they still cannot do this with a set of seven objects.In other words, children of this age are beginning to understand thesystematic nature of numbers, quantity and size.

By 5 years children have acquired more complex number skills. Notonly are they fairly adept at counting, matching, recognizing numbers withina larger set of up to 100, they are also able to perform simple arithmeticoperations such as addition and subtraction within 5. They can also use thisnumber knowledge to match the numerals on the clock face to the time inhours, although not yet to half-hours. This suggests that they are still usinga matching skill rather than understanding the relationship between timeand the numerals on the clock face.

Prewriting

Two tests related to prewriting skills in young children were included inthis study. In the first the children were required to make two drawings, towrite numerals and their own name in Chinese and English. In the secondthey were asked to copy ten shapes which include a variety of strokes thatform the basis of Chinese characters and the letters of the alphabet, such ascircle, square, or diagonals (see Appendix II, 2.5b for details of the two testsof prewriting skills).

Details on the number of children for these two prewriting tests aregiven in Table 7.7.


Table 7.7 Sample size for Prewriting Items by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch (N=3036)





Batch A B C1041 1009 986

Drawing/Prewriting Skills

The 5 items of drawing and writing skills include drawing a house, and aperson, writing numerals from 1 to 100, and writing own name in Chineseand in English.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in theacquisition of drawing and writing skills in Hong Kong children from 3 to 5years. This can be seen in the significant increase in overall mean scores forthe drawing/writing test ranging from 5.3 at 3 years, to 10.3 at 4 years and14.1 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show that age is highlysignificant in the overall sample for these skills; in the ANOVA and t-testscomparing the individual items between ages which show that age is highlysignificant for all drawing/writing items between the three ages; and in thesequence in the age of acquisition of the various drawing and writing skillsin Hong Kong children (see Table 7.8).• At 3 years children can draw two parts of the human body.• By 4 years they can draw a recognizable house, as well as 6–7 parts of

the human figure, write numerals between 10 and 25, and write theirown name with a model both in Chinese and in English.

• At 5 years they continue to be able to draw 6–7 parts of the body, butare close to achieving the criterion for over 7 parts (63%). They can writenumerals between 30 and 100, and also write their entire Chinese namewithout a model.

Skills that did not achieve the 66% criterion are drawing more than 7body parts of a human figure, and writing English name without a model.

Copying Shapes

The 10 items of copying shapes selected for this study include T, circle, H,


Table 7.8 Acquisition of Drawing/Prewriting Skills by Age (in % of success)


Draw-a-House (DAH) 33 90* 95Draw-a-Person (DAP)

2 parts 76* 96 966–7 parts 25 74* 89*> 7 parts# 6 34 63

Writes Numbers1–9 15 91 10010–25 0 67* 9830–100 1 46 93*

Writes Chinese NameWith model 4 74* 99Without model 2 31 96Whole name without model 1 23 89*

Writes English NameWith model 6 69* 86*First without model# 1 8 42Whole without model# 1 6 34

M e a n 5.3 10.3 14.1


square, V, 3 intersecting diagonals, triangle, letters BAM, LA-shape, anddiamond (for details see Appendix II, 2.5b).

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement in copyingskills with age. This can be seen in the significant increase in the overallmean scores for this test ranging from 4.1 at 3 years, to 8.7 at 4 years, and9.5 at 5 years; in the ANOVA results which show that age is highly significantfor the overall sample for these copying skills; in the ANOVA and t-testscomparing the individual items between ages which show that age is highlysignificant for all items except T at 4 and 5 years, and circle at 5 years; andin the sequence of the age of acquisition of the various copying skills inHong Kong children (Table 7.9).• At 3 years children are able to copy the T and the circle.• At 4 years they have reached the acquisition criterion for all the

remaining shapes with the exception of the diamond.• At 5 years they are able to copy all the shapes tested including the

diamond.

Age of Acquisition of Prewriting Skills

A summary of the age of acquisition of the various prewriting items testedin this study is given in Table 7.10.


Table 7.9 Acquisition of Copying Skills by Age (in % of success)


T 78* 99 100Circle 77* 99 100H 56 81* 88Squa re 47 89* 94V 20 85* 983 Diagonals 37 95* 99Triangle 35 94* 99BAM 18 90* 99LA shape 17 83* 96Diamond 7 55 79*

M e a n 4.1 8.7 9.5



A comparison was made between several drawing/prewriting itemscommon to the Hong Kong study and the findings of the LearningAccomplishment Profile (Sanford and Zelman, 1981) which shows that anumber of items are acquired at the same ages by both samples (Table 7.11).Hong Kong children are one year in advance of their counterparts fromelsewhere for the items of draws 2 and 6–7 body parts and a house, copiesfirst name and writes whole name, copies triangle and diamond, and twoyears ahead for writes numerals 1–19. They can also write numerals wellbeyond 19 to reach 100. Children from the United States are ahead for copiesthe letters V and H.

Table 7.10 Age of Acquisition of Early Writing Skills in Hong KongPreschool Children


Drawing/Writing SkillsDraws 2 body parts Draws house Writes numerals to 100

Draws 6–7 body parts Writes Chinese nameWrites numerals to 25 without modelCopies Chinese and

English first name

Copying ShapesCopies T, circle Copies H, square, Copies diamond

V, 3 diagonals, triangle,BAM, LA-shape


Table 7.11 Cross-cultural Comparisons of Age of Acquisition of Drawing/Prewriting Skills

I tem US children HK children

Drawing/Prewriting SkillsDraws 2 body parts 4 years 3 yearsDraws 6–7 body parts 5 years 4 yearsDraws simple house 5 years 4 yearsCopies first name 5 years 4 yearsWrites first/last name 6 years 5 yearsWrites numerals 1–19 6 years 4 yearsWrites numerals 20–100 NA 5 years

Copying ShapesCopies circle 3 years 3 yearsCopies T 3 years 3 yearsCopies V 3 years 4 yearsCopies H 3 years 4 yearsCopies square 4 years 4 yearsCopies simple word 4 years 4 years (BAM)Copies triangle 5 years 4 yearsCopies diamond 6 years 5 years

NA Data=Not available

Summary of Prewriting Skills

In brief, the results on drawing and prewriting skills show clear differencesbetween the three ages studied in Hong Kong. At 3 years children arebeginning to control a pencil. When asked to draw a person they draw onlytwo body parts, usually a head and stick legs, and can copy a circle and theletter T which comprises horizontal and vertical strokes. At 4 years theirdrawing and writing skills have improved considerably. They are now ableto draw a recognizable house, and 6–7 body parts, can write numerals from1–25, copy their Chinese and English first names, and copy a variety ofshapes ranging from H, square, 3 diagonals, triangle, the simple word BAM,and a more complex LA-shape. In other words, they appear to be able todraw or write most of the basic strokes of Chinese characters or the Romanalphabet such as circles, verticals, horizontals, and diagonals. At 5 yearsthey continue to write more numerals although these are indeed differentcombinations of the basic numerals 1–10, can now write their whole namein Chinese without a model, although many of them still need this modelfor their name in English, and can copy a diamond, which is a rather complexshape.

Alphabet

The sample children were asked to name the letters of the alphabet, bothcapitals and small letters, presented to them on a card in random order.


Details on the number of children for these various dimensions for thealphabet test are given in Table 7.12.

Comparisons by Age: The findings indicate a clear improvement inalphabet recognition with age. This can be seen in the increase in overallmean scores from 12.4 at 3 years to 21.6 at 4 years and 24.5 at 5 yearsfor capitals, and from 6.0 at 3 years to 17.6 at 4 years to 24.0 at 5 yearsfor small letters; in the ANOVA results which show that age issignificant in both tests for the overall sample; and in the sequence ofthe age of acquisition of the various alphabet letters (Table 7.13).• At 3 years children recognize the first three letters of the alphabet,

A to C, for capital letters.• At 4 years Hong Kong children recognize all the capitals, and 17

of the small letters. Small letters that children of this age are onthe verge of acquiring are b, g, and h, with percentages rangingbetween 61–64.

• By 5 years children have reached the criterion of acquisition for allsmall letters. Frequencies of success range between 90–100 for mostcapitals and small letters. Small letters for which children havereached the acquisition criterion but still have some slight difficultyare q, with only 69% success rate, and l, j and d, with a successrate in the 80–90% range.

Summary of Alphabet

The results of the alphabet tests show clear differences between thethree ages. At 3 years children are only beginning to study the alphabetat preschool, and have only learned the first 3 capital letters. At 4 yearstheir knowledge of the alphabet, both capitals and small letters, hasimproved considerably. Not only do they now know all the capitals,but over half the small letters too. Some letters, particularly amongst

Table 7.12 Sample size for Alphabet Items by Age, Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch (N=3006)





Batch A B C997 951 896


Table 7.13 Acquisition of Alphabet Letters by Age (in % of success)


Capitals Small Capitals Small Capitals Small

A 81* 18 97 70* 100 98B 80* 20 96 62 98 90*C 74* 57 95 92* 98 98D 64 14 88* 50 97 88*E 65 21 89* 72* 98 98F 65 24 88* 74* 97 97G 55 15 84* 61 96 92*H 62 19 88* 64 97 95*I 45 31 75* 78* 88 95J 53 30 80* 66* 88 86K 57 37 87* 85* 98 97L 48 16 75* 46 90 80*M 59 27 87* 75* 95 97N 50 12 84* 54 95 91*O 53 43 92* 89* 99 99P 47 34 86* 79* 98 96Q 38 6 81* 35 93 69*R 33 12 71* 52 90 92*S 38 32 82* 79* 96 97T 39 12 81* 56 95 93*U 32 20 79* 67* 96 93V 31 25 75* 74* 90 91W 30 27 79* 77* 95 96X 31 26 75* 74* 91 92Y 28 20 74* 66* 93 94Z 30 28 81* 80* 94 96

M e a n 12.4 6.0 21.6 17.6 24.5 24.0


the small letters, are apparently more difficult to learn than others. Theseinclude d, l, n, q, r, and t. At 5 years children have an extensive knowledgeof the alphabet, both capitals and small letters. Moreover, their knowledgeof capitals and small letters is rather similar. The one exception is the letterq, for which the capital is recognized by 93% of this age group, but wherethe small letter is only recognized by 69% of the sample, a figure that isconsiderably less than for the other small letters.

Overview of Preacademic Learning in Hong Kong Children

In the area of preacademic learning, Hong Kong children make considerableprogress during the 3-year period covered by the study. From 3 to 5 yearsthey acquire a number of basic preacademic skills, particularly in the areas


of number, prewriting, and learning to read, that will serve as foundationsfor later learning at the primary levels.

At 3 years children are beginning to acquire basic mathematical conceptsand the linguistic labels for these simple concepts. They understand quantityand size in very general terms, such as big, small, tall, short, and more orless when applied to sets where differences in quantity are easily perceived.They are in the process of acquiring the concept of ordering, although atthis age they only understand the first element in a series. In writing theyhave just started to learn to control writing tools and can master basic strokessuch as verticals, horizontals, and the closed figure of a circle. This limitedcontrol of strokes, combined with a rudimentary knowledge of the humanbody, results in drawings of persons, referred to as tadpole persons, whichconsist of only two body parts, frequently a round head and two protrudingvertical strokes. Similarly, they can only copy simple shapes which includethese basic strokes, such as a T, or a circle. Their recognition of the alphabetletters is confined to the first three letters, A to C, and only for capitals.

At 4 years, at the same time as acquiring more mathematical conceptsand their linguistic labels, children are becoming increasingly familiar withnumber symbols, the number system and basic operations within thisnumber system. They progressively learn to recognize numerals, and countto 5, 10, 25 and 30. They also begin to use this knowledge of numbers tocount out sets of objects, match sets to numerals, and provide a missingnumber between two other numbers. Their expanded understanding ofordinal relationships allows them to name second, third and last objectsand also to order four objects of different size. In writing, their motor controlhas improved dramatically. They can draw a recognizable house, and aperson with 6–7 body parts, write numerals from 1–25, copy their Chineseand English first names from a model, and copy a variety of shapes involvingmore complex combinations of strokes other than verticals, horizontals andcircles. For instance, they can copy a square, triangle, and three intersectingdiagonals, letters such as H, BAM, and a LA-shaped figure. They also nowrecognize all the capital letters of the alphabet and 17 of the small letters.

At 5 years their understanding of number has made great stridesforward. They are able to count, match, recognize and copy numerals within100, and can use this knowledge of numbers to tell the time by hours,although not yet by half-hours. However, although they are able to carry outthis simple processing of numbers within 100, they can only do more complexoperations such as addition and subtraction within 5. They can copy adiamond and write their whole name in Chinese, although many children ofthis age still need a model for their entire English name. They also know allthe letters of the alphabet, both capitals and small letters, although a smallnumber of children of this age still have problems with the small letter “q”. Insum, a tremendous amount of preacademic learning has taken place duringthe three-year span from the time children start preschool at 3 years to thetime they are ready to leave for primary school at the end of their fifth year.

8Profiles of Hong Kong Children

by Age

The previous five chapters have presented information on Hong Kongchildren aged 3 through 5 years in five areas of development: motor, whichrefers to the ability to move about and to control various body parts;personal, social and self-care, which refers to how children feel aboutthemselves, their relationships with others and their ability to take care oftheir physical needs; cognitive, which refers to the processes of knowing,thinking, reasoning, and understanding the world; language, which refersto the acquisition of a system of symbols that allow persons to understandand communicate with others; and preacademic learning, which refers tospecific skills, abilities and understanding that form the basis for the learningof number, writing and reading.

This chapter draws together the major findings of this study into theearly development and learning of Hong Kong Chinese preschool childrenby presenting a profile of average children for each age level: 3, 4, and 5years. Although all developmental areas are presented in each of these threeprofiles, the emphasis here is on presenting a holistic overview of the variousabilities and strengths of children at a particular age and on understandingthe interrelationships of the developmental areas at this age, rather thanfocusing on the sequence of findings for each particular developmental area.

The children of the age group selected for the study are passing throughthe preschool period which lasts from 3 through 5 years. During this timethey move from late toddlerhood to the beginning of middle childhood.Toddlers are able to walk without assistance, and to run, start and stopwithout falling, but still need adult assistance to walk up and down stairs.The major issue of their personal and social life is the struggle for autonomy.They can feed themselves with a spoon, and are beginning to help withtheir own dressing and undressing. With regard to cognition, theyunderstand the notion of the permanence of objects, are able to use mentalrepresentation and deferred imitation, and can match familiar objects. They


have also acquired a few concepts pertaining to the physical characteristicsof objects and can name a number of familiar objects and common bodyparts. Preacademic learning, writing, reading and numbers, is very new tothem. They have started to scribble and are able to imitate the drawing ofhorizontal and vertical lines.

During the next few years, children make tremendous strides in theirdevelopment, so that by the end of their fifth year, immediately before entryinto primary school, preschoolers will have achieved a great many additionalskills, abilities, and behaviours. The following three profiles present thevarious competencies of Hong Kong young children by age.

THREE-YEAR-OLDS

At 3 years and 6 months, the target for this age level of the study, HongKong children have gained substantial control of their gross motormovements, particularly those involved with the more complex aspects ofwalking and interacting with objects. Having learned to walk and run, theynow become able to walk upstairs independently, using alternate feet. Theyhave sufficient balance and control of their body, legs and arms. They arealso able to land on both feet without falling over after jumping down fromthe bottom step of the stairs, or after jumping forwards for a distance ofapproximately 8 inches. They are starting to acquire the movements involvedin manipulating and controlling balls and can throw a medium-sized ballunderhand, and run up to a stationary large ball to kick it a short distanceforwards.

It is, however, in the area of fine motor skills where 3-year-olds makethe greatest progress. Although 2-year-old children can already grasp andhold objects, it is during their third year that children achieve two crucialskills in fine motor development. They improve their control of hand andfinger movements, especially the coordination of the actions of both hands,and they become adept in the independent use of the thumb in oppositionto the other fingers. The resulting increase in manual dexterity from thesetwo fine motor skills allows children of this age to engage in a number ofactivities commonly available in preschools such as drawing, painting,playing with clay, puzzles and construction toys. They can hold a penciland paintbrush with a more mature grasp than the previous fist grasp ofthe younger child, which facilitates more precise movements when drawingand painting. Increased precision in their coordination between both handsallows them to manipulate plasticine more skillfully than before. In additionto pounding, they can now roll plasticine into a ball, stretch and roll it into asausage-like shape, and squeeze it into a flat cake. They can also fold paperhorizontally and insert it into an envelope, string a few large and smallbeads, clip clothes pegs onto the rim of a glass or cup, and place smallobjects such as raisins or small beads into a narrow-necked container. Their

PROFILES OF HONG KONG CHILDREN BY AGE 107

improved thumb-finger opposition allows them to crumple a sheet of tissuepaper with one hand, and wiggle the thumb separately from the other fourfingers. In addition, children of this age show increased integration betweentheir movements and other aspects of development. They can play withblocks in a more complex fashion than the toddler, and are able to build atower of 9 blocks and a 3-block bridge. These achievements require bothmanual dexterity and cognitive skills involving a basic understanding ofspatial relationships between objects.

In the area of personal and social development, 3-year-olds have alreadyacquired a number of social skills that will allow them to function in aninteractive situation. These include a knowledge of simple rules andregulations, and a degree of awareness of others, both adults and peers.They can follow simple commands and directions in group games, put toysaway with supervision, and help adults with simple tasks. They know thenames of up to five other classmates, and are able to engage in associativeplay with a small group of 1–2 other children. They have a growingawareness of who they are as distinct and unique persons, particularly inrelation to their name, sex, age and composition of their immediate family.They are able to indicate part of, but not their complete, home address.

In the area of self-care, they are beginning to manage their physicalneeds and requirements fairly satisfactorily, and have acquired a certaindegree of independence in this respect. They can turn taps on and off, washand dry hands and face, and wipe their nose when necessary. They are ableto undress themselves without help, zip up zippers, know the correct shoefor each foot, and are able to use chopsticks to scoop up rice, although theycannot yet pick up large bits of food with chopsticks. Many children of thisage, however, still need some help with toileting.

With regard to social competency in the preschool, 3-year-old childrenare still relatively dependent in task situations. They usually showcompliance when asked to do a task but tend to dawdle, needing severalreminders before completing it. They seek help when faced with a problemrather than trying things out by themselves, prefer to repeat familiar activitiesrather than try out new ones, and only concentrate on a task with adultencouragement. They can usually verbalize their needs but sometimes needthe help of actions to communicate these needs effectively. They are able torespond appropriately to questions addressed to them even though they donot expand on what the other person has said, and will respond to initiativesfrom unfamiliar adults after a warm-up period although they do not usuallyinitiate conversation with adults. All these social skills are related to bothsocial and language development. Children of this age are beginning torecognize the concept of ownership: they occasionally share their toys orproperty with other children; occasionally ask permission to borrow toys orother objects; and occasionally return these toys after use. Their socialbehaviour in the home is rather similar to that in the preschool, except thatthey have to be told one or two times before starting a task, and tend to run


around and not settle down or concentrate on tasks when asked to do so.In the cognitive area, 3-year-olds are beginning to grasp a wide range

of concepts dealing with attributes and actions related to the self, to familiarpersons and objects. They recognize a number of perceptual characteristicsapplied to objects and persons (clean/dirty, fat/thin applied to persons,open/closed, hot/cold, loud/soft, hard/soft, rough/smooth). They have aninitial understanding of physical concepts such as volume (empty/full),weight (heavy/light), and time (night/day). They grasp the idea of different,although not yet that of same, understand the spatial relationship of nearest,although not yet furthest. They are able to sort a collection of objects on thebasis of a single dimension and its negation (people/non-people, food/non-food, animals/non-animals, clothes/non-clothes), can recognize an objectwhen it is described by one attribute and an action (fat cat sleeping, thinman jumping). They can also group together two familiar objects in a pairedrelationship provided these relate directly to the self (shoe/sock). They knowthe names of five basic colours (red, yellow, black, green, white), canrecognize four simple shapes (circle, star, square, triangle), and are able tomemorize and repeat immediately sentences of up to 6 words. Additionalconcepts of number acquired at this age are related to preacademic learning.

Hong Kong 3-year-olds already have a relatively extensive grasp of boththe receptive and productive aspects of language. They are able to statewhat is an appropriate object to use in a number of familiar situations suchas for drinking, cutting, reading, or driving. They can name familiar actionsof their daily lives such as sleeping, eating, running, or dressing; canrecognize and use the prepositions on, under, and behind; are beginning touse complex grammatical forms such as the present continuous and pasttenses in some but not all situations; and are able to follow some but not all3-step instructions. They can define the functions of familiar objects such askeys, books or a wok. They have some body awareness since they can nametwo important body parts, the head and hand; know the use of mouth, eyes,ears and nose; and what to do when hungry, cold or sleepy. They can answerquestions related to the source of actions that they encounter in their dailylives, such as what flies, swims, burns, cuts, and bites. Their knowledge oflanguage related to time is restricted to what happens regularly within theday: sleeping at night, eating breakfast and getting up in the morning, andnaming a clock but not yet defining its use. Their verbal fluency is improvingand they are able to give the names of up to five animals within one minute.They also know the opposite of hot. They are still unable to name all thedays of the week, although more than half are able to name Monday toFriday.

In the area of preacademic learning, Hong Kong 3-year-olds are in theprocess of building the foundations for their subsequent grasp of the numbersystem and its operation. This involves acquiring the concepts and linguisticlabels for various aspects of size and quantity. They have an understandingof various mathematical concepts such as size (big, bigger, small, smaller,


long, short, tall), number in general (many, all), order (first), similarity ofshape, space (scattered) and general quantity (more/ less for sets within10). Children of this age can rote count from 1 to 10. They are also able tocount out 3 objects, name numerals from 1 to 3, match sets to numerals upto 3, and recognize three coins.

With regard to prewriting skills, 3-year-olds are beginning to control apencil, as mentioned above in the section on fine motor. They can drawbasic strokes such as verticals, horizontals, or combined in the letter T, andthe closed figure of a circle. Their limited control of strokes, combined witha rudimentary knowledge of the human body, results in drawings of persons,referred to as tadpole persons, which consist of only two body parts,frequently a round head and two protruding vertical strokes representingstick legs.

Their prereading skills include the ability to recognize the first threecapital letters of the alphabet, A to C.

FOUR-YEAR-OLDS

Four years is a crucial period for motor development. At this age childrenimprove their gross motor and locomotor skills, become better able to controleach side of their body separately, and gain a better sense of balance. As aresult they are able to walk downstairs one foot at a time; walk along astraight line heel-to-toe; walk on tiptoes, control running sufficiently to avoidobstacles and stop smoothly; hop forwards for three steps; and stand onone leg for 5 seconds. With improved eye-hand-body coordination comesthe ability to catch a ball with arms bent rather than adopting the stiff-armed posture of the younger child.

Increased coordination of fingers and thumb, and between both handsallows 4-year-olds to continue to refine their fine motor skills. In additionto folding a sheet of paper horizontally, they can now fold one verticallyand diagonally. They can control scissors sufficiently to snip paper, cut alonga straight line and around a square. They are also able to wind thread ontoa spool, touch each finger individually to the thumb of the same hand, use apaper clip to attach two pages of paper, and pour liquid from a jug withoutspilling. Fine motor skills become increasingly coordinated with otherdevelopmental areas. A combination of fine and gross motor coordinationpermits them to walk a short distance holding a cup of water without spilling,whereas a combination of fine motor and cognitive skills allows them topaint a recognizable picture, draw a house, and draw a human person withat least 6 or 7 body parts. All these achievements require precise control ofhand and finger movements, and the ability to represent objects and eventssymbolically. This improved control of drawing abilities serves as a basisfor future writing skills.

In the area of personal and social development, 4-year-olds become


more effective in their social interactions with both adults and peers. Theyinitiate greetings towards adults, take turns and follow rules in play, join ingroup play, play consistently with the same child or children, engage incooperative play, and know the names of 6–10 other children in theclassroom. They have acquired additional self-care skills, particularly inrelation to dressing. They can now dress independently; do up their buttonswith minimal adult assistance; hang up their clothes after undressing; takecare of their toilet needs; and use a knife to cut soft food. Although theirlevel of social competency is very similar to that of the 3-year-old in anumber of areas, they have learned some additional basic rules of socialbehaviour within the classroom. They now frequently, rather than onlyoccasionally, ask permission to borrow toys and property; and frequentlyreturn it after use. In the home, however, they appear to show little progressin social behaviour.

In the area of cognitive development, 4-year-olds have acquired anumber of additional concepts related to the physical characteristics of objectssuch as thin, and spatial interrelationships, such as corner, middle, around,behind, in front, and beside. They understand the notion of partialcompletion (almost); negation as applied to common objects (not book, fruit);and order (first, second, third, last). They can recognize an object using twoconcrete attributes (small and round); and are beginning to grasp the notionof paired relationships between familiar objects not directly related to self(table/chair, brush/easel, torch/battery). They know the names of fouradditional colours (blue, orange, brown, purple); and one additional shape(rectangle); can discriminate between boys and girls, and are beginning tograsp the concept of left/right, in relationship to their own right hand.

The perceptual and cognitive processes of 4-year-old children haveimproved. They are able to perceive a simple figure embedded within acontext. A large majority of children of this age are also able to order correctlya series of pictures depicting a sequence of events; and predict the nextelement in a simple pattern prediction test, although they have not reachedthe criterion of success for this item at this age. Their memory processes arestill at the same level as 3-year-olds, although 4-year-olds have a higherfrequency of success at each item than the younger children.

Hong Kong 4-year-olds continue to extend their receptive andproductive language. In combination with their expanding cognitive skills,they can use a wider variety of spatial terms, such as in front and beside.They are able to use certain grammatical forms systematically such as thepresent continuous and past tenses in all three of the test situations; andfollow a 3-step instruction in all situations. Their body awareness extendsto the psychological level and has become more differentiated. Theyrecognize angry feelings; and name less easily distinguishable parts of thebody such as eyebrow, thumb and chin. They are also able to name theconsistency of familiar objects such as chair and window; know what objectsshoot or melt; can name all the days of the week except Sunday; and can


give the opposite of big and light. Their verbal fluency has increased andthey can now name from 6–10 animals within one minute.

In the area of preacademic learning, particularly number, 4-year-oldsare beginning to understand the systematic nature of number, quantity andsize. They continue to acquire additional labels for various number conceptssuch as few, each, half, middle, around. Their improved understanding ofordinal relationships is reflected in their ability to name second, third, andlast; and to order a set of four objects of differing size. The major advancesat this age, in relation to number, consist of the recognition of numbersymbols, an increasing familiarity with the number system, and the abilityto operate within this system. At first these number operations are relativelysimple. Children of this age learn to count, first within small numbers suchas 5, then within 10, and gradually they extend this ability to larger numberssuch as 30 and beyond. They are beginning to understand what thesenumbers represent and to use this knowledge to carry out simplemathematical operations with small sets of objects. They count out at leastseven objects, match sets of objects to numerals up to 10, and provide thenumeral intermediate between 2 and 4. They can dial their own telephonenumber, and immediately give the number of fingers on two hands.

With regard to prewriting skills, they are able to draw a house, and aperson with 6–7 body parts. In addition, they are able to write most of thebasic strokes of Chinese characters or English letters, such as circles, verticals,horizontals, and diagonals. They can write numerals up to 25, copy theirown name in Chinese and English, and copy a variety of simple and morecomplex shapes ranging from a H, square, V, diagonals within a square,triangle, word BAM, and a LA-shape figure.

In the area of prereading skills, Hong Kong 4-year-olds recognize allthe capitals, and 17 of the small letters of the alphabet. The most difficultsmall letters for them are d, l, n, q, r, and t.

FIVE-YEAR-OLDS

By 5 years of age, motor skills involving balance, control and ballmanipulation have greatly improved. Hong Kong children of this age areable to stand on their preferred leg for eight seconds; on tiptoes for 10seconds; hop forwards six steps; make a running broad jump; catch abounced ball; and kick a moving ball. Their increased manual dexterity,coordination of both hands, and more complex finger-thumb oppositionskills, allow them to cut along a curved line and around a simple picture;use a pencil sharpener; and to tie a knot. A combination of improved finemotor and cognitive skills leads to the ability to manipulate plasticine wellenough to produce a recognizable object; and to build a 5-block gate.

In the area of personal and social development, 5-year-olds becomeincreasingly socialized. They frequently ask permission to use toys belonging


to others; can name almost all the other children in their class; and knowtheir complete home address. With regard to self-care, they can comb theirhair without help; and drink from a cup holding only the handle with onehand. Towards the end of their 5th year Hong Kong children are able to usechopsticks to pick up large pieces of food such as meat.

They show noticeable progress in social competency and now, insteadof needing reminders, begin tasks the first time they are asked, althoughthey are still slow in completing them. They are almost always able tocommunicate their needs verbally without the help of gestures, and respondimmediately to unfamiliar adults although they do not initiate contacts withthem. In the home, on the other hand, Hong Kong’s 5-year-old childrenappear to show little progress in social competency, except that they nowfrequently, rather than only occasionally, return property to its owner afteruse.

As far as cognitive development is concerned, 5-year-olds have achievedadditional concepts such as similarity, size (thick), space (widest, furthest);can make the distinction between men and women in addition to theprevious one for boys and girls. They have a clear discrimination of left andright when applied to various parts of their own body. They have also madesignificant progress in their perceptual and cognitive processing and cancorrectly distinguish foreground from background by selecting embeddeditems from a complex pattern. They are able to order correctly the temporalsequence of familiar scenes; can predict the next element in a simple regularpattern; and correctly memorize sentences up to 9 words.

With regard to language, 5-year-olds know the functions of lights; andthe consistency of books, clothing, and houses. They can identify what barks;define the use of a clock; are able to name all seven days of the week;and know the opposite of short. Their verbal fluency remains similar tothat of 4-year-olds, although slightly more than one quarter of the childrenof this age level are able to give the names of 11–15 animals within oneminute.

In the area of preacademic learning, particularly that of number, HongKong’s 5-year-olds have become more familiar with the number system,especially with larger numbers up to 100. They have acquired more complexcounting skills; and can use counting as a tool to specify differences betweensets even when the difference between the two sets is not immediatelyevident (15 compared with 16). They are able to distinguish between moreand less for sets up to 20; can rote count by tens to 100; although they stillhave problems in filling in a missing number which requires an activeknowledge of manipulating numbers by tens (e.g. 70–90). They can rotecount by odds and evens within 20, but again are not able to fill in anintermediate numeral using this ability (e.g. 12–16) although they can fillthis in for the numeral between 34 and 36. They can name numerals to 100;match sets up to 25 and beyond; order seven sticks in a graded series; tellthe time by hours. They know the concept of one-half and can name five


coins. They are beginning to be able to carry out simple addition within 5,both on paper and mentally.

With regard to prewriting skills, they can now copy a diamond; writenumerals up to 100; and write their entire Chinese name without a model.

In the area of prereading skills, almost all 5-year-olds can recognize allthe letters of the alphabet, both capitals and small letters.

A summary of the skills and abilities achieved gradually over this 3-year period is given in Table 8.1.


Tab

le 8

.1D

evel

op

men

tal

Ch

arac

teri

stic

s o

f H

on

g K

on

g P

resc

ho

ol

Ch

ild

ren

3-y

ear-

old

s

MO

TO

R D

EV

EL

OP

ME

NT

Gro

ss M

oto

rW

alk

s u

pst

airs

Jum

ps

do

wn

fro

m 8

-in

ch-h

igh

ste

pJu

mps

for

war

ds w

ith

runn

ing

broa

d ju

mp

Th

row

s m

ediu

m

bal

l u

nd

erh

and

Run

s up

and

kic

ks s

tati

onar

y ba

ll

Fin

e M

otor

Ho

lds

pai

ntb

rush

an

d p

enci

l w

ith

th

um

ban

d f

ing

erP

ound

s, r

olls

, sq

uee z

e s a

nd p

ulls

cla

yF

old

s a n

d c

rea s

e s p

a pe r

ho

riz o

nta

lly

Inse

rts

pre

fold

e d p

a pe r

in

to e

nv

e lo

pe

Bui

lds

9-bl

ock

tow

e r,

3-bl

ock

brid

geS

trin

gs l

a rge

(1"

) a n

d sm

a ll

(1/2

") b

e ads

Clo

ses

fist

and

wig

gle s

thu

mb,

rig

ht a

ndle

ftC

lips

clo

the s

pe g

s on

to c

upP

lac e

s sm

a ll

obje

c ts

into

bot

tle

Cru

mpl

e s t

issu

e pa

per

into

ba l

l w

ith

one

ha

nd

PER

SON

AL

SO

CIA

L D

EV

EL

OPM

EN

T A

ND

SE

LF-

CA

RE

Inte

rac t

ion

Fol

low

s di

rec t

ions

in

sim

ple

grou

p ga

me s

4-y

ear-

old

s

Wal

ks

do

wn

stai

rsW

alks

on

a st

raig

ht l

ine

Wal

ks o

n ti

ptoe

sR

un

s,

star

ts,

sto

ps

and

m

ov

es

aro

un

do

bst

acle

s ea

sily

Ho

ps

forw

ard

s 3

ste

ps

Sta

nds

on o

ne l

eg f

or 5

sec

onds

Cat

ches

bal

l w

ith

bent

arm

s

Fol

ds p

aper

ver

tica

lly

and

diag

onal

lyU

ses

scis

sors

to

sn

ip

pap

er,

cut

alo

ng

stra

igh

t li

ne ,

cu

t a r

ou

nd

sq

ua r

eW

ind

s th

rea d

on

to s

po

ol

Po

urs

li

qu

id

fro

m

a ju

g

into

a n

oth

e rc o

nta

ine r

wit

ho

ut

spil

lin

gT

ou

che s

fin

ge r

s to

th

um

b o

n e

a ch

ha n

dC

lips

tw

o pa

ges

toge

the r

wit

h pa

per

c lip

Ca r

rie s

a j

ug o

f li

quid

wit

hout

spi

llin

gP

a in

ts r

e co

gn

iza b

le p

ictu

re

Init

iate

s g

ree t

ing

s

5-y

ear-

old

s

Bal

ance

s on

pre

ferr

ed l

eg f

or 8

sec

onds

Sta

nd

s o

n t

ipto

es f

or

10

sec

on

ds

Ho

ps

forw

ard

s 6

ste

ps

Mak

es a

ru

nn

ing

bro

ad j

um

pC

atch

es b

ou

nce

d b

all

Kic

ks m

ovin

g ba

ll

Mak

es r

ecog

niza

ble

obje

ct w

ith

plas

tici

neC

uts

alon

g cu

rved

lin

e an

d ar

ound

sim

ple

pic

ture

wit

h s

c iss

ors

Mak

e s 5

-blo

c k g

a te

Tie

s kn

ot

Fre

qu

entl

y a

sks

pe r

mis

sio

n t

o u

se t

oy

s

PROFILES OF HONG KONG CHILDREN BY AGE 115T

able

8.

1C

on

t’d

4-y

ear-

old

s

Tak

es t

urn

sF

ollo

ws

rule

s in

pla

yP

arti

cipa

tes

in g

roup

tim

eH

as o

ne

or

mo

re c

on

sist

ent

pla

ym

ate

Par

tici

pate

s in

coo

pera

tive

pla

yK

now

s na

mes

of

6–10

pee

rs i

n cl

ass

Att

end

s to

to

ilet

nee

ds

ind

epen

den

tly

Dre

sses

se

lf

wit

ho

ut

adu

lt

assi

stan

cein

clu

din

g

bu

tto

ns

Han

gs

up

clo

the s

Att

e nd

s to

to

ile t

ne e

ds

ind

epen

den

tly

Use

s kn

ife

to c

ut b

rea d

and

spr

e ad

butt

e r

Fre

qu

entl

y

a sk

s p

e rm

issi

on

to

b

orr

ow

pro

pe r

tyF

req

uen

tly

re

turn

s b

orr

ow

ed

pro

pe r

ty

too

wn

er

5-y

ear-

old

s

Kno

ws

nam

es o

f al

l ot

her

chil

dren

in

clas

sK

no

ws

com

ple

te

ho

me

add

ress

Co

mb

s h

air

Dri

nks

from

cup

hol

ding

han

dle

wit

h on

eh

an

d

Beg

ins

task

s pr

ompt

ly w

hen

requ

e ste

d by

adu

ltA

lwa y

s v

e rb

a liz

e s

ne e

ds

wit

ho

ut

use

o

fg

e stu

res

Re s

po

nd

s to

un

fam

ilia

r a d

ult

sF

req

uen

tly

re t

urn

s p

rop

e rty

to

its

ow

ne r

a fte

r u

se

3-y

ear-

old

s

Pu

ts t

oy

s aw

ay w

ith

su

per

vis

ion

Hel

ps a

dult

wit

h si

mpl

e ta

sks

Kno

ws

nam

es o

f 5

peer

s in

cla

ssP

lay

s as

soci

ativ

ely

wit

h s

mal

l g

rou

ps

of

chil

dre

n

Sel

f A

wa

ren

ess

Giv

es f

irst

and

las

t na

me,

sex

, ag

e, n

ames

of

bro

ther

s an

d

sist

ers,

an

d

par

tial

ad

dre

ss

Sel

f-ca

reT

urns

tap

s on

and

off

Was

hes

an

d d

ries

han

ds

and

fac

eW

ipes

n

ose

Un

dre

sse s

se

lfZ

ips

up z

ippe

rK

now

s c o

rre c

t sh

oe f

or e

a ch

foot

Use

s c h

opst

icks

to

e at

ric e

So

c ia

l C

om

pe t

e nc y

(P

resc

ho

ol)

Ne e

ds

rem

ind

e r t

o p

e rfo

rm t

a sk

sS

e ek

s h

e lp

to

so

lve

pro

ble

ms

wit

ho

ut

a tte

mpt

ing

a so

luti

on b

y se

lfR

e pe a

ts

fam

ilia

r a c

tiv

itie

s ra

the r

th

a ntr

yin

g n

ew o

ne s

Co

nc e

ntr

a te s

o

n

task

o

nly

w

ith

e nc o

ura

gem

ent

Usu

a lly

ve r

bali

z es

but

som

e tim

e s a

c ts

out

ne

ed

s


Kno

ws

conc

ept

of t

hin,

cor

ner,

alm

ost

Un

der

stan

ds

con

cep

t o

f n

egat

ion

in

sim

ple

sit

ua t

ion

s n

ot

bo

ok

, n

ot

fru

it,

not

firs

t no

r la

stR

e co

gn

ize s

o

bje

c ts

wh

en

de s

c rib

e d

by

two

c o

nc r

e te

a ttr

ibu

tes

Ass

ocia

tes

c om

mon

ly l

inke

d ob

jec t

s ta

ble /

c ha i

r, b

rush

/ea s

e l,

torc

h/b

a tte

ryN

ame s

fo

ur

mo

re

c olo

urs

b

lue ,

o

ran

ge ,

bro

wn

, p

urp

leN

ame s

o

ne

mo

re

sha p

e re

c ta n

gle

So

rts

pe r

son

s in

to b

oy

/gir

lK

no

ws

rig

ht

ha n

d

Pe r

c eiv

e s

emb

edd

ed

fig

ure

in

si

mp

leb

a ck

gro

un

d

Kn

ow

s co

nce

pt

of

sam

e,

thic

k

(ap

pli

edto

obj

ects

), w

ides

t, f

urth

est

So

rts

pe r

son

s in

to

men

/wo

men

Kno

ws

left

and

rig

ht s

ide s

of

own

body

Pe r

c eiv

e s

emb

edd

ed

fig

ure

in

c o

mp

lex

ba c

kg

rou

nd

Tab

le

8.1

Co

nt'

d

Res

po

nd

s ap

pro

pri

atel

y

in

con

ver

sati

on

Init

iall

y

avo

ids

con

tact

w

ith

u

nfa

mil

iar

adu

lts

bu

t re

spo

nd

s if

ap

pro

ach

edag

ain

Occ

asio

nal

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9Other Variables of the Study

The previous six chapters have presented the findings on Hong Kongpreschool children as they relate to the variable of age. Additional ANOVAanalyses of the findings were carried out according to four variables, gender(boys/girls), type of preschool (day nursery/kindergarten), locality ofpreschool (Hong Kong Island/Kowloon/New Territories) and time spentin preschool referred to in this study as batch (A/B/C), for the overall sample,at each of the three age levels separately, and for each item. This chapterpresents a brief summary of the findings as they relate to these four variablesselected for study.

GENDER

Are there differences between boys and girls in their early development? Ifso, does one sex consistently perform better than the other in all areas, or doboys do better in some areas and girls in others? The findings of this studyindicate that the answer to the gender-related question is not clear-cut.Significant gender differences were found in some developmental areas butnot in others.

Motor Development

Both gross and fine motor development show no significant genderdifferences for the overall sample, nor at any of the three ages. Inspection ofthe data at the level of individual items, however, highlights a number ofinteresting differences. In the area of gross motor skills, boys have a tendencyto do better than girls at kicking balls at all three ages. They also performbetter at throwing balls at 4 and 5 years, whereas girls are significantly betterat a number of balance and flexibility items. In particular, they have bettercontrol at 5 years when walking along a straight line, and on tiptoes, standingon one leg, standing on tiptoes, and touching their toes. Comparisons of the


fine motor items show that at 3 years girls tend to do better than boys inholding a paintbrush, and clipping together two pages. At 4 years girls dobetter at painting a picture, folding paper diagonally, touching thumb tofingers, and clipping together two pages. At 5 years girls do better at usingscissors to cut, sharpening pencils, and tying a knot.

In motor skills, therefore, boys have a slight advantage when playingwith balls, particularly when kicking a moving ball, whereas girls appear tohave a slight advantage for balance, flexibility, and manual dexterity.

Social Development

In social skills, there are significant gender differences for the interactive,self-care and social competency items assessed by the teacher for the overallsample, at all three ages for interactive and social competency, but only at 3years for self-care. Girls generally perform better than boys. No significantdifferences are found for the self-awareness items for the overall samplenor at any of the three age levels. Inspection of the individual items of theinteractive test shows that at all three ages girls tend to be more compliantthan boys, more mature in their social interactions, slightly in advance intheir play level, engage more readily in group games, put things awaywithout reminder, greet other persons, take turns, ask permission to borrowproperty, are more likely to have a consistent friend, play cooperatively,engage in dramatic play, and follow directions and rules than boys. At thetwo older ages of 4 and 5 years girls are also more likely to help adults.

Gender differences at the level of individual items in self-care skills aremore noticeable at 3 years where girls perform better at washing hands andface, various dressing items, and using chopsticks. Boys appear to catch upby 4 years, and at this age girls are ahead only for various dressing skillssuch as combing hair, dressing and undressing. By 5 years, the genderdifferences for the self-care items studied are only found in the ability to goto the toilet independently where more girls are successful at this item. Inthe area of social competency in the preschool, girls are slightly in advanceof boys at all three ages, particularly when performing tasks, borrowingand returning property, concentration, and conversation skills. In addition,at 3 years girls tend to be ahead of boys in communicating wants, and, at 4and 5 years, are more inclined to share. No gender differences were foundfor social competency in the home.

In social development therefore girls appear to be more aware than boysof other persons and of social conventions. They are generally morecompliant with rules and regulations, more advanced in interactive skillsincluding conversation and play, and have better concentration.

Cognitive Development

Gender differences are not apparent for cognitive development. Although

OTHER VARIABLES OF THE STUDY 121

significant gender differences were found for the overall sample for the twotests of picture concepts and cognitive processes, none were found for theconcrete concepts, nor for any of the cognitive tests at the three age levels.Inspection of the individual items of all cognitive tests also shows few itemswith large differences in performance. Girls appear to be are slightly aheadof boys at 4 years for colour sorting and naming, particularly for purple,and at 5 years for discovering embedded figures. Despite the significantdifferences for the overall sample for pictures and processes, the lack ofdifferences at any age level and for most individual items, suggests thatgender does not play a major role in cognitive development.

Language Development

Gender differences are also not evident for language development. Significantdifferences for the overall sample are only found for languagecomprehension, and none at any of the three age levels for both languagetests. Inspection of the individual items of the language tests shows thatgirls appear to be slightly ahead of boys at 3 years for understanding simpleinstructions and the past tense. Although girls are generally ahead of boysin naming body parts at all three ages, the items differ by age. At 3 yearsgirls are able to identify eyebrow, thumb, chin and knee better than boys; at4 years it is the hand and the thumb, and at 5 years, the knee, arms, andelbow. In brief, few systematic gender differences were found for thelanguage items except that girls have a slightly more advanced bodyawareness than boys.

Preacademic Learning

Gender differences are only apparent in some aspects of preacademiclearning, with girls generally performing better than boys. Significant genderdifferences were found for the overall sample in three tests, number concepts,and the two prewriting tests of drawing, and copying shapes. No significantdifferences were, however, found at any of the three ages for any of thepreacademic tests. Inspection of the individual items for the preacademicdata shows that girls appear to be ahead of boys for seriation at 3 and 4years, and for counting by odds and evens at 5 years. In the area ofprewriting, girls seem to be ahead of boys at all three ages when drawing aperson, and at 4 and 5 years when copying many of the shapes. Girls appearto be slightly ahead of boys for number concepts, but more consistently forprewriting skills. No gender differences are found for recognizing thealphabet. The advance in prewriting skills, drawing and copying shapes,may be related to the fine motor findings that girls appear to be ahead ofboys for manual dexterity. The advance in the Draw-a-Person test, on theother hand, may be related to a more advanced body awareness for girls assuggested by the language findings.


In sum, major gender differences are found for the overall sample forsome aspects of social development, and to a lesser extent for the preacademicareas. In most cases girls perform better than boys. Although the differencesare not always statistically significant, girls appear to be ahead of boys insome aspects of fine motor, and boys appear to be ahead for some aspectsof gross motor. Gender differences for individual items are negligible forcognitive and language development.

TYPE OF PRESCHOOL

Kindergartens and day nurseries, the two most common types of preschoolin Hong Kong, differ in many respects. Children in day nurseries start atthe age of 2 years; kindergartens only accept children from 3 years onwards.Day nurseries generally offer a full-day programme whereas kindergartensusually offer a half-day one. Day nurseries claim to adopt a child-centred,learning-through-play approach whereas kindergartens have a more adult-centred, academic programme of activities. Do these differences haverepercussions on children’s early development? If so, does one typeconsistently result in better performances than the other, or do children fromone type do better in some areas, and children from the other type do betterin other areas? As with the variable of gender, the findings of this studyindicate that the answer to the question of the effect of type of preschool isnot clear-cut. Significant differences are found in some developmental areasbut not in others.

Motor Development

Both gross and fine motor development show significant type of preschooldifferences for the overall sample, but not at any of the three ages for bothtests. Inspection of the items of the motor tests show an inconsistent pattern.For gross motor, at 3 years day nursery children tend to perform betterthan kindergarten ones for walking along a line, and on tiptoes, throwingand catching balls, and jumping down and forwards, whereas kindergartenchildren seem to be better at stopping themselves when running. At 4 years,day nursery children continue to perform better at walking along a straightline, catching balls, jumping, skipping, and various balance items, whereaskindergarten children of this age do better at catching a bounced ball, andhopping. At 5 years, day nursery children perform better at throwing andcatching balls, and jumping forwards, but kindergarten children are betterat the broad jump, and a few balance items.

In fine motor development, at 3 years, day nursery children performbetter in walking without spilling from a jug of water, cutting with scissors,using blocks, stringing beads, and various manipulation items such aswiggling the thumb, clipping a clothes peg onto the rim of a glass, putting


small objects into a container, clipping together two pages, and windingthread onto a spool. Kindergarten children of this age perform better onlyat folding paper. At 4 years, day nursery children perform better when tyinga knot, whereas kindergarten children do better when painting a picture,cutting with scissors, and building a gate with 5 blocks. At 5 years,kindergarten children perform better when folding paper, cutting withscissors, clipping together pages together, and sharpening a pencil.

Although day nursery children seem to have an advance in both grossand fine motor development at 3 years, the pattern is inconsistent at 4 years,and by 5 years kindergarten children are in advance for a small number ofgross and fine motor skills. This reversal of the effect of type of preschoolwith age may be partly explained by the fact that many day nursery childrenhave been in preschool for one year longer than kindergarten children, oftensince the entry age of 2 years, and thus have had the opportunity by 3 yearsof greater exposure to a variety of activities requiring gross, and moreparticularly, fine motor skills. Kindergarten children, who only enterpreschool at 3 years, initially lag behind in a number of motor skills.However, with the practice that they get during the next three years, theytend to not only catch up with the day nursery children, but, for severalmotor items, to surpass them slightly. Type of preschool has an effect onmotor development, particularly on kindergarten children, who show aprogressive improvement over the 3-year period when compared with daynursery children.

Social Development

Significant differences in the type of preschool are found for the overallsample for two of the social tests: interactive and social competency bothin the preschool and in the home. Significant differences are also found at3 years for interactive and social competency in the preschool, at 4 years forself-care, and at all three ages for social competency in the home. Day nurserychildren generally perform better than kindergarten ones. Inspection of theindividual items of the interactive test shows that at all three ages daynursery children tend to be slightly ahead of kindergarten ones for namingtheir classmates, although kindergarten children of both 4 and 5 years aremore likely to have a special friend. At 3 years, day nursery children helpthe teacher, take turns, ask permission to borrow property, and followdirections and rules to a greater extent than kindergarten children. At 4years, day nursery children perform better at putting things away withoutreminder, asking permission to borrow property, and dramatic play.Kindergarten children of this age, however, are more likely to take turns.

The findings on self-care skills suggest that, despite a lack of statisticalsignificance for both the overall sample and at 3 and 5 years, day nurserychildren tend to perform better at various grooming, dressing and eatingskills. They are better able to turn taps on and off, know the correct shoe for


each foot, drink without spilling, and use chopsticks for eating large piecesof food. Kindergarten children, on the other hand, tend to be in advance forhanging up their clothes, and using a knife to cut food. Day nursery childrenalso appear to be more socially competent in the preschool thankindergarten ones, particularly at conversation skills at all three ages,communicating wants, borrowing and returning property, and concentrationat 3 years, and responding to unfamiliar adults at 4 and 5 years. In thehome, day nursery children are also found to be better at communicatingwants, independence, borrowing and returning property, and conversationskills. In social development, day nursery children appear to have a strongerawareness of rules, regulations and rituals of social convention. They aremore advanced in many of the interactive skills studied, tend to be moreindependent in the area of self-care, and are more socially competent inboth the preschool and at home.

The slight tendency for day nursery children to be in advance for manyself-care skills may be explained by the different experiences of childrenfrom the two types of preschool. Day nursery children often attend full-daysessions at the preschool and eat a main meal there during the course of theday. Consequently they have ample opportunities for washing, groomingand eating under staff supervision. Staff are likely to pay attention to ensuringthat children develop the appropriate self-care skills of washing and dressing,as well as mature eating habits, such as drinking without spilling, and usingchopsticks. Moreover, the type of food provided in day nurseries usuallydoes not require the use of a knife, generally considered to be a dangeroustool for young children. Day nursery children therefore have plenty ofpractice in washing, grooming and eating carefully with chopsticks, but littleopportunity to practise using a knife. Kindergarten children, on the otherhand, usually only attend a half-day session and thus may have moreopportunity to use a knife when eating at home under the supervision of aparent or other caregiver.


Type of preschool differences are not marked in the area of cognitivedevelopment. Significant type differences were found for the overall sampleonly for the test of cognitive processes, and none at any of the three agesfor all three tests. Inspection of the individual items of the cognitive testsshows that day nursery children are ahead of kindergarten ones for namingsome shapes at all three ages, and for a few isolated concepts such as nearestand furthest, and naming colours at 3 years, whereas kindergarten childrendo slightly better at the sex/age discrimination items at all three ages, andthe left/right distinction at 5 years. No consistent pattern of differences bytype of preschool was found for the cognitive processes.



Type of preschool differences are also not very marked for language.Although significant differences are found for the overall sample forlanguage production, this is not the case at all three ages for either of thelanguage tests. Inspection of the individual items in the area of languageshows that day nursery children perform better than kindergarten ones atall three ages for recognizing feelings of anger and happiness, have a slightlybetter body awareness, and can provide the names of a greater number ofanimals. They are also more likely to recognize prepositions such as behind,in front, and beside, at 3 years. Kindergarten children are better able todefine the use of objects, and to follow 3-step instructions correctly at 4years, and to explain better what burns or cuts at 5 years. The findings donot suggest that preschool has a consistent effect on the areas of earlylanguage development selected for study. Day nursery children performbetter on single word items, whereas kindergarten children are slightly aheadin more complex types of language production such as defining andexplaining. Some items where day nursery children perform better at 4 years,such as recognizing feelings and body awareness, may be related to theiradvanced interactive and self-care skills discussed in the previous sectionon social development.


No consistent pattern emerges from the findings in the area of preacademiclearning. Significant type of preschool differences were found for the overallsample only for the test of number concepts, at 3 years for number conceptsand copying shapes, at 4 years for number skills and drawing, and at 5years for drawing. Inspection of the data for the individual items of thevarious number tests show that for number concepts, day nursery childrenperform better than kindergarten ones at 3 years for a number of mathsconcepts such as scattered, same shape, around, first, second, third, moreand less. However, by 4 and 5 years, kindergarten children have a bettergrasp of the concept of less, and of fractions (one-quarter, one-third). Daynursery children also perform better in number skills at the younger ages of3 and 4 years, whereas kindergarten children take an advance at 5 years.For instance, at 3 years, day nursery children are ahead when operatingwithin small numbers, such as counting 3 objects, naming 4–10 objects, andmatching 1–3 objects. At 4 years they perform better when counting up to29 objects, matching sets up to 25, ordering 7 objects, and naming coins. By5 years, however, kindergarten children perform better when counting byodds and evens, filling in missing numbers that require knowledge of oddand even numbers, telling the time, and naming coins.

In the area of prewriting kindergarten children show considerableadvance for several items. Although day nursery children perform better atthe Draw-a-Person task at 3 years, and writing their name in English at 5


years, kindergarten children tend to be ahead for drawing a person at both4 and 5 years, at writing numerals, writing their name in Chinese, andcopying a diamond at 4 and 5 years.

No consistent pattern is evident in the alphabet task. Day nurserychildren perform better at 3 years for the capital letters I, P, and Y, and thesmall letter m, whereas at 4 years, kindergarten children perform better forsmall letters b, d, e, f, g, h, j, t, and y. By 5 years there is a ceiling effect withchildren from both types of preschool showing very high levels of successat all the letters of the alphabet.

Type of preschool shows day nursery children ahead of kindergartenones at the younger age of 3 years in maths concepts, number skills, andprewriting. By 4 and 5 years a similar reversal effect to that of motordevelopment is found for preacademic skills, and kindergarten children tendto perform better at a number of preacademic items at these older age levels.

In sum, type of preschool differences are found in the areas of motor,social, and preacademic learning, but to a lesser extent in cognitive andlanguage development. Day nursery children seem to perform better at theyounger age of 3 years, but by 4 and 5 years kindergarten children take thelead. This reversal of preschool effect is noted particularly in the areas ofmotor and preacademic development. The initial advance of day nurserychildren may be explained by their earlier entry into preschool at the age of2 years, which gives them a one-year headstart over kindergarten childrenwho usually enter preschool at 3 years. In social development, however,day nursery children seem to perform better at all three ages. In other words,day nurseries seem to be more effective in promoting social development inyoung children, whereas kindergartens seem to be more effective inpromoting motor and preacademic skills. Both types of preschool seem tobe equally effective in the areas of cognitive and language development.

The findings on gender and type of preschool are shown in Table 9.1.

LOCALITY OF THE PRESCHOOL

Does the location of the preschool, whether it is situated on Hong KongIsland, in Kowloon, or the New Territories, have an effect on earlydevelopment? If so, does one locality consistently result in betterperformances than the others? Do children from one locality do better insome developmental areas, and children from another locality do better inother areas, or is there no consistent pattern related to locality? As with thevariables of gender and type of preschool, the findings of this study indicatethat the answer to the locality-related question is not clear-cut. Althoughsignificant differences are found in some developmental areas, this is notthe case in all.


Motor Development

Both gross and fine motor development show significant locality differencesfor the overall sample, but not at any of the three ages. Inspection of theindividual items of the gross motor test shows that at 3 years Kowloonchildren perform better when walking on tiptoes and upstairs, and balancingon one leg. At 4 years, Kowloon children are better at throwing a ball 10feet and kicking a moving ball, whereas New Territories children are betterat catching balls. At 5 years, Kowloon children perform better when walkingon tiptoes and when carrying out a running broad jump, whereas HongKong children have better hopping and skipping skills.

In fine motor development, Kowloon children of 3 years perform betterwhen making an object with clay, walking and pouring water withoutspilling, clipping clothes pegs onto the rim of a cup, and touching theirfingers with their thumb. At 4 years they have better cutting and blockbuilding skills.

Table 9.1 Significance of Tests by Age, Gender, and Type of Preschool

Test Age Gender Type of PreschoolSample 3yr 4yr 5yr Sample 3yr 4yr 5yr

MotorGross ** n s n s n s n s ** n s n s n sFine ** n s n s n s n s ** n s n s n s

SocialInteract. ** ** ** ** ** ** ** n s n sS-Aware ** n s n s n s n s n s n s n s n sS-Care ** ** ** n s n s n s n s ** n sSoc.Competency (P) ** ** ** ** ** ** ** n s n sSoc.Competency (H) n s n s n s n s n s ** ** ** **

CognitivePictures ** ** n s n s n s n s n s n s n sConcrete ** n s n s n s n s n s n s n s n sProcesses ** ** n s n s n s ** n s n s n s

LanguageComprehension ** ** n s n s n s n s n s n s n sProduction ** n s n s n s n s ** n s n s n s

PreacademicN u m b e r

Concepts ** ** n s n s n s ** ** n s n sSkills ** n s n s n s n s n s n s ** n sArithmetic ** n s — n s n s n s — n s n s

PrewritingDrawing ** ** n s n s n s n s n s ** **Copying ** ** n s n s n s n s ** n s n s

AlphabetCapitals ** n s n s n s n s n s n s n s n sSmall letters ** n s n s n s n s n s n s n s n s

** significant at .001 level


Generally Kowloon children perform slightly better than children fromthe other two localities for both gross and fine motor skills.

Social Development

Significant locality differences are found for the overall sample for three ofthe social tests, self-awareness and social competency in the preschool andin the home. Significant locality differences were found at 3 and 4 years forsocial competency in the preschool, and at 4 and 5 years for social competencyin the home. Inspection of the individual items of the social data shows thatin the interactive items, Hong Kong children are better at naming classmatesat 3 years. In the area of self-care, Hong Kong children perform better whenhanging up their clothes and using a knife at all three ages, whereas NewTerritories children are better at drinking from a cup using one hand, andusing chopsticks. With regards to social competency in the preschool, at 3years Hong Kong children perform better when verbalizing their wants andreacting to frustration at 3 years, whereas Kowloon children perform betterat returning property. At 4 years Hong Kong children perform better attasks of independence, concentration, conversation and response tounfamiliar adults. No locality differences are apparent for this test at 5 years.Social competency in the home also does not show any consistent localitydifferences.

Although locality differences are found for self-awareness and socialcompetency, there does not appear to be a clear pattern of any one localityconsistently performing better than the others.


Significant locality differences are found for the overall sample for all threecognitive tests, at 3 years for the concrete concepts and 4 years for the pictureconcepts test. Inspection of the individual items of the cognitive tests revealsfew differences. At 3 years Kowloon children are ahead for a few individualconcepts such as sorting, Hong Kong children perform better at theembedded figures test, whereas New Territories children perform less wellfor concepts of night, day, same, nearest, corner and the three colours oforange, brown, and purple. Although locality appears to affect cognitivedevelopment at the level of the overall sample, and cognitive processes atall three ages, there does not appear to be a consistent pattern of superiorityfor any single locality.


Locality differences are not marked in the area of language development.Although significant locality differences were found for the overall samplefor both the language tests, none were found at any of the three ages.


Inspection of the individual items of the language tests shows that at 3 yearsHong Kong children perform better when recognizing the emotions of beinghungry, cold, and angry. At 4 years Kowloon children have a betterknowledge of some body parts, and at 5 years have a better grasp of variouswords involving the use of the terms for opposite, such as the opposite ofshort, fast, and wide. The effect of any one locality does not appear to beconsistent for language development.


In the area of preacademic learning, few locality differences were found.Significant differences were found for the overall sample for numberconcepts, number skills, arithmetic, and the alphabet, both capitals andsmall letters. However, at the separate age levels, significant localitydifferences were only found at 3 years for number concepts and at 5 yearsfor arithmetic. Inspection of the data for the individual items of the variouspreacademic tests shows no differences for number concepts, and only afew differences in the other preacademic areas. For number skills, Kowloonchildren of 3 years perform better at counting to 7, naming numerals andmatching 4–10, whereas for prewriting skills, New Territories children copysome of the shapes better at 3 years, but are less proficient at writing theirEnglish name at 5 years. Hong Kong children, on the other hand, are betterat drawing a person at 3 years but appear to do less well at recognizing thealphabet, both capitals and small letters, at 4 years.

Although some significant locality differences were noted for the overallsample, their direction is not clear. At no particular age and in nodevelopmental area does any one locality appear to perform consistentlybetter. Rather the pattern seems to be that each locality performs better onsome items but not on others, and better at some ages but not at others.Locality does not appear to be a major contributing factor to thedevelopmental outcomes of Hong Kong preschool children.

LENGTH OF TIME SPENT IN PRESCHOOL (BATCH)

One important question raised in this study is whether the length of timechildren spend in a preschool over the school year, referred to in this studyas batch, has an effect on their early development and learning? In order toexamine the effects of this variable, the age of the sample children was keptconstant, and as close as possible to 3 and one-half years, 4 and one-halfyears, and 5 and one-half years, for each data collection period, A at thebeginning, B at the middle, and C at the end of the school year. In this way,any improvement in performance could not be attributed to age or maturity,but would suggest that time spent in preschool over the year had an effecton developmental outcomes. The findings show that, on the whole, length


of time in preschool does affect early development, although more so insome areas than in others.

Motor Development

Significant batch differences are found for both gross and fine motordevelopment for the overall sample, at 3 and 4 years for gross motor, and 3years for fine motor. Inspection of the individual items of the gross motorfindings shows consistent progress over the school year from batch A to Cfor most items. At 3 years batch C children appear to perform better than Achildren when walking along a straight line, on tiptoes, down stairs, running,stopping and avoiding obstacles, jumping forwards and broad jump,hopping, and balancing on one leg. At 4 years batch C children are better atwalking along a straight line and on tiptoes, throwing a ball into a container,broad jump, hopping, kicking a ball, and balancing on one leg. At 5 years,batch C children perform better when throwing a ball, broad jump, hopping,skipping, and balancing on one leg. In brief, by the end of the preschoolyear, children, particularly those aged 3 and 4 years, are considerably moreproficient in many gross motor skills than those tested at the beginning ofthe year of approximately the same age.

In the area of fine motor development, at 3 years batch C children showan improved performance in a variety of manipulative skills such as holdinga pencil or paintbrush, modelling clay, folding paper, cutting with scissors,building blocks, stringing beads, placing small objects in a narrow-neckedcontainer, crumpling tissue paper with one hand, winding thread, touchingfingers to thumb, and clipping together two pages. At 4 years, childrenprogress over the year in modelling clay into a recognizable object, foldingpaper diagonally, cutting with scissors, building blocks, sharpening pencils,and tying knots. At 5 years, children improve their ability to cut out a pictureover the time they spend in preschool. However the high scores of the 5-year-old batch A children at most items make it difficult to note progressbetween batches at this age.

Despite the lack of significant batch differences at 5 years for gross motorand for 4 and 5 years for fine motor, the data suggest an improvement in alarge number of motor skills over the time spent in preschool. For someitems the progress between two consecutive batches is minimal and in somecases a regression is found. For most items, however, the progress is regularwith improvement from batch A to B and B to C. Generally batch C childrenperform better than batch A ones, thus suggesting a definite tendency fortime spent in preschool to have an effect on many motor skills.

Social Development

Significant batch differences are found for the overall sample for two socialtests, interactive and self-awareness, at 3 years for interactive, and at all


three ages for self-awareness. No significant batch differences are found forthe overall sample or at any of the three ages for the other social tests.Inspection of the individual items of the social data for the interactive andself-awareness items shows that at 3 years, batch C children perform betterat items such as having a consistent friend, naming their classmates, playingcooperatively, and providing their partial address. At 4 years, batch Cchildren are better able to name classmates and provide their completeaddress, while at 5 years, batch C children improve their ability to maintaina consistent friendship and to engage in dramatic play over the school year.No differences related to time spent in preschool were found for the self-care items at any of the three ages. With regard to social competency in thepreschool, only at 5 years do batch C children perform better whenborrowing property. No batch differences were found at any of the threeages for social competency in the home. Time spent in preschool appearsto have an effect upon children’s relations with peers, but not in other areasof social development.


Batch differences are more marked in the area of cognitive development.Significant differences were found for the overall sample for all threecognitive tests, for the cognitive processes at all three ages, at 3 years forthe concrete concepts, and at 3 and 4 years for the picture concepts.Inspection of the individual items of all three cognitive tests shows thatbatch differences appear to be more marked at 3 years for concepts such asthin, same, nearest, corner, grouping and negatives, naming all colours,naming all shapes except hexagon, ordering and memorizing a 9-wordsentence. At 4 years batch C children show an improved ability to name thecolour green, and name rectangle, semi-circle, hexagon, to discoverembedded figures, order, and predict a pattern. At 5 years batch C childrenimprove in their recognition of hexagon, ordering, and memory of a 9-wordsentence. Batch or the time spent in preschool appears to have an effect on anumber of the concepts and cognitive processes tested, particularly at theages of 3 and 4 years.


Batch differences in the area of language are inconsistent. Significantdifferences are found for the overall sample only for the language productiontests, and at 3 years for this same test. Inspection of the individual items ofthe language tests shows batch differences for language comprehension at3 years for prepositions under, behind, in front and beside, and theunderstanding of the present continuous tense (-ing). At 4 years batchdifferences are found for beside, and the past tense (-ed).

For the language production items, at 3 years, batch appears to have an


effect on children’s ability to describe the use of eyes and ears, name eyebrow,describe the consistency of a chair, window, book, and clothes, and the sourceof action for what cuts, and shoots. Verbal fluency also improves during theschool year, with more batch C children of 3 years able to give the names of6–10 animals. At 4 years, batch C children improve their performance ondescribing what boils, the use of a clock, reciting the days of the weekincluding Sunday, and giving the opposite of short. At 5 years, batch Cchildren show an improvement in their ability to name the body part palm,describe the consistency of a book, name Sunday and give the opposite ofshort, and fast.

The effect of batch appears more prominent for the language productionthan the comprehension items, possibly due to the fact that the latter wereeasier items and had already been achieved by a large majority of the batchC children at 4 years and of the batch A children at 5 years. This ceilingeffect makes it difficult for the 5-year-old sample to show much progressthroughout the year.


Batch differences are particularly marked in the area of preacademic learning.Significant differences are found for the overall sample for all six preacademictests, at all three ages for number concepts, number skills and drawing, at3 and 4 years for copying shapes and the alphabet, and at 4 and 5 years forarithmetic.

Inspection of the individual items of the preacademic tests shows anumber of batch differences. In the test of number concepts, batch differencesare found at 3 years for concepts such as all, few, first, second, third, last,middle and more, and at 4 years for middle. In the test of number skills, at 3years, batch C children are better able to count within 30, count out sevenobjects, name numerals 4–10, recognize three coins, know their own telephonenumber, and to state the number of fingers on two hands. At 4 years, batch Cchildren improve considerably, particularly in counting from 11–30, by tens,and up to 30 objects, matching objects up to 25, identifying a missing numberbetween 34–36, and between 70–90. At 5 years, batch C children improve theirability to count by 2s (odds/evens), to identify an intermediate numeralbetween 14–16, to tell the time by hours and even by half-hours. In arithmetic,time spent in preschool helps 4-year-olds with addition, both written andmental, and with subtraction problems within 5. At 5 years, batch C childrenshow an improved ability to add and subtract within 20.

In prewriting skills, batch has an effect on 3-year-olds for drawing aperson and a house, copying numerals up to 10, and copying all shapesexcept the diamond. At 4 years, batch C children are better at drawing aperson, copying numerals up to 100, and copying the V, BAM, LA-shape,and diamond. At 5 years, time spent in preschool only affects writing namein English.


For the alphabet, time spent in preschool seems to have a considerableeffect. At 3 years batch C children perform better for most capitals and aboutone-half of the small letters. At 4 years, batch C children perform better forthe capitals at the end of the alphabet starting from P, and for all the smallletters. At 5 years, however, batch C children only perform better for isolatedsmall letters such as h, j, o, p, y, and z. All capitals and the remaining smallletters are recognized by a large proportion of the batch A children at thisage and have thus already reached a ceiling. Batch affects all three aspectsof preacademic learning, number, prewriting and the alphabet. This isparticularly evident when looking at its effects over the entire school year.Batch C children consistently perform better than batch A ones for mostpreacademic items at all three ages.

In sum, length of time spent in preschool appears to affect developmentin all five developmental areas, motor, social except for self-care, cognitive,language particularly production, and preacademic learning. By and large,children who have spent longer in preschool, or batch C children who weretested towards the end of the school year, perform better than batch Achildren who were tested at the beginning of the school year. Preschoolexperiences seem to have a particularly marked overall effect in the area ofgross motor, cognition and preacademic skills, and some aspects of languageproduction, and relationships with peers.

The findings on locality and time spent in preschool are shown inTable 9.2 on p. 134.

In conclusion, Tables 9.1 and 9.2 show that age has a general effect in allareas of development, gender and type of preschool appear to have themost effect for social development, and batch has a marked effect on cognitivedevelopment and preacademic learning. Locality appears to have an overalleffect, especially for some aspects of social and cognitive development, butin no consistent direction. Inspection of the findings for the individual itemsfor each of the tests generally supports these effects (for more details seeAppendices III–VII).


Table 9.2 Significance of Tests by Locality and Time Spent in Preschool(Batch)

Test Locality BatchSample 3yr 4yr 5yr Sample 3yr 4yr 5yr

MotorGross ** n s n s n s ** ** ** n sFine ** n s n s n s ** ** n s n s

SocialInteract. n s n s n s n s ** ** n s n sS-Aware ** n s n s n s ** ** ** **S-Care n s n s n s n s n s n s n s n sSoc.Competency (P) ** ** ** n s n s n s n s n sSoc.Competency (H) ** n s ** ** n s n s n s n s

CognitivePictures ** n s ** n s ** ** ** n sConcrete ** ** n s n s ** ** n s n sProcesses ** n s n s n s ** ** ** **

LanguageComprehension ** n s n s n s n s n s n s n sProduction ** n s n s n s ** ** n s **

PreacademicN u m b e r

Concepts ** ** n s n s ** ** ** **Skills ** n s n s n s ** ** ** **Arithmetic ** — n s ** ** — ** **

PrewritingDrawing n s n s n s n s ** ** ** **Copying n s n s n s n s ** ** ** n s

AlphabetCapitals ** n s n s n s ** ** ** n sSmall letters ** n s n s n s ** ** ** n s

** significant at .001 level

10Summary and Conclusions

This chapter presents a summary of the major findings of the study in relationto the research questions raised in the first chapter, namely, what are theeffects of age, gender, length of time spent in preschool, type of preschool,and locality, on the development of Hong Kong Chinese children aged 3 to5? To answer these questions, the effect of each of these five variables wasexamined in terms of its statistical significance for the overall sample ofchildren for each test of the five developmental areas. In addition, thestatistical significance of each variable, except age, was examined at each ofthe three age levels for all tests. The effect of these five variables was alsoexamined by inspecting the data at each age at the level of the individual itemsof each test. These findings are then compared with those from elsewhere.The chapter concludes with a discussion of the contribution of this study.

MAJOR HONG KONG FINDINGS RELATED TORESEARCH VARIABLES

Age

The age-related research question raised in this study is whether there is adifference between the developmental outcomes of Hong Kong Chinesechildren aged 3, 4, and 5? It is clear from the findings of this study that, ofall the variables examined, age has the most marked effect. ANOVA analysesfind age to have a highly significant effect for the overall sample for all testsexcept one in the five areas of development studied: motor, social, cognitive,language, and preacademic (see Table 9.1). This effect is supported by t-testresults that show significant differences between the three age levels (3 versus4 years, 4 versus 5 years, and 3 versus 5 years) for all the tests used, withthe exception of language comprehension, where a significant age effect wasonly found between 3 and 5 years but not between 3 and 4 nor between 4and 5 years. This effect of age on developmental outcomes is also supported


by the progression in the ages of acquisition of the various skills andbehaviours studied, determined in this study by means of a 66% successrate for each test item, that can be clearly seen in the three profiles by age(see Table 8.1). One notable exception to this overall age effect was found inthe test for social competence in the home, as assessed by parents, where nosignificant differences were found for the overall sample, nor at 3 or 5 years.

The findings of an overwhelming effect of age on early childdevelopment in Hong Kong are not surprising in view of what is knownabout young children elsewhere. The preschool period from 3 to 6 years hasoften been described as the formative years. This is the time when youngchildren acquire many of the skills, abilities and behaviours that form thefoundations for later learning. The findings of this study confirm that this isalso the case in Hong Kong. Chinese preschool children aged 3 to 5 yearsbecome increasingly competent throughout this period as they progressivelyacquire a vast number of skills and understanding in all areas ofdevelopment, and show clear differences between their abilities at each age.The answer to the question on the effect of age on child development ispositive. Age has an effect during the preschool years on developmentaloutcomes in all five areas studied.

Gender

The gender-related question as to whether there are developmentaldifferences between preschool boys and girls shows more equivocal findings.Significant differences are found in some but not all areas of development.The area where the most differences are found is social, particularly ininteractive and social competency skills, where girls are generally in advanceof boys. Less marked but nevertheless significant differences are found inthe cognitive, language and preacademic areas, where girls again tend to bein advance of boys. Although the differences are not always statisticallysignificant, girls also appear to be ahead of boys in some aspects of finemotor, and boys appear to be ahead for some aspects of gross motordevelopment. Gender differences for individual items are negligible forcognitive and language development.

Type of Preschool

Significant type of preschool differences between kindergarten and daynursery children were found in the areas of motor, social, and preacademiclearning, and to a lesser extent in cognitive and language development. Daynursery children seem to perform better at the younger age of 3 years, butby 4 and 5 years kindergarten children take the lead. This reversal ofpreschool effect is noted particularly in the areas of motor development andpreacademic learning. In social development day nursery children performbetter at all three ages.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 137

Locality

Although some significant locality differences were noted between HongKong Island, Kowloon and New Territories for the overall sample, theirdirection is not clear. At no particular age and in no developmental areasdoes any one locality appear to perform consistently better than the othertwo. Each locality performs better on some items but not on others, andbetter at some ages but not at others. Locality does not appear to be a majorcontributing factor to the developmental outcomes of Hong Kong preschoolchildren.

Length of Time Spent in Preschool

Length of time spent in preschool affects development in all fivedevelopmental areas, with the exception of self-care. Preschool experiencesseem to have a particularly marked effect in the area of preacademic skills,language production, cognition and relationships with peers. Batch Cchildren who were tested towards the end of the school year, perform betterthan batch A children who were tested at the beginning of the school year.By and large, children who have spent longer in preschool do better thanchildren who have spent less time there.

COMPARISONS BETWEEN CHILDREN FROM HONGKONG AND ELSEWHERE

How do the findings on Hong Kong Chinese preschool children comparewith those from elsewhere? This question will only be examined in relationto the variables of age and gender since these have been studied elsewhere.Type of preschool and locality are purely of local interest. Although lengthof time spent in preschool is of universal interest in view of the increasingnumbers of children who attend preprimary institutions thoughout theworld, this variable does not appear to have been studied in a similar wayto the present study, which makes comparisons difficult.

Age

From the perspective of age, the question is whether the early developmentof Hong Kong children is similar or different to that found in theircounterparts from other countries? The cross-cultural comparisons presentedin chapters 3 to 7 indicate that, for the most part, similarities of childdevelopment in different cultures far outweigh differences. For example, at3 years children from both Hong Kong and elsewhere, particularly the UnitedStates, walk upstairs, jump forwards, make simple block constructions,manipulate clay, help adults in simple tasks, wash and dry their hands,


turn taps on and off, understand the concept of different, understand threeprepositions, and copy a circle and the letter T. At 4 years children are ableto walk downstairs, catch a ball, fold paper, cut along a straight line, dressthemselves and button clothes, understand four prepositions, give twoopposites, copy a square and a simple word. At 5 years children generallyare able to hop on each foot, make a recognizable object from clay, tie aknot, understand concepts of furthest and widest, and tell the use of a clock.These similarities suggest that there are universal patterns of developmentfound in young children in different countries despite their cultural andlinguistic differences.

The differences that are found between the two groups of children arenot large and seldom exceed one year in either direction, ahead or behind.Perhaps the area where Hong Kong children show the greatest delay whencompared with elsewhere is social development. For example, Hong Kongchildren are one year behind in greetings, taking turns, playing cooperatively,and engaging in dramatic play, and two years behind in asking permissionto use toys. On the other hand, they are ahead by one year for having aconsistent friend. Hong Kong children are also two years ahead of theircounterparts from elsewhere for kicking a ball, inserting paper into anenvelope, crumpling a tissue and cutting with a knife. Many of these itemsrepresent isolated skills and the differences in the age of acquisition couldbe random or result from methodological discrepancies between the variousstudies. No clear pattern of a consistent advance or delay in anydevelopmental area or for any particular type of skill or behaviour emergesfrom the findings, with one single exception. Hong Kong children seem tobe consistently in advance of children elsewhere in the area of preacademiclearning, particularly for early number and prewriting skills. They are oneyear ahead for most of the preacademic items studied, such as counting,knowledge of more/less, telling time by hours, ordering, addition, drawinga house and person, and copying various shapes. They are two years aheadof their counterparts from elsewhere in items such as rote counting from 1–3, knowing the concept of less within 10, and knowing the number of fingerson both hands.

These findings should come as no surprise in view of the heavy emphasisthat Hong Kong preschools place on the learning of preacademic skills,particularly those of number and writing. The question is whether thesesubstantial advances in preacademic skills of Hong Kong children areappropriate, or whether they are obtained at the expense of skills in otherareas and thus jeopardize children’s well-rounded development. Inspectionof the findings suggests that the emphasis on preacademics in Hong Kongpreschools might be to the detriment of social development. The findingssuggest that social development is underemphasized and preacademiclearning overemphasized in Hong Kong preschools. This imbalance appliesmore particularly to kindergartens than to day nurseries. Children from daynurseries are more advanced in their interactive skills, more independent in


self-care, and more socially competent in both the preschool and the home,and also less advanced in their preacademic skills. Kindergarten children,on the other hand, especially at 4 and 5 years, perform better at a number ofpreacademic items. This proficiency at the older ages suggests that, as theyget older, kindergarten children spend more time than day nursery childrenon preacademic tasks and skills, and less time on social interaction. If one ofthe aims of early childhood education is to promote the healthy, all-rounddevelopment of young children, then Hong Kong kindergartens are notaltogether successful. This issue would need further research specificallydesigned to examine the question.

Gender

Do the findings on gender differences of the present study support thosefrom elsewhere? This is a difficult question to answer in view of the factthat while the issue of gender differences in development has generatedmany studies, very few have been conducted at the preschool level. In motordevelopment, Thomas and French (1985) find gender differences for throwingballs, with boys as young as 3 years outperforming girls of the same age.Cratty (1986) finds that boys are better at playing with balls, and running,and girls cut with scissors and copy basic shapes ahead of boys. The motordevelopment findings of the present study support gender differences inthrowing balls, but only at 4 and 5 years, and not at 3 years as in the Thomasand French study. However, the Hong Kong findings support Cratty’sstatement that boys are better at playing with balls, especially for kicking amoving ball, where Hong Kong preschool boys show a slight advance at allthree ages. The findings do not, however, support male superiority inrunning, since at all three ages there are no gender differences in the itemsused to test running, stopping, and avoiding obstacles. In the area of finemotor skills, on the other hand, Hong Kong findings show no differencebetween boys and girls in the use of scissors, and only at 3 years for copyingbasic shapes.

Maccoby and Jacklin (1974), in their extensive review of all major studiesof gender differences, present a number of findings relevant to the presentstudy in the areas of social, language, cognitive, and preacademic learning.These authors distinguish between findings where gender differences arefairly well established, and those which still remain open to debate. Theseare discussed in relation to each separate area of development.

In the area of social development, established gender differences includethe findings that boys tend to interact more and with a higher number ofpeers than girls; and both genders are very similar in their interaction withstrangers. Questionable beliefs include those that girls are more compliantto demands and directions of adults; tend to show more help-givingbehaviours than boys; and are more social than boys. The finding that boysinteract more with peers and with a larger number of them than girls suggests


that boys would also be more likely to engage in cooperative play, and toknow the names of more peers. These two items were tested in the presentstudy. The Hong Kong findings show that at all three ages girls are aheadof boys for cooperative play, and both genders perform in an almost identicalmanner for naming peers. Since these two items studied peer interactionindirectly, it is difficult to make exact comparisons. It does seem, however,that Hong Kong preschool boys do not interact more with their peers thanpreschool girls. The established finding that both genders are similar in theirinteraction with strangers is directly related to one item of the socialcompetency test (responds to unfamiliar adults). Inspection of the data forthis item shows that the Hong Kong findings confirm those of elsewhere.An almost identical pattern of response towards unfamiliar adults is notedfor both boys and girls. At all three ages, both genders engage in the sameamount of passive movement (responds to overtures by unfamiliar adultsbut does not initiate contact) and active movement towards strangers (readilymoves towards unfamiliar adults).

The unsupported beliefs that during childhood girls are more compliantto demands and directions of adults, engage in more help-giving behaviours,and are more social than boys, can also be related to a number of items ofthe social tests. Compliance items of the interactive and social competencytests include returning toys, engaging in group games, acting withoutreminder, taking turns, asking permission, following directions and rules,and performing tasks upon request. Inspection of the data for these itemsshows that at all three ages and for all items, girls perform better than boys.The evidence of this study, particularly of the item on helping adults, alsosupports the belief that girls show more help-giving behaviours than boys.The belief that girls are more social is more difficult to assess since it is notclear what is meant by being more social. However, if being social is takenas interacting positively with others, the present study has four related items(greetings, playing cooperatively, having a consistent friend, andconversation skills). Girls perform better than boys at all three ages forgreetings and playing cooperatively, and at 5 years for having a consistentfriend and conversation skills. The Hong Kong findings support the beliefthat girls are more social than boys in a number of ways.

In the case of language development, well-established gender differenceshave been found in verbal ability, with girls showing superiority to boysfrom the age of 11 years. This can be interpreted to suggest that there arefew gender differences in verbal ability in children younger than 11 years.The present findings confirm no systematic gender differences in verbalability of Hong Kong children during the preschool period.

In the area of cognitive development, established findings by Maccobyand Jacklin are that males are superior in spatial ability from adolescenceonwards and that preschool boys are better in visual decoding or pointingat named objects where the stimulus is visual, whereas preschool girls arebetter at productive naming. Items that test spatial ability in the present


study are the use of various prepositions and the recognition of the conceptsof nearest and furthest. The Hong Kong findings for both these items areinconclusive. Girls perform better than boys at 3 and 4 years for prepositions,but both genders are at a similar level at 5 years. Girls also perform betterthan boys at all three ages for the concept of nearest, whereas boys performslightly better than girls at 4 and 5 years for that of furthest. These HongKong findings suggest that, if males are superior in spatial ability atadolescence, this superiority is not yet evident at the preschool level, or atleast not in the relevant items of this study.

Visual decoding was tested by two items of the study, embedded figuresand pattern prediction; pointing at named objects was tested by variousitems of the pictorial concepts; and the item of naming animals is a measureof productive naming. The findings show that as far as embedded figuresare concerned, girls tend to do better than boys, particularly at 5 years. Bothboys and girls perform in a similar fashion for pattern prediction, for thepictorial concepts, and for naming animals. In other words, the Hong Kongevidence provides no support for the superiority of preschool boys at visualdecoding nor of preschool girls at productive naming.

In the area of preacademic learning, the established finding of no genderdifferences in the early acquisition of quantitative concepts and the masteryof arithmetic before 11 years is only partially supported by the presentfindings. Gender differences were found for the overall sample for thenumber concepts, but not at any of the three ages, nor for the number skillsor arithmetic tests. There is, however, a tendency for girls to do better atcounting at 5 years.

To summarize, this study supports findings on gender differences insome areas, provides partial support in others, and does not support findingsfrom elsewhere in other areas. Support of findings or beliefs from elsewhereis seen in the areas of male superiority at kicking moving balls, similarreactions of both genders to strangers; female superiority in compliance withadult requests, more helpful behaviours towards others, and in being moresocial; and no gender differences in verbal and spatial ability and arithmeticduring the preschool years. The findings provide partial support for malesuperiority at throwing balls (only at 4 and 5 years), for female superiorityin copying shapes (girls do better at 4 and 5 years), and no differences in theacquisition of number skills (girls do better at 5 years).

The findings do not support those from elsewhere in the area of femalesuperiority for using scissors or productive naming, nor for a male superiorityat visual decoding and more male than female interaction with peers.

CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study should prove useful to various groups of personsinvolved with young children: preschool teachers, early childhood


curriculum developers, early childhood textbook writers, parents, policymakers, and researchers.

Preschool teachers, curriculum developers and textbook writers willfind the age and batch findings of particular relevance in their work withearly childhood curriculum. Age-related findings provide details on thetypical competencies, abilities and behaviours at each of the three age levelsin the five developmental areas studied. Batch-related findings giveinformation for each age on children’s competencies in the five areas at thebeginning, middle and end of the school year. Together, these two types offindings paint a picture of the small and large steps that young childrentake in their developmental progression throughout the period from 3 to 6years. The profiles of Hong Kong children contained in chapter 8 and themore extensive details contained in the various Appendices, can help allthose dealing with curriculum development, either at the macrolevel ofcurriculum design or at the microlevel of the classroom, to prepare andselect interesting, challenging, and developmentally appropriate activitiessuited to Hong Kong children. Individual preschool teachers can use thesedevelopmental details when preparing their daily programme of activitiesfor the children in their class. Curriculum developers can use them whenplanning, developing and implementing a curriculum for an entire preschoolor for a number of preschools. Textbook writers can also use them whendesigning materials and specific activities suited to the degree of maturityof young children of specific ages.

As skills and competencies emerge and children become more proficientin all aspects of development, the curriculum must change in content andlevel of demand. These findings provide a rich and extensive data base fordesigning activities that correspond to the emerging abilities of youngchildren throughout the school year and from age to age in all five areasstudied. In particular, the batch data help to specify the zone of proximaldevelopment for young children and permit the appropriate scaffolding oflearning. At the beginning of the year, skills achieved by batch B childrencan be used as targets for developmentally appropriate activities. At a laterstage in the year, these targets could be changed to fit the competenciesachieved by batch C children.

Teachers can use the gender findings to design activities that take intoaccount the similarities in development and more especially the respectivestrengths and weaknesses of boys and girls at the different ages. Whenorganizing activities, teachers might make allowances for male superiorityin ball skills, and female superiority in balance, flexibility, and manualdexterity, or for female advance in social maturity and in certain aspects ofpreacademic learning. Preschool teachers should also be aware of the effectof type of preschool on developmental outcomes, with kindergarten childrenshowing a better performance in the motor and preacademic areas as theygrow older, and day nursery children apparently ahead in aspects of socialdevelopment. Such awareness might lead them to evaluate the activities


they provide and determine whether these activities effectively promote well-rounded development at all levels of preschooling.

Parents will find the age, batch and gender findings of interest sincethey provide a framework for understanding and following the progress oftheir preschool children in the five areas studied. Such knowledge of childdevelopment in the local context should help them engage in appropriatechild-rearing and early educational practices. The type of preschool findingson the differential effects of day nurseries and kindergartens are also ofinterest to parents who could use this information when selecting a preschoolfor their child. Batch findings which show that time spent in preschoolcontributes to child development and learning should provide somereassurance to parents, many of whom make significant sacrifices to sendtheir child to preschool.

Policy makers will be particularly interested in the batch findings whichclearly show that children benefit from their preschool experience in all areasof development, particularly in gross motor, cognition, languagedevelopment, and preacademic learning. Although these findings do notanswer the question of whether preschool is essential, they provide supportfor the preschool experience and the claim that preschool is both desirableand necessary. This should be helpful to policy makers who sometimes doubtwhether expenditure in early education is necessary. This study suggeststhat such expenditure is justified and worthwhile.

Researchers can benefit from the findings of this study which providean extensive data-base on the early development and learning of Hong Kongpreschool children. Since this was the first large-scale study of its kind, itintentionally included all five developmental areas. Within these areas theitems were selected to provide broad coverage rather than an in-depth studyof any particular area. Consequently, many skills and competencies werenot included. Researchers interested in obtaining more detailed informationin a particular area could use these findings as a springboard for futuredevelopmental studies. In this way this study will serve as the impetus forfurther research which could lead to a greater understanding of the earlydevelopment of Hong Kong preschool children. Although the findingsprovide some insights into early child development in Hong Kong, manyquestions remain unanswered. Why are there few developmental differencesin social development in the home? What are the processes by which lengthof time spent in preschool affects specific areas of development? Why isthere a reversal effect of type of preschool on motor and preacademicdevelopment? Why are Hong Kong children in advance of those fromelsewhere in preacademic learning? Does this academic advance contributeto a smooth transition to primary school? These are some of the questionsthat need further research.

In conclusion, perhaps the persons for whom this study could have thegreatest impact are Hong Kong’s preschool children. The findings providea developmental framework that allows preschool teachers, curriculum


developers, textbook writers, parents and policy-makers to offer activities,materials and programmes that support and enhance the overalldevelopment of young children. If all these persons have children’s bestinterests in mind and can make use of this study as a reference in theirendeavours to promote healthy growth and progress, Hong Kong’s youngchildren will be the greatest beneficiaries.

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Appendix IMembers of the Advisory Committee andResearch Team for the Hong Kong IEAPreprimary Project, Phase 1

Advisory Committee

Chairman

Education DepartmentKindergarten Inspectorate

Social Welfare DepartmentFamily and Child Care

Grantham College of EducationKindergarten Teacher Training

Hong Kong Council of Social Services

Chinese University School of Education

Hong Kong Council for Early ChildhoodEducation and Services

Professor J.B.BiggsDr Albert Yee (1987)Professor A. Brimer

(1986-87)

Mrs Wendy NgMrs Sareta Kam

(1986-87)

Mrs Patricia ChuMrs Denise Wong

(1987-88)Mr Cheung Hon-leung

(1986-87)

Mrs Margaret Kwong

Miss Marianna ChanMrs Maria Cheng

(1986-87)

Dr Albert Yee(1986-88)

Ms Sansan Ching

150 APPENDIX I

Research Team

The University of Hong Kong

Dr Sylvia Opper Principal InvestigatorDr Shirley Coleman Statistical AdvisorDr Miranda Tse Research CoordinatorMrs Amy Lee Senior Research AssistantMr Lam Tze Kin Senior Research Assistant

Appendix IIMeasures Used to Collect DevelopmentalInformation

2.1 MEASURES OF MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

a) Gross Motor

Walking1. Walks up 4–6 stairs alternating feet2. Walks down 4–6 stairs alternating feet3. Walks forwards heel-to-toe along straight line on floor4. Walks on tiptoes along straight line on floor

Running5. Runs forwards starting and stopping easily6. Runs around 3 obstacles (about 3 ft. apart)

Jumping7. Jumps unaided from an 8-inch step with both feet together without losing

balance8. Jumps forwards 8 inches from a line on floor landing with both feet on

ground at same time9. Running broad jumps at least 2 ft. landing with both feet together

Hopping-Skipping10. Hops at least 3 times on one foot without putting other foot down11. Hops at least 6 ft. on each foot separately without putting other foot

down12. Skips at least 10 times using alternate feet

Throwing Balls (Small ball, e.g. tennis ball, or bean bag)13. Throws ball underhand14. Throws ball into container (2 ft. diameter and 5 ft. away from child)15. Throws ball overhand 10 ft. without losing balance

Catching Balls (Medium-sized ball)16. Catches ball with two arms bent17. Catches ball (bounced from 3 ft. away) with two hands18. Catches ball with one hand

Kicking19. Runs to and kicks stationary ball forwards without stopping first20. Kicks moving ball forwards at least 8 ft.

Balance and Flexibility21. Stands on one leg for 5 seconds22. Stands on one leg (preferred leg) with arms folded across chest for 8

seconds23. Stands on one leg (alternate legs) with arms folded across chest for 8

seconds24. Stands on one leg with eyes closed for 5 seconds25. Stands on tiptoes with hands on hips for 10 seconds26. Swings one leg back and forth no bent knees 5 times27. Touches toes with both hands no bent knees

b) Fine Motor

Use of drawing/writing tools1. Holds paintbrush maturely with thumb and fingers (not fist)2. Paints recognizable picture3. Draws/writes with one hand and holds paper in place with other hand4. Holds pencil maturely with thumb and fingers (not fist)

Modelling Clay/Plasticine5. Pounds, squeezes and pulls plasticine6. Rolls plasticine into snake7. Makes flat round cake out of plasticine8. Rolls plasticine into ball9. Makes recognizable object out of plasticine

Stringing Beads (within 2 minutes)10. Strings at least 4 large beads11. Strings at least 4 small beads

152 APPENDIX II

Building Blocks12. Builds bridge with 3 blocks13. Builds tower with 9 blocks14. Builds gate with 5 blocks

Folding Paper15. Inserts pre-folded paper into envelope16. Folds and creases paper (8 inches square) horizontally17. Folds and creases paper (8 inches square) horizontally and vertically18. Folds and creases paper (8 inches square) horizontally, vertically and

diagonally

Cutting Paper (not more than 1/4 inch from line)19. Snips paper 1 inch wide with scissors20. Cuts along straight line21. Cuts out square22. Cuts along curved line23. Cuts out simple picture from magazine

Controlling Liquid without spilling24. Walks forwards (10 ft.) with cup in hand without spilling (water level

1/2 inch from rim)25. Pours water from jug without spilling

Manipulation26. Closes fist and wiggles thumb (right and left hands)27. Spreads fingers on one hand and brings each in turn into opposition

with thumb28. Clips two clothes pegs onto rim of cup (no help)29. Places 10 small objects (eg. raisins) into small bottle one at a time within

25 seconds30. Crumples facial tissue paper into ball with one hand31. Winds 6 inches of thread onto spool/cylinder32. Clips two sheets paper together with paper clip33. Sharpens new pencil with pencil sharpener34. Ties single knot

2.2 MEASURES OF PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND SELF-CARE DEVELOPMENT

a) Interactive Skills (for Teacher Observation)

1. Interactiona. Initiates greetings

APPENDIX II 153

b. Takes turns in playc. Asks permission to use toys belonging to othersd. Repeatedly chooses same child(ren) to play or work withe. Frequently initiates play or group games

2. Uses Names (Check appropriate item)a. Uses names of 5 childrenb. Uses names of 6–10 childrenc. Uses names of almost all children in class

3. Play (Check appropriate item)a. Usually plays aloneb. Usually plays with 1–2 children with frequent comments (associative

play)c. Often plays with more than 2 children in activity with common goal

(cooperative play)

4. Content of Playa. Imitates recognizable characters or role in dramatic playb. Follows directions in simple group gamesc. Takes turns/follows rules in simple competitive table games

5. Compliancea. Joins in circle/group time and imitates adult without supervisionb. Puts toys away with supervisionc. Helps adult with simple tasksd. Follows instructions without reminder

b) Self-awareness Skills (for Teacher Questioning)

1. Name2. Own Sex3. Names and Number of brothers and sisters4. Home Address5. Age6. Date of Birth

c) Self-care Skills (for Parent)

1. Washing and Groominga. Dries handsb. Washes handsc. Washes and dries faced. Turns water tap on and off

154 APPENDIX II

e. Brushes hairf. Wipes nose without prompting

2. Dressinga. Hangs clothes on hooksb. Undresses independentlyc. Dresses independentlyd. Fastens and unfastens buttonse. Puts shoes on correct footf. Zips and unzips zipper

3. Toiletinga. Attends to toilet needs independently (can manage clothes, flush

toilet, wash/dry hands)

4. Eatinga. Holds handle of cup with one hand when drinkingb. Uses knife to chop foodc. Uses chopsticks to eat riced. Uses chopsticks to pick up food

d) Social Competency (for Teacher and Parent)

1. Performing Tasksa. Usually has to be asked 2–3 times before starting a taskb. Usually begins task when asked but dawdles and has to be remindedc. Usually begins task first time asked but is slow in completing taskd. Usually begins task when asked and is prompt in completing task

2. Communicating Wantsa. Seldom verbalizes wants; acts out by pointing, pulling, or cryingb. Sometimes verbalizes but usually combines actions with wordsc. Usually verbalizes but sometimes acts out wantsd. Nearly always verbalizes wants

3. Sharing Possessions or Toysa. Does not share possessions or toys with othersb. Shares but only after adult interventionc. Occasionally shares willingly with othersd. Frequently shares willingly with others

4. Reaction to FrustrationWhen child does not get what he/she wants or things are not going well:a. Has a temper tantrum (screams, kicks, throws objects, etc.)

APPENDIX II 155

b. Finds a substitute activity without seeking help in solving theproblem

c. Seeks help from others in solving problem without making anattempt to solve it by self

d. Attempts to solve the problem first before seeking help

5. Independencea. Needs to be told what to do and how to do itb. Prefers familiar activities which has already tried outc. Performs task independently until a problem arises, then asks for

adult helpd. Attempts new tasks with confidence and tries to solve problems by

himself/herself

6. Borrowing Property or Toysa. Takes objects from others without asking permissionb. Occasionally asks permission to use others’ propertyc. Frequently asks permission to use others’ propertyd. Nearly always asks permission to use others’ property

7. Returning Property: when he/she has borrowed somethinga. Seldom returns the property to its ownerb. Occasionally returns the property to its ownerc. Frequently returns the property to its ownerd. Nearly always returns the property to its owner

8. Concentrationa. Changes from one activity to another, rarely settlesb. Prefers running around; finds it difficult to do things that require

staying in one placec. Concentrates on an activity only with encouragementd. Has definite goal for activities and is able to ignore distractions to

achieve this goal

9. Conversation skillsa. Does not talk much; only uses single words or short sentence

answers when asked questionsb. Expands on what he/she has said rather than listening to what other

person saysc. Responds appropriately in a conversation but does not expand on

what other person saysd. Often initiates and conducts extended conversations

10. Response to Unfamiliar Adultsa. Totally avoids or rejects any contact with strangers

156 APPENDIX II

b. Avoids contact in the beginning, but is responsive if approachedagain

c. Responds to overtures by unfamiliar adults but does not initiatecontact

d. Readily moves towards unfamiliar adults

2.3 MEASURES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

a) Pictorial Concepts

Adult shows child pictures one at a time and asks child to show the picturethat is:

1. Fat (man) 2. Thin (cat)3. Thick (book) 4. Thin (tyre)5. Night (man) 6. Day (cock)7. Different (cat, dog) 8. Empty (basket)9. Clean (cup) 10. Dirty (man)

11. Open (fridge) 12. Closed (drawers)13. Full (bowl) 14. Furthest away (pier)15. Nearest (door) 16. Widest (road)17. Exactly the same (two patterns) 18. Corner (apple on table)19. Almost empty (bottle) 20. Not a book21. Not a fruit 22. Not first nor last (car)23. Thin man jumping 24. Small round present25. Fat cat sleeping

Adult asks child to show which two things go together:26. Shoe/sock 27. Table/chair28. Paintbrush/easel 29. Torch/battery

Adult asks child to sort cards into following categories:30. People/Non-people 31. Food/Non-food32. Animals/Non-animals 33. Clothing/Non-clothing

b) Concrete Situations

1. a) Adult presents counters of 4 colours and asks child to sort theminto correct piles.

b) Adult shows card with 9 colours (red, green, yellow, blue, white,orange, purple, black, brown) and asks child to name each in turn.

2. Adult shows card with 7 shapes (circle, square, triangle, star, rectangle,semicircle, hexagon) and asks child to name each in turn.

APPENDIX II 157

3. Adult sorts cards representing persons of different ages (older andyounger) and gender (male and female) into four piles (boys, men, girls,women) and asks child to name the piles.

4. Adult presents pairs of objects (Heavy/Light; Rough/Smooth; Hard/Soft; Hot/Cold) and asks child to select appropriate one.

5. Adult asks child to carry out appropriate action (clap softly, loudly).

6. Adult asks child to point to correct body parts: Right hand; Left leg;Left ear; Right eye; Right leg; Left hand.

c) Cognitive Processes

1. Perceptual Processes: Adult shows child pictures, explains that somechildren are hiding and asks child to find them:a) Childrenb) Children wearing glassesc) Boys wearing glasses

2. Sequencing: Adult asks child to arrange pictures in correct order:a) Blowing up balloonb) Flower growingc) Getting up and going to school

3. Prediction: Adult shows child pictures with beads in a pattern and askschild to predict next in sequence (4 items)

4. Memory: Adult asks child to listen to sentence and then repeat it exactly:a) I carry the school bag to schoolb) I carry the school bag and take the bus to schoolc) Mama accompanies me as I carry the school bag and take the bus to

schoold) Because it is raining, mama accompanies me as I carry the school

bag and take the bus to school

158 APPENDIX II

2.4 MEASURES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

a) Comprehension

1. Object Usage: Adult shows child pictures and asks child to name:a) What do we use for drinking?b) What goes on our feet?c) What do we cut with?d) What do we drive in?e) What do we use to read?

2. Common Actions: Adult shows pictures and asks child to name whatchild is doing:a) Runningb) Eatingc) Sleepingd) Dressing

3. Prepositions: Adult asks child to put toy in correct place:a) On the chairb) Under the chairc) Behind the chaird) In front of the chaire) Beside the chair

4. Completion words: Adults points to first picture and says “This child isdiving into the water. This one has dived into the water”. Adult thenpoints to pictures and asks “What is this child doing?” “What has thischild done?”a) Eatingb) Dressingc) Painting

5. 3-step instruction: Adult gives 3-step instruction and asks child to carryout actions in same order.a) Put spoon in cup, give me block, open bookb) Give me spoon, put pencil on top of book, put block inside cup

b) Production

1. Use of Objects: Adult asks child:a) Why do we have books?b) Why do we have lights?c) Why do we have cars?

APPENDIX II 159

d) Why do we have woks?e) Why do we have keys?

2. Use of Senses: Adults asks “What do you do with your . . . ?”a) eyes b) ears c) nose d) mouth

3. Physical Needs: Adult asks “What do you do when you are . . . ?”a) sleepy b) hungry c) cold

4. Emotions: Adult shows three pictures and for each asks child “Howdoes this person feel?”a) angry b) happy c) sad

5. Body Parts: Adults points to body part and says “What is this?”a) head b) arm c) hand d) knee e) heelf) chin g) eyebrow h) thumb i) elbow j) palm

6. Object Consistency: Adult asks “What is . . . made of?”a) book b) window c) clothing d) chair e) house

7. Source of Action: Adult asks “What kinds of things would . . . ?”a) bark b) bite c) burn d) shoot e) float f) flyg) run fast h) swim i) cut j) melt k) boil

8. Time: Adult asks “Do we . . . in the morning or at night?”a) eat breakfast b) sleep c) get up from bed

9. Clock: Adult shows picture of clock and asks “What is this?” and “Whatdo we use this for?”

10. Days of Week: Adult asks child to name all the days of the week.

11. Opposites: Adult asks child to complete sentence.a) Fire is hot, icecream is ..b) House is big, mouse is ..c) During day it is light, during night it is ..d) What is the opposite of fast?e) What is the opposite of short?f) What is the opposite of wide?

12. Verbal Fluency: Adult asks child to name as many animals as possibleand stops child after one minute.

160 APPENDIX II

2.5 MEASURES OF PREACADEMIC LEARNING

a) Number

i) Mathematical Concepts

Adult shows child pictures one at a time and asks child to point to thepicture that is:1. Big 2. Small3. Many 4. Few5. Long 6. Short (hair)7. Tall 8. Short (man)9. In Middle10–13. First; Second; Third; Last14–16. Middle (3 objects, 5 objects, 7 objects)17–19. More (9 vs. 3; 8 vs. 6; 16 vs. 15)20. Relates Parts to Whole (1 whole has 2 halves)21. Same shape22. Around23. Each24. Scattered25–27. Less (9 vs. 3; 8 vs. 6; 16 vs. 15)

Adult uses objects to test concepts of:28. Bigger 29. Smaller30. All

ii) Number Skills1. Rote Counts up to 30 (1–3; 4–10; 11–30)2. Rote Counts by Tens (40–100)3. Counts by odd numbers 1–194. Counts by even numbers 2–205. Counts objects (3; 7; 15; 29)6. Names numerals (1–3; 4–10; 11–50; 51–100)7. Matches sets to numerals (1–3; 4–10; 11–25)8–11. Missing number (2–4; 34–36; 70–90; 12–16)12–13. Orders (4 circles; 7 sticks)14–17. Time (6 o’clock; 5 o’clock; 9 o’clock; 3.30 hours)18–20. Half; Quarter; Third21–22. Identifies 3 and 5 Coins (20c; 50c; 1 dollar; 2 dollar; 5 dollar)23. Dials own telephone number24. Knows 2 hands have 10 fingers

iii) Arithmetic (Addition, Subtraction)1. 3 + 2; 35 + 18 (Horizontal format)2. 6 + 7; 19 + 8 (Vertical format)

APPENDIX II 161

Appendix IIITables of Motor Development

Table 3.1 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=968)

F M KG DN H K NT A B CN 473 495 831 137 318 263 387 307 293 274

DYNAMIC MOVEMENTWalking

Straight line 60 55 54 75 55 71 50 52 56 60On tiptoes 60 56 57 67 64 61 51 54 55 66

ClimbingUp 4-6 steps 89 90 89 92 86 99 85 89 87 89Down 4-6 steps 57 56 57 51 54 62 55 45 59 64

RunningAvoids obstacles 63 67 64 68 62 70 64 57 68 70Stops with ease 66 61 67 45 64 59 66 56 67 66

Throwing (medium ball)Underhand 78 77 77 80 71 85 78 77 75 79Into container# 32 30 31 34 29 27 36 28 29 38Overhand 10 feet# 17 19 16 33 17 20 18 17 17 20

CatchingBall/bent arms 56 57 55 67 56 61 54 53 57 58Bounced ball 25 29 27 26 27 25 28 24 27 27One hand# 5 4 5 2 2 4 8 4 5 4

J u m p i n gDown 8 inches 76 75 73 85 77 80 70 75 71 79Forwards 8 inches 68 69 66 83 67 75 65 67 64 75Running broad jump 32 32 32 34 30 30 36 27 32 39

Hopping3 steps pref. leg 39 37 39 35 34 40 41 29 41 416 steps both legs 9 9 10 7 8 6 12 5 11 11Skips 10 times# 12 10 12 4 8 12 13 9 12 11

KickingStationary ball 76 81 80 72 80 78 79 75 79 81Moving ball 8 ft. 33 45 41 30 39 33 44 40 39 35

STATIC BALANCEPref. leg 5 secs. 46 46 45 52 38 50 50 39 49 50Pref. leg 8 secs. 23 19 20 26 15 27 22 17 19 27Tiptoes 5 secs. 35 33 33 38 31 38 34 30 34 38Either leg 8 secs.# 17 16 16 20 13 14 21 15 17 14Pref.leg eyes close# 20 12 16 15 15 16 17 13 16 16Swings pref. leg# 32 28 29 38 28 30 31 28 29 32Touches toes# 26 16 19 31 16 24 22 18 19 25

# Skill not acquired within the age group studied

Table 3.2 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by 4-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=964)

F M KG DN H K NT A B C

N 512 452 831 137 318 263 387 311 299 273

DYNAMIC MOVEMENT

Walking

Straight line 81 79 80 77 82 76 81 74 82 84

On tiptoes 79 74 76 84 78 82 71 71 76 83

Climbing

Up 4-6 steps 98 98 98 99 98 98 97 96 98 99

Down 4-6 steps 89 90 90 81 88 94 87 85 88 94

Running

Avoids obstacles 91 93 91 100 90 91 94 89 93 92

Stops with ease 90 87 88 91 88 86 91 86 92 89

Throwing (medium ball)

Underhand 79 86 82 88 78 87 84 81 80 87

Into container# 39 42 40 43 38 43 41 32 46 43

Overhand 10 feet# 30 38 33 39 30 42 32 30 34 34

Catching

Ball/bent arms 70 72 67 76 69 71 73 70 68 75

Bounced ball 51 56 55 36 50 50 60 56 50 54

One hand# 12 17 14 17 16 11 14 13 14 14

J u m p i n g

Down 8 inches 82 85 83 88 82 86 83 80 83 86

Forwards 8 inches 82 85 82 92 83 81 85 81 84 84

Running broad jump 56 60 57 68 57 63 55 48 60 62

Hopping

3 steps pref. leg 84 80 84 66 76 82 90 77 83 85

6 steps both legs 42 42 42 44 42 40 46 37 45 45

Skips 10 times# 41 37 38 49 36 43 39 32 46 41

Kicking

Stationary ball 87 87 87 86 84 88 91 85 85 92

Moving ball 8 ft. 52 65 59 52 50 66 60 59 54 58

STATIC BALANCE

Pref. leg 5 secs. 77 77 76 89 81 70 79 71 79 80

Pref. leg 8 secs. 48 46 46 61 49 43 48 46 46 49

Tiptoes 5 secs. 59 56 56 68 60 58 54 49 61 63

Either leg 8 secs.# 37 35 34 55 37 36 35 35 40 33

Pref.leg eyes close# 34 35 34 45 34 34 36 28 34 41

Swings pref. leg# 61 61 61 64 51 66 69 58 63 62

Touches toes# 54 40 46 64 50 49 42 45 49 50


164 APPENDIX III

Table 3.3 Acquisition of Gross Motor Skills by 5-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality, and Batch (N=1078)

F M KG DN H K NT A B C

N 547 531 956 122 379 310 389 364 360 350

DYNAMIC MOVEMENT

Walking

Straight line 87 82 86 75 85 85 83 83 85 87

On tiptoes 88 81 85 84 87 92 77 84 87 86

Climbing

Up 4-6 steps 96 97 96 100 96 96 98 98 98 94

Down 4-6 steps 96 96 96 98 96 96 95 97 98 94

Running

Avoids obstacles 95 97 96 100 97 96 95 97 95 97

Stops with ease 94 92 93 96 93 95 93 94 92 94

Throwing (medium ball)

Underhand 87 93 89 96 91 87 92 93 84 94

Into container# 53 54 51 70 52 56 53 52 55 56

Overhand 10 feet# 52 60 55 60 60 57 51 50 55 62

Catching

Ball/bent arms 84 79 81 88 80 88 78 79 79 88

Bounced ball 69 76 71 83 70 72 75 71 75 71

One hand# 30 34 31 40 30 36 31 31 29 33

J u m p i n g

Down 8 inches 93 94 93 97 92 97 91 94 96 91

Forwards 8 inches 90 87 87 97 89 95 83 90 91 88

Running broad jump 75 72 75 62 73 79 69 68 72 80

Hopping

3 steps pref. leg 90 89 90 89 89 90 90 87 91 91

6 steps both legs 74 71 72 73 82 66 68 69 73 76

Skips 10 times# 65 55 61 59 66 54 60 58 61 65

Kicking

Stationary ball 91 95 93 92 94 91 94 93 94 93

Moving ball 8 ft. 64 81 72 76 72 71 74 72 70 75

STATIC BALANCE

Pref. leg 5 secs. 89 86 87 91 89 91 83 85 85 95

Pref. leg 8 secs. 72 61 68 59 67 69 64 60 67 75

Tiptoes 5 secs. 70 62 67 57 74 67 58 57 69 73

Either leg 8 secs.# 60 53 57 51 57 57 56 51 56 64

Pref.leg eyes close# 56 52 55 48 55 62 47 49 54 58

Swings pref. leg# 66 55 63 45 55 67 61 55 66 59

Touches toes# 64 52 57 63 66 60 49 57 60 54


APPENDIX III 165

Table 3.4 Acquisition of Fine Motor Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality, and Batch (N=968)

F M KG DN H K NT A B CN 473 495 831 137 318 263 387 307 293 274

Pre-writingPaper control 94 91 92 97 91 94 93 90 93 95Mature Grasp 94 91 92 96 93 92 93 87 96 95

PaintingMature Hold 84 77 80 83 84 87 73 75 81 86Paints picture 43 38 40 39 42 42 37 38 38 45

Modelling Clay/PlasticinePounds etc. 90 87 88 89 89 87 90 85 93 88Rolls snake 76 73 74 79 75 74 75 66 80 79Makes cake 72 69 78 69 70 73 69 58 74 80Rolls ball 71 66 69 65 67 69 70 59 71 77Makes object 28 28 27 32 25 34 26 24 27 33

Pouring waterWalks no spill 61 59 58 74 45 65 54 57 63 60Pours no spill 55 53 53 59 58 67 57 50 56 56

Folding PaperInserts envelope 85 83 82 91 82 82 86 77 86 89Folds horizontal 81 76 79 78 73 81 82 72 81 83Folds vertical 63 53 61 41 53 61 61 46 62 67Folds diagonal 47 37 43 33 38 44 43 28 48 50

Cutting PaperSnips 28 20 23 25 20 29 23 22 21 29Cuts straight 27 15 19 30 15 26 21 18 17 28Cuts square 21 10 14 21 14 18 14 12 14 19Cuts curved 17 11 13 22 11 18 14 10 11 22Cuts out picture 9 5 6 14 7 9 6 6 8 7

Building BlocksBridge 3 blocks 88 85 85 99 87 86 87 86 88 86Tower 9 blocks 72 73 70 86 72 71 74 69 74 74Gate 5 blocks 36 35 34 47 38 40 30 27 39 41

Stringing BeadsStrings 4 large 90 89 88 99 83 90 94 86 88 93Strings 4 small 80 79 77 96 72 81 86 76 77 86

ManipulationWiggles thumb 87 86 86 90 83 86 90 85 84 90Clips clothes peg 84 81 81 90 76 90 82 81 84 83Places 10 objects 80 75 76 85 32 29 39 67 82 83Crumples tissue 70 69 67 85 68 74 67 60 77 71Winds thread 67 61 63 72 64 64 64 59 64 69Touches fingers 66 65 58 77 58 68 56 56 62 63Clips 2 pages 42 32 35 48 39 39 32 30 40 40Sharpens pencil 24 15 19 18 16 18 22 16 19 23Ties knot 11 7 8 15 9 8 9 6 10 10

166 APPENDIX III


F M KG DN H K NT A B CN 512 452 831 137 318 263 387 387 299 273









ManipulationWiggles thumb 98 98 97 100 98 99 96 97 98 98Clips clothes peg 95 96 96 95 92 97 100 95 95 98Places objects 94 91 93 87 90 94 95 91 92 95Crumples tissue 91 89 90 92 86 96 92 88 91 92Winds thread 84 86 84 76 78 85 88 79 83 88Touches fingers 88 80 84 87 77 86 92 84 84 84Clips 2 pages 80 71 76 70 75 79 75 70 79 78Sharpens pencil 65 60 64 50 54 63 73 57 64 68Ties knot 42 37 38 57 30 39 52 37 42 41

APPENDIX III 167


F M KG DN H K NT A B CN 547 531 956 122 379 310 389 364 360 350









ManipulationWiggles thumb 97 96 96 98 97 98 95 99 96 95Clips clothes peg 98 96 97 99 96 99 97 96 98 98Places 10 objects 95 94 94 99 94 98 92 93 96 95Crumples tissue 96 91 93 98 92 98 91 92 94 95Winds thread 95 91 93 97 91 96 93 95 93 93Touches fingers 94 90 92 93 93 94 90 92 89 96Clips 2 pages 92 86 90 82 90 91 86 89 87 80Sharpens pencil 91 85 90 79 84 86 93 88 88 87Ties knot 81 64 73 72 67 77 75 73 74 72

168 APPENDIX III

Appendix IVTables of Personal, Social and Self-careDevelopment

Table 4.1 Acquisition of Interactive and Self-awareness Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender, Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=977)

F M KG DN HK K NT A B CN 476 501 839 138 232 342 403 330 324 323

Interactive SkillsCompliance

Returns Toys 92 89 90 94 90 89 92 93 91 88Helps Adult 86 82 83 91 85 86 81 83 84 85Group games 66 47 44 41 51 61 55 54 57 58No Reminder 38 29 33 39 32 35 33 33 35 33

InteractionGreetings 63 51 58 51 55 56 58 54 58 59Take Turns 63 55 58 65 57 61 58 59 60 57Ask Permission 45 32 35 55 40 44 32 36 39 41Have Friend 58 51 55 47 53 61 49 47 50 66Lead Group# 18 15 16 17 12 19 17 17 18 15

Names Friends:5 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1006–10 63 55 56 76 72 59 51 51 60 65All 37 31 29 58 42 35 28 26 35 40

Play levelAlone 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100Associative 88 84 85 88 87 86 84 86 84 86Cooperative 46 38 42 42 47 41 39 36 41 48

Content of PlayDramatic Play# 59 46 51 57 65 53 44 49 49 59Follows Direction 74 66 68 78 70 73 67 69 74 67Follows Rules 57 48 50 66 47 57 51 51 53 54

Self-awareness SkillsN a m e 97 96 96 99 98 99 94 96 96 97S e x 92 88 90 94 93 93 86 88 89 94Age 81 78 78 86 86 81 72 77 79 82Siblings 71 69 70 70 75 70 65 65 73 71Partial Address 62 60 60 67 57 62 63 58 58 67Whole Address 22 19 20 22 25 18 18 18 23 20Birthday# 5 3 4 4 7 3 2 3 4 4

# Skill not achieved within the age group studied


F M KG DN HK K NT A B C

N 513 452 882 83 237 345 383 322 327 316

Interactive Skills

Compliance

Returns Toys 97 93 100 95 92 96 96 95 98 93

Helps Adult 92 86 89 96 89 91 88 89 89 90

Group games 76 58 67 71 71 65 67 66 67 69

No Reminder 49 38 43 58 44 42 46 44 41 47

Interaction

Greetings 72 66 70 63 62 69 73 67 67 73

Take Turns 80 71 77 66 74 74 79 76 72 79

Ask Permission 67 56 61 71 66 63 59 62 60 65

Have Friend 74 72 74 65 82 70 71 73 75 72

Lead Group# 24 23 24 18 23 24 24 28 21 21

Names Friends:

5 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

6–10 78 77 77 87 80 71 82 72 78 83

All 55 52 51 78 53 48 59 48 57 56

Play level

Alone 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Associative 94 93 94 90 93 94 92 94 93 93

Cooperative 61 55 58 63 55 62 56 57 57 61

Content of Play

Dramatic Play# 66 56 59 89 73 63 53 62 60 63

Follows Directions 83 71 77 80 78 75 79 81 74 78

Follows Rules 78 70 74 78 74 77 72 77 74 73

Self-awareness Skills

N a m e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

S e x 100 99 99 100 99 100 99 99 99 99

Age 94 92 93 91 94 96 90 91 93 96

Siblings 88 86 86 92 86 86 89 82 88 91

Partial Address 53 55 54 49 49 57 58 57 55 50

Whole Address 41 42 41 48 46 42 35 37 40 47

Birthday# 18 15 16 23 22 22 8 14 19 17


170 APPENDIX IV



N 545 529 952 122 283 386 405 365 353 356

Interactive Skills

Compliance

Returns Toys 96 88 91 98 87 95 93 94 93 89

Helps Adult 93 86 89 94 83 94 91 92 88 90

Group games 81 54 68 62 66 68 68 65 68 70

No Reminder 64 49 56 56 57 54 57 51 60 58

Interaction

Greetings 79 68 72 80 70 77 71 69 73 78

Take Turns 86 73 79 80 82 80 77 79 78 81

Ask Permission 76 62 69 72 62 74 70 68 67 73

Have Friend 81 71 78 63 74 82 72 72 74 82

Lead Group# 31 26 29 24 32 32 23 26 28 31

Names Friends:

5 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

6–10 87 86 86 96 87 83 90 86 86 87

All 64 63 61 88 64 55 73 62 63 66

Play level

Alone 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Associative 95 93 94 98 94 95 93 94 91 96

Cooperative 72 62 67 68 69 65 68 66 67 68

Content of Play

Dramatic Play# 68 51 59 62 60 63 55 53 62 63

Follows Directions 87 72 80 75 78 81 79 81 80 78

Follows Rules 87 74 81 80 79 80 82 80 78 84

Self-awareness Skills

N a m e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 99 100

S e x 99 99 99 99 99 100 99 100 99 100

Age 99 99 99 99 100 99 98 100 97 99

Siblings 91 93 92 94 90 94 93 90 95 92

Partial Address 36 42 38 47 36 33 47 41 42 34

Whole Address 71 65 69 62 69 71 65 65 69 71

Birthday# 52 43 48 41 54 54 36 41 51 50


APPENDIX IV 171

Table 4.4 Acquisition of Self-care Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality, and Batch (N=929)


Dry Hands 95 89 91 98 95 92 88 91 92 93Wash Hands 82 71 74 95 67 77 83 77 77 74Wash Face 72 66 70 58 75 69 64 68 67 69Turns Taps 77 72 74 82 72 71 80 74 76 75Wipes Nose 69 63 66 60 69 61 66 66 67 60Toilet 61 53 55 71 56 55 58 57 58 54Combs Hair 49 36 43 43 40 46 43 43 46 39Hangs Clothes 63 59 63 51 75 63 49 62 63 59Undresses 78 67 71 82 67 72 78 70 74 74Dresses 62 44 52 56 53 49 55 51 53 52Buttons 63 55 60 50 57 58 61 55 64 56Zips 80 77 80 66 84 80 72 77 76 81S h o e s 71 65 68 66 68 68 69 68 69 65Drinks 59 59 54 91 45 62 68 60 61 60Cuts Knife 49 44 51 18 57 43 40 47 46 44Chopsticks/Rice 84 70 77 75 73 74 81 79 76 74Chopsticks/Meat 61 53 55 67 46 54 67 55 57 55




172 APPENDIX IV




APPENDIX IV 173

Table 4.7 Acquisition of Social Competency Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender,Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=973) (TeacherAssessment)


N 475 498 835 138 232 342 399 319 307 286

1. Takes Time 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Dawdles 85 78 82 83 75 85 82 86 79 81

Slowly 65 51 58 60 53 61 57 65 56 55

Promptly 35 29 33 29 29 35 31 42 27 29

2. Points 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Combines 93 90 91 95 94 90 91 92 91 91

More Verbal 81 69 74 82 78 74 74 73 73 78

Verbal 44 28 32 57 43 33 34 32 34 39

9. Single Word 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Self Talk 83 76 78 87 84 78 78 79 78 81

Appropriate Response 75 66 69 80 72 70 70 70 67 72

Lead Talk 30 22 24 39 25 28 26 22 26 30

3. N o n e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Upon instruction 96 96 96 99 99 96 94 95 97 95

Occasionally 73 71 71 79 79 75 65 73 71 71

Frequently 29 25 27 27 28 24 28 25 28 28

6. Not Ask 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Occasionally Ask 85 76 80 85 87 81 75 74 82 84

Frequently Ask 41 35 36 50 45 42 30 33 43 37

Always Ask 10 8 8 13 12 9 6 8 13 6

7. No Return 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Occasionally Return 89 80 84 89 86 91 78 78 88 86

Frequently Return 60 48 53 63 56 65 44 50 57 54

Always Return 20 15 16 27 16 24 14 15 20 19

10. Avoid 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Respond 89 89 88 92 90 91 87 90 88 89

Passive Movement 50 45 46 54 48 52 43 48 44 50

Active Movement 16 14 14 19 11 18 14 15 15 16

4. Bad Temper 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Substi tute 91 89 91 89 94 88 91 89 91 92

Seeks Help 75 66 72 65 78 71 67 69 60 73

Tries by Self 30 27 29 30 37 25 28 33 29 26

5. Relies Help 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Tries Nothing 75 70 70 85 80 74 65 76 69 71

Tries First 53 45 48 51 51 54 42 53 48 42

Tries Alone 14 13 13 15 14 14 12 16 13 12

8. No Settle 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Run Around 88 82 83 91 87 84 84 85 84 83

With Encouragement 78 64 69 80 70 74 68 72 71 66

Concentration 39 30 33 42 27 41 33 39 35 29

174 APPENDIX IV



N 513 452 882 83 237 345 383 329 306 287

1. Takes Time 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Dawdles 91 83 88 82 90 83 89 87 90 86

Slowly 67 57 63 56 65 58 65 63 65 58

Promptly 41 37 40 34 41 37 40 45 37 34

2. Points 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Combines 95 96 96 93 94 94 98 96 97 93

More Verbal 85 84 85 84 87 81 86 85 87 82

Verbal 53 51 51 60 54 49 53 53 49 53

9. Single Word 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Self Talk 86 83 84 95 87 83 84 82 84 88


Lead Talk 30 32 30 47 35 26 33 28 30 36

3. N o n e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Occasionally 87 80 83 81 80 82 85 81 84 83

Frequently 56 42 52 54 52 49 54 49 52 52

6. Not Ask 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Frequently Ask 73 61 67 70 64 68 67 62 68 71

Always Ask 22 18 19 36 22 18 20 19 16 25

7. No Return 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100



Always Return 47 45 45 60 48 46 46 49 40 48

10. Avoid 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Respond 92 92 92 94 95 91 92 94 92 91


Active Movement 18 21 17 36 27 16 17 18 20 19

4. Bad Temper 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Substi tute 95 90 94 82 92 93 93 92 93 92

Seeks Help 84 73 80 71 78 81 77 78 81 78

Tries by Self 40 36 38 39 42 33 40 42 39 30

5. Relies Help 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Tries Nothing 79 74 76 83 78 76 76 79 75 72

Tries First 54 53 52 64 61 48 53 57 54 47

Tries Alone 19 19 20 10 21 19 17 22 20 14

8. No Settle 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Run Around 92 87 90 91 93 86 91 90 92 87


Concentration 46 33 40 43 51 32 40 42 40 37

APPENDIX IV 175



N 547 530 955 122 282 385 410 355 338 325

1. Takes Time 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Dawdles 93 84 89 87 86 91 88 89 89 87

Slowly 77 62 70 69 68 69 70 69 69 69

Promptly 51 39 45 46 46 42 47 48 46 40

2. Points 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Combines 99 98 98 99 99 99 98 99 98 98

More Verbal 95 92 93 97 93 94 94 95 90 93

Verbal 71 65 66 82 61 68 73 68 63 72

9. Single Word 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Self Talk 90 84 86 97 89 88 87 89 87 87


Lead Talk 43 33 36 50 36 38 40 37 38 38

3. N o n e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Occasionally 95 87 91 96 91 94 89 90 90 93

Frequently 74 50 63 57 61 61 64 60 60 64

6. Not Ask 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Frequently Ask 82 61 71 74 69 76 68 67 73 73

Always Ask 41 25 33 31 30 34 34 26 36 36

7. No Return 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100



Always Return 65 52 60 49 58 51 65 56 58 60

10. Avoid 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Respond 96 95 95 98 96 97 93 96 95 95


Active Movement 24 26 24 30 23 27 24 21 25 29

4. Bad Temper 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Substi tute 98 94 96 94 94 98 96 96 95 97

Seeks Help 90 78 84 82 83 86 82 83 83 85

Tries by Self 51 40 45 47 47 45 45 46 45 45

5. Relies Help 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Tries Nothing 86 79 81 92 86 81 81 85 79 82

Tries First 62 57 57 72 64 61 55 62 58 56

Tries Alone 24 21 21 29 22 23 22 18 26 21

8. No Settle 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Run Around 95 87 91 94 92 93 89 91 92 91


Concentration 57 38 47 53 54 45 45 47 47 49

176 APPENDIX IV

Table 4.10 Acquisition of Social Competency Skills by 3-year-olds byGender, Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=920) (ParentAssessment)


N 446 474 800 120 294 266 360 298 290 270

1. Takes Time 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Dawdles 70 59 64 67 62 60 68 68 61 61

Slowly 46 35 40 41 42 38 40 44 39 35

Promptly 21 15 17 26 11 17 23 20 19 14

2. Points 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Combines 96 96 95 98 97 96 95 95 96 96

More Verbal 70 67 64 94 56 70 78 72 67 67

Verbal 19 25 21 27 12 19 33 22 23 21

9. Single Word 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Self Talk 94 94 94 96 96 95 93 93 96 95


Lead Talk 34 28 28 51 18 34 39 33 32 30

3. N o n e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Occasionally 68 66 65 81 65 60 73 70 66 66

Frequently 27 20 24 20 27 18 24 26 22 22

6. Not Ask 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Frequently Ask 30 35 30 46 31 27 37 33 31 30

Always Ask 9 11 9 15 8 9 12 13 9 6

7. No Return 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100



Always Return 27 26 25 37 21 26 32 30 27 22

10. Avoid 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Respond 86 89 86 98 88 87 89 88 88 88


Active Movement 34 36 37 20 52 32 23 37 34 34

4. Bad Temper 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Substi tute 83 81 83 68 87 80 79 79 82 83

Seeks Help 68 64 67 60 66 64 66 66 65 65

Tries by Self 33 30 32 28 28 32 33 32 28 33

5. Relies Help 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Tries Nothing 78 71 76 80 81 78 72 77 75 77

Tries First 49 45 46 55 45 49 48 49 46 47

Tries Alone 14 15 14 20 14 17 14 17 13 14

8. No Settle 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Run Around 84 78 80 87 81 82 80 81 89 82


Concentration 13 12 11 23 11 14 13 14 14 10

APPENDIX IV 177



N 463 432 809 86 347 231 317 314 288 254

1. Takes Time 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Dawdles 74 60 61 68 60 56 68 69 59 57

Slowly 49 30 34 39 36 28 38 41 32 30

Promptly 14 12 11 23 9 9 18 16 10 11

2. Points 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Combines 97 97 97 95 97 97 97 98 96 97

More Verbal 64 64 61 93 49 67 78 66 62 62

Verbal 23 22 19 55 9 24 36 24 22 21

9. Single Word 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Self Talk 96 94 95 97 95 93 97 95 95 95


Lead Talk 26 21 20 61 13 25 35 24 24 24

3. N o n e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Occasionally 66 60 63 92 54 68 78 67 64 66

Frequently 27 26 26 28 24 28 29 26 26 28

6. Not Ask 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Frequently Ask 39 37 36 55 31 40 44 43 35 35

Always Ask 16 13 14 25 8 15 22 17 11 15

7. No Return 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100



Always Return 29 32 28 53 19 32 41 32 29 26

10. Avoid 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Respond 82 86 83 99 84 84 84 85 81 86


Active Movement 36 42 40 24 54 34 25 40 36 42

4. Bad Temper 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Substi tute 87 86 89 70 91 91 79 85 87 89

Seeks Help 68 70 69 65 68 72 67 68 67 71

Tries by Self 27 34 31 25 31 35 26 30 30 31

5. Relies Help 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Tries Nothing 75 73 74 76 75 77 70 82 68 70

Tries First 38 45 40 54 34 42 48 48 35 40

Tries Alone 13 14 12 25 10 17 14 16 11 12

8. No Settle 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Run Around 83 80 81 91 78 79 88 85 81 77


Concentration 11 11 9 24 7 13 14 15 10 6

178 APPENDIX IV



N 524 504 909 119 364 293 371 346 324 306

1. Takes Time 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Dawdles 68 58 65 57 67 64 60 66 64 60

Slowly 46 32 40 39 43 39 37 41 39 37

Promptly 18 9 12 25 9 19 14 12 15 15

2. Points 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Combines 98 97 97 97 96 99 97 97 98 97

More Verbal 68 66 63 92 52 72 77 67 68 66

Verbal 20 21 18 36 10 21 31 18 22 23

9. Single Word 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Self Talk 96 92 94 96 94 94 94 92 96 93


Lead Talk 26 23 20 59 13 31 31 23 25 25

3. N o n e 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Occasionally 72 68 67 90 60 74 77 72 70 69

Frequently 27 28 26 38 21 34 29 29 25 29

6. Not Ask 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100


Frequently Ask 48 43 42 71 35 46 56 51 44 41

Always Ask 14 13 12 24 7 12 21 13 12 15

7. No Return 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100



Always Return 32 31 28 58 21 32 42 32 31 33

10. Avoid 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Respond 87 88 86 100 87 89 86 86 86 89


Active Movement 40 40 42 29 55 34 30 41 38 40

4. Bad Temper 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Substi tute 89 88 89 84 93 88 85 87 90 88

Seeks Help 71 71 70 78 71 73 70 69 73 72

Tries by Self 30 35 32 35 30 35 34 30 35 33

5. Relies Help 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Tries Nothing 78 71 74 73 75 78 71 75 73 75

Tries First 44 43 41 55 35 49 46 44 39 46

Tries Alone 11 12 10 19 5 17 13 9 11 14

8. No Settle 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Run Around 88 81 84 91 85 83 85 82 86 86


Concentration 16 15 14 28 8 16 21 16 15 15

APPENDIX IV 179

Appendix VTables of Cognitive Development

Table 5.1 Acquisition of Pictorial Concepts by 3-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=983)


Concepts:Clean 97 95 96 98 96 98 94 96 98 94Dirty 97 96 97 99 97 98 95 96 96 97Fat 96 95 96 96 96 97 94 93 97 94Thin 81 81 82 83 79 85 79 75 83 87O p e n 98 98 98 100 99 98 97 97 99 97Closed 95 93 94 97 95 98 90 92 97 93Night 82 80 80 92 84 87 75 79 82 83Day 81 77 77 92 82 83 74 78 77 82Full 90 88 90 87 91 94 84 89 91 88Empty 86 87 86 91 88 91 82 83 87 89Different 77 69 72 78 72 75 71 72 72 74S a m e 24 23 23 28 29 27 17 19 22 29Nearest 65 64 63 79 67 73 56 58 64 72Corner 64 62 63 64 71 64 58 58 63 68Thick 56 54 56 53 60 54 54 55 53 57Thin 58 53 56 60 60 55 54 53 53 62Widest 45 49 48 42 46 45 50 48 45 48Almost 40 43 43 38 38 46 40 44 39 42Furthest 27 24 24 38 28 27 22 25 22 30

Sorts:People/not 86 84 85 88 79 93 82 84 85 86Food/not 80 76 79 75 72 84 77 75 76 84Animal/not 82 75 78 84 76 87 72 75 77 83Clothes/not 76 68 73 73 65 80 70 67 71 78

Object/attribute/action:Fat cat 91 90 91 93 88 94 89 88 93 91Thin man 77 77 77 80 79 82 72 75 79 77Small/round 55 48 49 70 54 57 45 46 50 58

Groups:Shoe/sock 75 74 75 72 71 81 70 64 80 80Table/chair 59 57 58 59 56 64 54 47 61 66Brush/easel 44 37 41 38 46 47 30 28 45 48Torch/battery 47 43 46 38 49 56 33 35 46 53

Negation:Not book 62 62 62 67 66 66 57 56 62 70“ fruit 57 56 53 65 55 58 50 48 52 63“ 1st/last 28 28 29 27 25 32 27 25 22 38

APPENDIX V 181



N 513 453 882 83 391 255 320 390 254 320

Concepts:

Clean 100 100 100 100 99 100 100 100 100 100

Dirty 99 99 99 99 99 99 100 99 99 100

Fat 100 99 100 99 98 100 100 98 99 100

Thin 96 98 98 99 95 97 98 96 97 97

O p e n 100 99 100 99 99 100 100 99 100 100

Closed 100 98 99 100 99 99 99 98 99 100

Night 97 97 97 95 96 97 97 96 98 95

Day 94 96 96 89 93 96 95 96 95 94

Full 98 97 98 95 95 98 98 98 96 97

Empty 97 98 97 96 95 98 98 96 98 98

Different 93 91 92 93 93 89 93 89 92 94

S a m e 64 57 61 63 63 60 59 53 60 70

Nearest 85 85 85 83 81 85 88 85 85 85

Corner 89 87 88 89 86 93 85 88 87 89

Thick 58 59 59 57 58 55 62 59 59 59

Thin 68 69 70 57 69 69 68 66 68 71

Widest 48 50 48 55 53 47 48 48 46 52

Almost 65 68 68 70 68 67 66 61 72 67

Furthest 50 53 50 65 50 57 47 50 48 56

Sorts:

People/not 97 97 97 95 95 98 98 96 98 97

Food/not 95 95 95 95 93 97 95 95 96 95

Animal/not 95 94 95 95 92 98 93 94 95 94

Clothes/not 91 89 91 80 84 97 97 88 90 91

Object/attribute/action:

Fat cat 99 96 98 99 97 99 97 97 98 98

Thin man 89 86 88 89 84 92 86 86 87 90

Small/round 88 82 86 84 86 87 83 83 84 90

Groups:

Shoe/sock 92 90 92 86 86 95 90 88 93 92

Table/chair 87 85 86 83 83 91 83 83 87 88

Brush/easel 79 73 77 68 70 83 73 71 81 77

Torch/battery 77 74 76 72 71 80 74 71 79 78

Negation:

Not book 91 89 90 89 88 93 90 89 91 91

“ fruit 95 92 94 90 91 95 93 93 94 93

“ 1st/last 68 65 55 75 63 70 64 67 62 70



N 553 536 957 128 379 310 400 379 309 389

Concepts:

Clean 98 98 98 100 99 100 97 99 98 97

Dirty 99 99 99 100 100 100 97 98 100 99

Fat 99 99 100 100 100 100 98 99 100 99

Thin 98 99 99 99 99 100 97 99 100 98

O p e n 99 99 100 100 100 100 98 100 100 99

Closed 99 99 99 100 100 100 98 100 99 99

Night 98 98 99 99 99 100 96 98 99 98

Day 97 97 98 96 99 98 96 97 98 97

Full 97 98 98 98 98 100 96 99 97 97

Empty 98 98 98 100 98 100 97 99 99 97

Different 96 96 96 94 97 96 95 96 96 96

S a m e 82 80 81 81 82 84 78 80 83 87

Nearest 94 91 94 90 92 96 91 91 95 93

Corner 96 95 96 97 96 98 93 94 96 96

Thick 77 77 76 83 82 78 73 72 81 78

Thin 83 83 83 82 83 87 79 82 84 83

Widest 75 68 72 73 71 73 71 72 71 73

Almost 87 87 88 85 91 89 83 87 86 89

Furthest 75 79 77 77 78 83 70 76 77 78

Sorts:

People/not 96 96 98 93 96 97 95 98 96 94

Food/not 96 96 98 93 98 97 95 98 96 94

Animal/not 96 95 97 95 96 97 94 96 96 94

Clothes/not 95 93 96 87 96 94 92 94 94 94

Object/attribute/action:

Fat cat 99 98 99 99 99 100 96 98 99 98

Thin man 95 92 94 92 94 96 91 93 96 92

Small/round 96 94 95 98 94 97 94 95 97 94

Groups:

Shoe/sock 95 94 96 88 94 96 94 94 95 94

Table/chair 93 93 95 88 92 95 93 94 94 93

Brush/easel 91 88 91 84 89 93 88 89 92 89

Torch/battery 80 87 90 82 85 91 87 86 91 88

Negation:

Not book 93 94 95 95 94 95 92 94 94 94

“ fruit 97 96 97 99 98 99 95 97 98 96

“ 1st/last 88 88 88 88 89 93 82 87 87 87

182 APPENDIX V

APPENDIX V 183

Table 5.4 Acquisition of Concrete Concepts by 3-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=983)


Sorts 4 colours 86 79 63 69 69 72 53 76 88 89Names Colours:

Red 86 80 81 87 83 82 81 76 84 88Yellow 81 73 75 86 82 77 71 67 80 84Black 79 72 74 82 81 77 68 64 81 82Green 72 66 67 78 74 66 66 63 68 76White 71 64 65 78 72 66 64 54 72 77Blue 69 62 63 78 73 63 60 58 67 72Orange 66 58 59 73 70 60 55 53 64 71Brown 60 50 52 68 65 58 42 49 54 63Purple 53 36 40 67 52 51 32 39 42 53

Names Shapes:Circle 82 79 78 89 82 87 74 73 85 86Star 70 68 68 72 72 70 65 64 71 73Squa re 67 64 64 73 67 67 63 57 66 74Triangle 67 65 64 78 66 73 61 60 65 74Rectangle 46 45 43 59 51 55 34 34 46 56Semicircle 13 9 9 25 13 14 7 8 9 17Hexagon# 4 5 5 4 6 2 6 6 3 7

Names Gender/Age:Boys 68 63 68 38 68 52 70 66 64 68M e n 37 31 35 23 41 30 29 30 36 36Girls 69 63 68 44 68 54 70 66 64 70W o m e n 35 29 34 17 41 26 27 28 34 34

Recognizes Concrete Concepts:Hot 97 98 97 93 94 97 98 96 96 99Cold 98 97 96 97 93 99 97 98 95 99Loud 96 95 94 96 93 97 94 94 96 96Soft 95 92 93 91 91 95 93 90 93 96Heavy 95 93 93 91 92 94 93 91 95 95Light 94 92 92 94 91 95 90 90 94 94Hard 84 83 83 80 83 82 83 80 84 88Soft 85 82 83 83 82 84 82 80 83 89S m o o t h 77 74 75 76 79 78 70 75 75 79Rough 76 73 75 70 78 77 69 72 75 78

Right/Left Orientation:Right Hand 53 57 54 57 55 59 52 54 55 55Left Leg 37 40 37 46 40 38 37 37 38 42Left Ear 32 33 32 35 34 31 32 31 31 37Right Eye 47 48 45 62 47 49 47 46 49 48Right Leg 46 44 43 54 45 52 39 42 42 51Left Hand 41 37 38 44 35 43 38 35 39 42











184 APPENDIX V

APPENDIX V 185










Table 5.7 Acquisition of Cognitive Processes by 3-year-olds by Gender,Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=971)


Perception (Embedded figures)Hide Ch. 53 50 50 61 64 50 43 46 53 55Ch.Glass. 43 40 41 44 52 42 31 41 42 39Boy Glass. 37 36 36 40 49 38 25 37 32 40

OrderingBlow ball 23 20 21 27 23 22 20 18 19 29Flower 9 9 10 7 9 4 13 5 11 13Get up 14 15 13 21 15 16 12 12 16 16

Pattern PredictionPos.1 41 39 40 38 37 34 47 36 38 44Pos.2 15 14 14 15 13 13 16 14 15 14Pos.3# 11 12 12 7 10 10 14 13 13 10Pos.4# 8 8 7 9 7 5 10 10 7 6

M e m o r yMem1(4) 96 96 96 100 97 96 96 95 97 97Mem2(6) 69 67 67 77 69 70 66 63 70 70Mem3(9) 32 27 29 34 33 28 28 22 32 32Mem4(15)# 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 5 4

186 APPENDIX V















APPENDIX V 187

Appendix VITables of Language Development

Table 6.1 Acquisition of Language Comprehension by 3-year-olds byGender, Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=983)


Use of ObjectsFeet 97 97 97 99 95 98 98 96 97 98Drinking 96 97 97 99 95 98 98 96 97 98Cutting 95 94 94 99 94 94 95 93 95 95Reading 94 91 92 96 92 92 94 91 95 93Driving 90 89 89 94 90 91 88 88 90 91

ActionsSleeping 97 95 95 98 92 97 97 95 95 97Eating 85 82 83 86 83 81 86 81 86 84Running 80 77 78 80 77 75 81 79 79 77Dressing 73 71 71 75 72 70 72 66 76 73

PrepositionsO n 93 91 91 96 92 93 92 91 94 92Under 80 78 78 85 78 78 80 71 82 83Behind 69 62 63 79 66 68 63 58 66 72In Front 58 57 56 66 56 55 60 51 56 65Beside 50 50 48 60 50 45 53 42 52 55

Use of Verb TensesPresent Continuous (-ing)

All 3 65 61 62 68 63 68 59 57 65 672 correct 85 83 82 93 85 89 79 82 85 851 correct 95 92 92 100 92 97 91 92 94 93

Past (-ed)All 3 44 34 38 44 42 33 40 36 38 422 correct 66 68 60 72 63 65 58 60 62 631 correct 80 86 77 83 76 80 77 76 78 80

Follows 3-step Instruction1st instruction

3 steps 73 67 71 66 74 68 69 67 69 752 steps 83 80 81 87 81 87 80 80 82 841 step 90 89 89 99 91 95 87 90 90 92

2nd instruction3 steps 62 52 59 47 59 54 58 55 55 622 steps 73 65 69 70 77 73 69 68 68 731 step 87 85 85 93 94 91 86 87 85 89



N 513 453 882 84 391 255 320 337 318 311

Use of Objects

Feet 95 95 97 74 94 96 96 99 93 93

Drinking 96 95 98 75 95 96 96 99 93 95

Cutting 94 95 96 74 93 95 95 98 92 92

Reading 94 94 96 71 92 96 95 96 93 93

Driving 94 93 96 73 92 95 95 96 92 93

Actions

Sleeping 99 98 99 98 99 98 98 98 99 99

Eating 94 96 95 95 95 98 92 92 95 97

Running 92 93 93 91 95 93 89 89 93 96

Dressing 92 91 92 89 94 91 88 89 93 92

Prepositions

O n 96 93 94 92 94 94 95 92 95 95

Under 92 88 90 87 88 91 92 90 87 93

Behind 88 83 86 86 85 88 84 81 84 92

In Front 87 81 84 87 85 83 83 82 83 88

Beside 73 72 73 71 72 74 72 69 68 81

Use of Verb Tenses

Present Continuous (-ing)

All 3 90 87 89 87 90 93 85 85 90 92

2 correct 98 97 98 95 97 100 98 97 98 98

1 correct 99 98 99 96 98 100 100 98 99 99

Past (-ed)

All 3 71 68 70 68 78 74 56 66 68 75

2 correct 90 85 88 85 88 91 85 86 88 90

1 correct 97 95 96 95 96 98 95 97 95 97

Follows 3-step Instruction

1st instruction

3 steps 86 83 85 77 84 93 79 84 82 88

2 steps 94 93 94 87 91 99 92 93 93 95

1 step 99 98 99 97 98 100 98 98 99 99

2nd instruction

3 steps 77 74 77 61 75 80 73 74 75 78

2 steps 87 87 88 74 85 89 87 85 86 89

1 step 99 95 98 87 95 98 98 96 95 99

APPENDIX VI 189



N 553 536 957 132 379 310 400 368 366 355

Use of Objects

Feet 88 88 88 89 90 89 87 95 84 87

Drinking 88 89 88 89 90 89 86 94 85 85

Cutting 88 88 87 89 89 89 85 94 84 85

Reading 87 88 87 89 89 89 84 94 83 85

Driving 87 87 87 89 89 89 84 94 83 84

Actions

Sleeping 99 99 99 96 100 100 96 100 98 98

Eating 98 98 98 94 98 99 96 98 98 97

Running 97 98 98 94 99 98 96 99 97 96

Dressing 97 95 97 89 98 97 94 96 97 96

Prepositions

O n 94 94 94 91 92 99 91 96 94 92

Under 91 91 91 89 91 95 89 91 92 90

Behind 92 91 93 88 90 98 89 94 91 90

In Front 92 91 93 86 89 97 90 93 92 91

Beside 86 86 86 86 87 92 82 87 86 86

Use of Verb Tenses

Present Continuous (-ing)

All 3 95 93 96 83 96 96 91 96 93 93

2 correct 99 98 99 96 100 100 95 99 98 96

1 correct 100 99 100 97 100 100 97 100 100 96

Past (-ed)

All 3 86 84 86 80 90 90 76 86 83 86

2 correct 95 94 95 84 98 96 90 96 93 95

1 correct 98 97 98 94 100 98 96 99 98 97

Follows 3-step Instruction

1st instruction

3 steps 89 86 88 86 89 91 83 90 86 86

2 steps 94 92 94 91 94 94 90 95 93 91

1 step 98 98 99 96 98 99 96 99 98 97

2nd instruction

3 steps 79 79 82 60 77 84 78 80 79 79

2 steps 87 86 89 66 87 88 86 88 86 86

1 step 96 97 97 87 99 98 94 97 96 96

190 APPENDIX VI

APPENDIX VI 191

Table 6.4 Acquisition of Language Production Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=748)


Functions of ObjectsKeys 86 83 85 85 82 90 82 80 89 84Books 74 76 74 79 80 74 72 71 77 77Wok 69 65 68 60 70 63 68 66 69 65Lights 41 38 38 45 44 43 32 40 36 41Car 42 39 42 40 43 41 38 42 42 37


Mouth 96 93 94 94 95 93 95 91 95 96Eyes 86 89 88 85 87 86 89 80 90 92Ears 79 78 78 81 83 77 76 69 84 82N o s e 69 69 67 76 74 70 65 66 72 69

Appropriate BehaviourHungry 92 90 90 97 95 87 85 79 85 85Cold 86 82 84 85 85 83 85 81 85 86Sleepy 80 77 78 83 84 75 76 72 80 84

FeelingsAngry 45 43 43 54 53 39 41 41 43 49Happy# 15 19 16 22 18 19 15 16 12 24Sad # 4 4 3 5 3 7 2 5 2 5

Body PartsHead 86 82 83 87 85 84 83 80 85 87Hand 70 71 71 69 71 68 70 75 71 60Eyebrow 50 38 41 61 51 49 35 40 42 50Thumb 56 40 44 68 55 50 42 48 46 50Chin 49 41 43 56 51 50 36 44 42 48Knee 31 20 23 43 34 27 18 22 25 31Palm# 21 18 17 30 17 23 18 18 18 21Arm# 16 12 16 4 11 10 19 16 13 14Heel# 5 2 3 8 5 4 3 2 4 6Elbow# 6 4 4 10 6 6 4 2 4 6

Consistency of ObjectsChair 46 49 48 45 43 44 54 40 45 54Window 45 43 43 50 45 45 43 32 46 55Book 27 25 26 25 28 19 30 23 24 31Clothes 28 23 26 22 22 24 29 20 26 31House# 32 31 31 34 33 33 30 28 31 36

Source of ActionFlies 87 86 85 93 90 91 80 82 88 87S w i m s 76 70 72 78 77 73 70 69 73 76Burns 73 69 70 79 71 74 69 66 75 72Cuts 69 66 68 64 63 67 72 60 68 74Bites 68 65 66 71 66 75 61 60 71 68Shoo t s 50 53 50 58 61 49 46 47 51 57Melts 47 41 43 48 53 44 37 40 51 41Barks 48 43 45 46 41 45 50 47 46 43Boils# 45 43 43 49 45 43 45 42 43 48Runs fast# 46 43 43 52 50 41 43 45 44 44Floats# 19 19 17 29 22 23 14 16 18 24

Temporal AwarenessRelationship time/action

Sleep 82 83 82 85 83 82 83 80 82 86Breakfast 74 72 73 74 77 69 72 71 70 77Get up 72 71 70 80 72 73 70 70 75 71

ClockN a m e s 96 95 95 95 97 97 93 93 96 97U s e 38 26 34 25 41 29 28 31 34 33

Days of weekMon.-Sat. 59 50 52 68 65 65 55 47 56 61Sunday 12 15 13 21 17 13 12 11 12 18

Opposi tesHot 74 71 69 90 78 70 70 70 75 72Big 61 58 57 74 64 57 57 56 59 63Light 43 43 42 46 45 40 43 40 44 43Shor t 17 15 18 8 16 9 22 13 16 20Fast 15 14 16 7 13 6 22 14 13 17Wide# 2 1 2 1 1 1 3 2 1 3

Language Fluency (Naming animals)1–5 94 89 91 95 97 93 87 87 87 956–10 40 40 37 55 48 40 34 35 32 4611–15# 5 6 5 8 8 3 6 4 2 10














ClockN a m e s 98 96 97 98 99 97 95 97 95 99U s e 53 59 56 53 48 63 60 49 58 61





192 APPENDIX VI

APPENDIX VI 193













ClockN a m e s 98 97 97 97 99 96 96 97 97 98U s e 66 62 64 65 63 71 60 61 62 70





Appendix VIITables of Preacademic Learning

NUMBER

Table 7.1 Acquisition of Mathematical Concepts by 3-year-olds by Gender,Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=983)


Big 98 99 99 100 99 100 98 99 100 97Tall 96 98 96 100 97 99 95 95 99 96Short (man) 93 92 92 94 92 96 90 88 96 93Long 96 97 96 100 97 99 95 96 99 97Short (hair) 86 84 84 91 84 90 83 80 89 86Small 97 96 96 98 97 95 95 95 99 96Many 95 94 94 97 95 97 93 93 98 93All 85 82 83 90 86 85 81 78 84 89Smaller 79 77 77 83 80 79 77 74 79 81Scat tered 81 72 76 78 74 80 75 70 79 80Bigger 74 74 74 71 68 72 79 68 74 79Same shape 73 79 74 87 75 87 68 71 77 79Around 65 60 61 73 64 66 59 58 65 65Few 58 54 55 60 57 59 52 48 61 58Each 59 52 57 46 52 55 58 48 62 56First 84 78 79 91 82 86 77 74 81 88Second 41 38 37 57 40 45 35 29 40 50Third 42 38 38 51 45 44 33 29 45 47Last 60 58 58 66 56 65 57 49 61 67Middle (3) 64 55 59 62 65 58 57 48 63 69Middle (5) 34 28 30 35 31 32 30 24 29 39Middle (7) 31 26 28 31 31 30 26 22 27 37More: 9, 3 89 86 87 88 92 93 80 86 87 89

8, 6 69 66 65 83 68 83 56 65 68 7016, 15 39 42 39 47 41 53 32 34 43 46

Less: 9, 3 90 87 88 93 91 98 80 85 91 908, 6 78 75 75 85 79 87 66 72 78 7916, 15 35 37 34 44 39 44 27 32 37 38

Cake: Half 29 25 27 25 31 25 24 22 25 33Quarter# 7 7 9 1 10 3 9 6 9 7Third# 7 7 8 1 8 3 9 6 7 8

Middle circle 61 61 60 63 61 59 61 53 60 70




N 513 453 882 84 391 255 320 337 318 311

Big 99 100 100 99 100 100 100 100 100 100

Tall 99 100 100 99 99 100 100 99 100 99

Short (man) 99 99 99 98 99 98 99 98 99 100

Long 100 99 100 99 99 100 99 99 100 99

Short (hair) 99 99 99 96 99 99 99 98 99 99

Small 99 99 99 98 100 99 99 98 99 100

Many 99 99 99 99 99 99 100 99 99 100

All 97 96 96 99 96 97 97 96 95 98

Smaller 89 90 89 92 91 89 88 88 87 94

Scat tered 96 93 94 95 93 95 96 94 93 96

Bigger 93 92 92 96 93 89 94 91 90 96

Same shape 93 93 94 89 90 97 94 91 94 95

Around 80 78 79 83 77 80 80 77 81 79

Few 74 73 74 75 74 78 69 76 71 73

Each 83 79 81 80 76 89 81 81 80 83

First 99 99 99 95 98 99 99 99 98 98

Second 85 84 85 87 83 89 83 81 85 88

Third 95 93 95 91 92 97 95 91 95 97

Last 94 93 93 96 92 96 94 91 95 95

Middle (3) 94 90 92 91 91 95 91 88 93 96

Middle (5) 76 72 74 75 75 80 69 67 76 80

Middle (7) 76 71 74 76 75 80 68 67 74 80

Middle circle 88 86 87 85 83 89 91 85 88 89

More: 9, 3 98 98 98 99 99 94 100 98 98 97

8, 6 90 87 88 94 88 85 92 86 89 91

16, 15 56 59 58 49 57 58 57 57 55 59

Less: 9, 3 96 97 96 96 96 93 99 95 98 96

8, 6 94 92 93 95 91 91 96 91 94 95

16, 15 56 56 57 45 59 52 57 54 54 61

Cake: Half 63 60 61 69 62 70 54 59 61 65

Quarter# 9 9 9 6 7 12 9 10 8 9

Third# 6 6 6 2 6 6 5 7 6 5


APPENDIX VII 195



N 553 536 957 132 379 310 400 368 366 355

Big 99 99 99 96 100 100 98 100 98 99

Tall 99 99 99 96 100 100 98 100 99 99

Short (man) 99 98 99 96 99 100 97 99 99 98

Long 99 99 99 96 100 100 97 100 98 99

Short (hair) 98 99 99 96 99 100 97 99 98 99

Small 99 98 99 96 99 100 97 99 98 99

Many 99 98 99 96 100 99 97 100 98 98

All 96 96 96 98 97 98 93 95 96 97

Smaller 96 97 97 91 98 96 94 95 96 97

Scat tered 97 96 97 95 98 98 94 98 96 96

Bigger 98 99 99 96 98 99 98 98 98 99

Same shape 97 96 96 95 97 99 94 98 98 95

Around 88 86 88 82 92 88 82 86 88 88

Few 87 84 87 74 88 90 80 85 88 84

Each 94 91 94 86 94 96 89 93 92 93

First 99 98 99 96 100 99 97 100 98 98

Second 90 91 91 90 92 95 86 90 91 91

Third 99 98 99 96 100 99 97 100 98 98

Last 98 98 99 96 100 99 96 99 98 97

Middle (3) 98 98 98 94 99 100 96 98 98 98

Middle (5) 92 91 92 86 94 93 86 91 91 92

Middle (7) 91 90 91 89 95 92 85 90 91 90

More: 9, 3 99 98 98 96 100 100 95 100 98 97

8, 6 97 97 97 94 99 98 93 99 95 96

16, 15 70 68 70 62 72 73 63 72 68 67

Less: 9, 3 97 96 97 96 98 100 93 98 96 97

8, 6 96 96 96 96 98 99 91 98 95 93

16, 15 70 66 68 63 67 74 64 69 68 66

Cake: Half 86 81 84 84 87 90 76 81 85 86

Quarter# 32 30 34 8 23 38 32 25 31 36

Third# 18 17 19 4 14 21 19 14 19 20

Middle circle 95 94 95 90 97 97 90 94 94 95


196 APPENDIX VII

Table 7.4 Acquisition of Early Number Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender,Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=976)


Rote Counts:1–3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1004–10 84 82 82 89 78 87 84 72 85 9311–30 30 29 28 33 28 21 35 20 31 38By Tens 2 2 2 0 2 1 3 3 1 2By Odds 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 1By Evens 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1

Counts Objects:3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1007 21 20 18 34 17 32 16 12 18 3115 2 3 3 2 2 4 2 4 1 329 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 1

Names Numerals:1–3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1004–10 36 39 37 46 35 46 36 24 37 5111–50 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 151–100 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 1

Matches Sets:1–3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1004–10 18 16 16 25 13 24 15 11 15 2311–25 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 1

Missing Number:

2–4 56 50 45 64 53 52 53 39 53 6734–36 6 5 6 1 6 5 5 2 5 970–90# 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 112–16# 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Seriation:4 circles 54 47 50 57 48 48 54 47 45 607 sticks 18 17 18 19 13 15 24 16 15 22

Time:6 o’clock 14 14 14 15 14 13 15 11 15 175 o’clock 17 16 16 20 18 16 15 12 19 189 o’clock 11 11 11 13 12 13 9 7 12 143.30 o’clock# 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 3

Money Knowledge:Recog. 3 Coins 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100Names 3 Coins 49 45 54 46 42 35 52 33 42 62Names 5 Coins 4 8 4 7 4 2 8 10 3 7

Functional Number Knowledge:Telephone 24 18 20 27 28 15 19 15 23 2510 fingers 30 25 27 27 25 28 29 16 26 41


APPENDIX VII 197




Counts Objects:3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1007 98 98 98 99 97 100 99 96 100 9815 54 56 54 62 56 54 55 33 61 7229 23 27 24 34 19 28 30 16 24 35

Names Numerals:1–3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1004–10 99 99 99 92 98 100 99 98 99 10011–50 49 54 51 55 52 48 57 28 57 7051–100 30 34 32 33 32 23 40 19 28 50

Matches Sets:1–3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1004–10 98 97 98 96 97 99 97 96 98 9811–25 30 36 32 45 31 32 37 21 32 46

Missing Number:

2–4 97 96 97 92 95 98 97 94 97 9734–36 56 60 57 49 47 68 64 50 59 6670–90# 9 12 10 13 10 18 6 6 11 1612–16# 3 4 3 1 5 3 1 3 3 4


Time:6 o’clock 35 38 36 42 38 35 36 32 38 405 o’clock 44 44 44 41 44 41 45 40 48 439 o’clock 42 45 44 39 45 41 44 37 50 443.30 o’clock# 8 13 11 8 13 9 8 11 10 11

Money Knowledge:Recog. 3 Coins 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100Names 3 Coins 63 57 57 87 54 68 61 61 61 58Names 5 Coins 18 22 18 38 23 19 19 18 22 19



198 APPENDIX VII




Counts Objects:3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1007 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 10015 99 99 99 99 98 99 100 100 99 9929 88 88 87 95 89 85 89 90 85 90

Names Numerals:1–3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1004–10 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 10011–50 100 99 99 100 99 100 100 99 99 9951–100 96 95 95 96 97 96 94 95 95 96

Matches Sets:1–3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1004–10 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 10011–25 98 97 98 97 98 98 97 95 99 98

Missing Number:

2–4 97 96 98 97 98 98 95 98 95 9834–36 93 91 93 92 92 94 92 93 94 9170–90# 35 35 37 17 28 40 37 24 30 3612–16# 15 15 32 13 25 32 33 24 30 36


Time:6 o’clock 75 72 75 62 67 87 68 61 76 835 o’clock 79 75 79 66 72 89 73 66 78 879 o’clock 81 75 79 68 73 89 74 68 78 89

3.30 o’clock# 42 38 42 30 41 40 40 30 36 53Money Knowledge:

Recog. 3 Coins 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100Names 3 Coins 89 87 89 84 86 88 89 87 92 85Names 5 Coins 71 68 72 52 67 71 71 64 73 72



APPENDIX VII 199

Table 7.7 Acquisition of Arithmetic Skills by 4- and 5-year-olds by Gender,Type of Preschool, Locality and Batch

F M KG DN HK K NT A B C4 years N = 512 452 880 84 391 255 318 337 317 310

Addition3+2 19 25 21 31 21 23 24 18 16 346+7 3 4 3 10 2 6 4 2 4 519+8# 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 3 135+18# 0 1 0 4 0 0 1 1 0 0

Subtraction3–2 13 16 14 13 10 20 14 10 10 238–5 6 6 5 11 5 7 6 5 4 919–7# 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 237–19# 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mental Addition

5+3 13 12 12 19 14 11 12 8 10 2014+6# 1 2 2 0 2 2 2 2 2 222+9# 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1

Mental Subtraction6–3# 6 10 8 8 10 4 9 7 7 1116–4# 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 227–9# 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 035–18# 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5 years N = 553 536 957 132 379 310 400 368 366 355

Addition3+2 94 92 93 92 95 95 90 89 95 956+7 56 53 54 56 53 61 50 45 59 5919+8# 31 28 29 37 32 34 25 27 29 3335+18# 8 10 9 11 8 16 5 6 9 12

Subtraction3–2 66 62 63 70 63 72 58 50 64 798–5 58 54 56 59 59 65 47 41 55 7319–7# 17 19 16 35 20 24 13 14 16 2637–19# 4 4 5 2 8 4 2 5 3 5

Mental Addition

5+3 72 64 67 72 76 67 62 66 68 7014+6# 35 30 33 31 34 35 30 27 35 3622+9# 24 20 22 23 20 26 21 16 26 24

Mental Subtraction6–3# 57 52 55 55 62 57 45 50 55 5916–4# 19 17 17 24 21 24 11 13 19 2327–9# 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 135–18# 2 1 2 3 2 3 1 2 1 2


200 APPENDIX VII

PREWRITING

Table 7.8 Acquisition of Prewriting Skills by 3-year-olds by Gender, Typeof Preschool, Locality and Batch (N=901)


N 441 460 763 138 280 249 372 306 298 297

Drawing/Writing Skills

Draws House 34 32 35 21 35 28 35 21 33 47

Draws Person

2 parts 79 73 73 94 89 85 67 58 81 90

6–7 parts 31 20 24 35 35 23 18 16 25 35

>7 parts# 8 4 6 7 10 2 5 3 8 6

Writes Numerals

1–9 15 12 15 6 9 9 21 2 14 26

10–25 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1

30–100 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Writes Chinese Name

1st + model 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1st – model 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0

Whole name 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0

Writes English Name

1st + model 6 5 5 8 4 4 8 4 5 7

1st – model 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Whole name# 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0

Copies Shapes

T 82 75 79 74 74 77 83 65 78 91

Circle 82 73 79 65 77 72 81 73 76 84

H 56 55 57 50 52 48 64 46 54 67

Squa re 53 41 49 36 34 48 56 28 45 67

V 21 18 21 13 21 15 22 11 17 30

3 Diagonals 39 35 39 24 29 34 47 22 36 53

Triangle 37 33 38 16 26 35 43 20 36 49

BAM 21 16 19 12 17 16 21 7 19 28

LA shape 16 18 18 14 17 15 20 8 17 27

Diamond 9 5 7 3 6 4 9 3 8 9


APPENDIX VII 201



N 504 441 862 83 384 249 312 330 306 309


Draws House 91 90 91 79 89 94 90 87 93 91

Draws Person

2 parts 97 96 97 93 95 98 97 99 94 97

6–7 parts 78 70 76 62 76 67 78 65 77 82

>7 parts# 37 31 35 26 37 23 40 29 32 42

Writes Numerals

1–9 91 91 93 75 87 93 94 83 94 97

10–25 65 68 70 40 56 74 74 51 66 82

30–100 44 48 48 27 38 51 52 36 42 61

Writes Chinese Name

1st + model 41 44 44 27 39 36 53 48 46 34

1st – model 7 7 7 11 5 13 5 6 9 8

Whole name 25 21 23 20 22 28 21 10 20 41

Writes English Name

1st + model 61 62 63 49 49 61 76 58 60 67

1st – model 3 2 2 4 4 1 1 2 3 2

Whole name# 8 4 5 18 10 3 3 4 6 7

Copies Shapes

T 99 99 99 99 98 100 100 99 100 99

Circle 99 100 99 99 99 100 99 99 100 100

H 84 77 82 74 79 83 82 82 76 85

Squa re 90 89 90 86 85 93 91 88 86 93

V 87 83 86 77 82 90 85 79 85 91

3 Diagonals 95 94 96 84 92 97 97 92 95 97

Triangle 96 93 95 88 91 97 96 91 97 95

BAM 90 89 90 89 85 92 94 84 91 95

LA shape 83 83 83 81 81 82 86 76 85 89

Diamond 53 57 56 48 51 60 56 44 58 63


202 APPENDIX VII



N 545 529 948 126 377 309 388 366 358 350


Draws House 95 95 95 95 95 97 94 94 94 98

Draws Person

2 parts 97 95 98 90 97 96 96 96 97 97

6–7 parts 93 85 91 80 90 93 86 88 92 89

>7 parts# 68 58 65 53 65 66 59 67 60 63

Writes Numerals

1–9 99 100 100 99 100 100 100 99 100 100

10–25 98 98 98 98 99 100 96 96 99 99

30–100 95 92 94 89 94 97 90 92 96 92

Writes Chinese Name

1st + model 2 3 3 4 2 4 3 4 4 1

1st – model 6 8 6 12 8 3 9 7 7 6

Whole name 91 87 90 78 90 92 85 88 87 92

Writes English Name

1st + model 42 46 48 15 38 41 52 51 46 35

1st – model 9 8 7 14 9 5 10 7 8 10

Whole name# 37 31 32 50 38 40 25 23 34 46

Copies Shapes

T 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Circle 100 99 100 100 100 99 100 100 99 99

H 91 85 88 86 89 86 89 88 84 92

Squa re 96 92 95 89 93 96 93 97 92 93

V 98 97 98 95 96 99 98 98 96 99

3 Diagonals 99 98 98 99 99 100 97 100 97 99

Triangle 99 99 98 99 99 98 98 99 98 98

BAM 99 98 98 99 99 98 99 99 99 98

LA shape 95 96 96 96 96 96 95 95 96 96

Diamond 80 79 81 71 79 82 78 80 79 79


APPENDIX VII 203

ALPHABET

Table 7.11 Acquisition of Alphabet by 3-year-olds by Gender, Type ofPreschool, Locality and Batch (N=956)


N 465 491 820 136 319 263 374 313 300 283

c p s m c p s m c p s m c p s m c p s m c p s m c p s m c p s m c p s m c p s m

A/a 81 19 81 16 81 17 83 23 78 21 81 19 84 14 73 16 86 18 81 20

B/b 81 21 80 19 81 20 75 22 77 18 82 22 82 20 72 18 83 17 86 26

C/c 75 57 73 57 74 56 72 61 72 56 73 57 76 58 63 48 78 61 81 64

D/d 65 14 63 14 64 15 63 11 61 13 61 18 68 13 54 15 68 12 71 17

E/e 66 21 64 21 65 21 65 25 66 23 63 24 66 18 54 18 68 22 73 26

F/f 66 24 64 24 65 22 65 35 61 28 68 28 68 17 52 17 70 25 76 30

G/g 58 16 53 14 55 14 57 20 50 17 56 16 60 11 43 14 63 14 64 18

H/h 62 19 61 18 62 19 58 16 59 22 62 19 64 16 46 17 67 18 75 23

I/i 45 34 45 29 43 30 54 39 47 33 41 37 46 27 34 24 51 31 50 41

J/j 55 31 50 28 53 30 52 30 50 30 53 34 54 26 36 24 58 29 64 38

K/k 56 38 57 37 57 36 57 43 55 40 56 37 59 35 38 27 63 42 72 47

L/l 48 16 48 15 48 16 47 13 49 15 45 17 50 15 32 17 53 12 62 19

M/m 59 28 58 27 59 26 59 37 57 32 57 33 62 20 38 19 68 28 75 38

N/n 51 13 48 10 50 12 48 13 48 11 45 14 54 11 27 12 55 10 70 14

O/o 55 45 51 41 52 42 58 47 54 44 50 45 54 41 33 29 52 42 76 61

P/p 48 35 46 33 45 33 57 39 46 38 43 32 50 32 26 22 47 33 69 48

Q/q 38 6 38 7 37 6 44 9 41 8 36 8 37 4 23 7 34 6 58 7

R/r 33 11 33 13 32 12 37 12 34 12 33 12 33 11 21 11 27 10 54 15

S/s 39 32 37 32 37 32 41 34 40 34 34 29 38 33 22 22 36 28 59 48

T/t 39 13 40 11 38 12 45 12 44 12 35 12 39 12 26 14 36 8 59 14

U/u 33 22 31 19 30 19 42 27 32 22 31 22 33 18 21 16 29 17 48 29

V/v 30 26 32 25 30 25 35 28 34 24 27 24 31 28 24 19 25 20 48 39

W/w 30 26 30 28 30 27 32 27 32 28 26 24 31 27 19 20 27 23 46 40

X/x 30 27 32 26 31 26 35 29 30 26 28 26 34 27 22 20 27 24 45 37

Y/y 28 21 29 19 27 19 39 22 30 21 27 19 28 20 22 18 24 17 41 26

Z/z 30 29 31 27 29 27 34 29 31 27 28 28 31 28 21 21 25 25 44 39

cp = capital letters; sm = small letters

204 APPENDIX VII



N 513 453 882 84 391 255 320 329 307 287


A/a 97 69 98 70 98 71 94 60 98 61 97 76 98 75 97 54 97 73 98 83

B/b 95 61 98 64 96 64 95 48 96 55 97 69 96 67 95 46 97 65 96 76

C/c 95 92 95 92 96 92 91 92 95 88 97 94 94 94 94 88 95 92 97 95

D/d 87 52 90 48 88 51 87 38 85 47 92 56 89 50 86 33 88 50 91 68

E/e 87 70 91 73 89 73 92 61 86 62 91 79 90 77 85 57 89 73 92 85

F/f 86 74 90 75 87 76 87 63 83 66 91 82 91 79 84 64 88 74 92 86

G/g 83 61 84 61 84 62 82 54 81 50 87 69 83 68 81 43 84 62 86 79

H/h 85 64 91 64 88 65 89 55 84 55 90 72 92 70 86 49 89 63 89 82

I/i 72 77 78 78 75 78 76 74 71 71 81 79 74 85 69 71 77 79 78 83

J/j 80 64 80 69 80 67 74 56 74 61 83 69 84 71 79 56 79 67 82 78

K/k 86 84 88 85 87 84 88 88 79 76 91 89 93 92 84 79 89 86 89 89

L/l 73 46 77 45 75 47 76 38 71 39 76 49 77 51 69 31 74 44 80 65

M/m 86 74 87 76 87 75 82 68 82 66 91 82 89 80 82 61 89 75 88 87

N/n 83 54 85 54 83 55 89 48 77 44 92 64 87 59 82 37 84 53 86 75

O/o 91 89 92 89 92 89 92 92 90 84 93 93 93 92 87 83 93 90 94 94

P/p 86 78 87 80 86 78 89 83 81 72 91 84 88 83 84 72 85 78 86 85

Q/q 79 34 82 36 81 35 80 27 74 25 82 45 88 37 75 20 82 35 86 52

R/r 70 53 72 51 71 52 73 52 67 45 76 64 72 51 65 32 71 52 77 75

S/s 83 81 81 77 82 79 81 81 73 71 87 82 90 87 77 71 82 79 88 87

T/t 80 55 82 58 80 57 81 47 75 48 86 65 83 59 74 37 81 58 85 75

U/u 78 66 79 68 79 67 79 64 75 60 82 73 81 70 72 55 79 67 84 78

V/v 72 72 77 76 75 74 74 69 72 73 77 78 76 72 64 62 79 77 82 83

W/w 79 76 79 78 79 77 76 80 73 71 85 82 82 80 71 70 81 77 86 85

X/x 74 72 76 76 75 74 72 71 69 67 81 80 77 77 66 63 80 77 79 80

Y/y 74 65 75 68 75 67 64 56 71 59 78 73 75 70 64 51 78 71 81 78

Z/z 80 78 83 82 81 80 83 82 76 74 88 86 83 83 74 72 83 82 88 86


APPENDIX VII 205



N 551 533 952 132 378 310 396 355 344 326


A/a 100 98100 98100 98100 99100 98100 99100 96 99 95100 99100 99

B/b 99 92 97 89 98 64 99 88 98 89 98 90 98 92 97 87 97 90 99 93

C/c 99 99 98 97 98 98 99 97 98 96 99 99 99 99 99 97 98 98 99 99

D/d 98 90 96 87 97 88 99 88 98 89 97 88 97 88 96 86 97 89 98 90

E/e 99 98 98 98 98 98 98 99 98 97 99 98 97 99 98 89 97 98 99 99

F/f 98 96 97 97 97 96 98 99 98 96 98 96 97 99 97 91 98 98 98 98

G/g 97 92 95 93 96 92 99 96 96 93 96 90 96 93 97 91 96 94 95 93

H/h 98 95 96 95 97 94 99 97 97 94 98 94 97 96 97 83 98 96 97 97

I/i 89 95 86 94 87 94 96 99 88 96 93 96 83 93 84 96 88 96 91 97

J/j 89 88 87 85 88 86 86 86 89 86 89 88 86 85 86 75 89 88 90 87

K/k 98 98 97 97 97 97100100 97 95 99 99 97 98 96 96 98 99 99 98

L/l 91 80 89 81 89 80 96 83 90 79 91 83 88 80 86 87 92 83 91 84

M/m 95 98 95 96 95 96 98 99 96 96 95 96 95 98 93 99 96 97 96 98

N/n 95 91 94 92 94 91 99 94 95 92 94 89 95 93 94 94 95 94 95 93

O/o 100100 99 99 99 99 99100 99 99100100 99100 99 63 99 99100100

P/p 98 96 97 96 97 96 99 96 98 97 98 95 96 95 96 88 98 96 98 97

Q/q 94 71 92 68 93 71 96 57 92 73 94 67 94 68 92 96 93 72 95 73

R/r 90 92 89 93 90 92 91 94 90 92 92 91 88 93 87 89 91 94 91 95

S/s 97 98 95 96 96 97 98 99 96 97 96 97 97 98 95 89 96 96 99 99

T/t 96 92 94 94 95 92 99 97 96 92 96 92 94 95 93 89 95 95 97 95

U/u 97 92 96 93 96 92 99 95 97 92 97 92 95 93 95 95 96 95 97 94

V/v 91 91 89 91 90 91 89 89 90 90 90 90 90 91 86 90 91 92 93 91

W/w 96 97 94 95 95 96 96 99 95 95 97 97 94 96 94 91 95 96 96 98

X/x 92 93 90 91 91 92 93 95 92 92 90 92 91 93 86 93 93 94 94 94

Y/y 93 93 92 94 92 93 97 97 94 94 93 92 91 95 90 51 94 94 94 97

Z/z 94 95 93 96 94 96 95 96 94 96 94 97 93 94 92 72 94 95 96 99


206 APPENDIX VII

Index

administration of study 11–14data collection 17data collectors 16recruitment of preschools 15results 17–18

cognitive development 53–58age of acquisition 64–65cognitive processes 63–64, 110,

112, 116, 121, 124, 128, 131concepts 58–63, 108, 110, 112,

116, 121, 128, 129, 131cross-cultural comparisons

65–66cross-cultural comparisons

137–139cognitive development 65–66language development 77–79motor development 28–30number 94–95prewriting 99social development 48–50

developmental profiles 105–113three-year-olds 106–109four-year-olds 109–111five-year-olds 111–113

instruments 10–15, 38developmental 11–14piloting 14–15selection 10, 11translation 11

language development 69–74, 112,140age of acquisition 77–80comprehension 74–76, 121, 131–

132cross-cultural comparisons

77–80gender differences 74production 74–79, 125, 131–

132

motor development 19, 20–22, 32,114

age of acquisition 27–28cross-cultural comparisons

28–30fine motor 20, 25–26, 106, 109,

111, 114, 119, 122, 127, 130gender differences 22gross motor 20, 23–25, 106, 109,

111, 114, 119, 122, 127, 130,health 21, 22, 31–32

parents 143personal, social and self-care

development 33–38, 107, 109,111, 120, 139–140

age of acquisition 49–50cross-cultural comparisons

48–50interactive skills 39–41, 107, 110,

114, 120, 123, 128, 130–131

242 INDEX

self-awareness 41, 115, 120, 128,130–131

self-care 42–43, 107, 110, 112,115, 120, 123, 128, 131

social competency 43–48, 110home 46–47, 107, 110, 112,

120, 123, 128, 131preschool 43–47, 107, 110,

115–116, 120, 123, 124, 128,131

policy-makers 143preacademic learning 83–84, 102–

103, 141number 84–87, 89, 108, 111, 112,

118age of acquisition 94arithmetic 93, 129, 132cross-cultural comparisons

94–95number concepts 89–93, 121,

125, 129, 132number skills 91, 95–96, 125,

129, 132prewriting 87–88, 96–97, 100,

109, 111, 113, 118, 125, 129age of acquisition 98–99copying 97–98, 111, 121, 129,

132cross-cultural comparisons

99–100drawing 97, 111, 121, 125

prereading/alphabet 88–89,

100–102, 109, 111, 113, 118, 121,126, 129, 132, 133

preprimary study 2–6aims 2methodology 3phase 1 2, 3phase 2 2phase 3 2variables 4

age 4, 135–136, 137–139gender 5, 22, 38, 74, 119–122,

136, 139–141locality 6, 126–129, 137time spent in preschool (batch)

5, 129–134, 137type of preschool 5, 122–126,

136preschool teachers 142–143productive language 108, 110, 117,

125

receptive language 108, 110, 117researchers 143

sample description 18sampling 7

sample size 8stratification 8–10

selection of children 9selection of preschools 8

target population 7

time spent in preschool (batch)129–134, 137

hong kong’s young children their early development and ... · hong kong children gross motor...

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