FACULTY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

PROGRAM PENGAJIAN SARJANA PENDIDIKAN AWAL KANAK-KANAK
SEMESTER 1 SESSION 2020/2022 (M201)

COURSE CODE & NAME:

KAB60204 DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN’S LANGUAGE AND LITERACY SKILLS

ASSIGNMENT 2:
SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL STUDY

TITLE ASSIGNMENT:
A STUDY ON
PRESCHOOL CHILDREN’S DEVELOPING KNOWLEDGE OF WRITTEN LANGUAGE

PREPARED BY:

NO. NO.MATRIC NAME SIGNATURE

1 M20201000103 DASHELAVATHY A/P Dash
BASGARAN

LECTURER NAME:
DR. JUPPRI BIN BACOTANG

SUBMISSION DATE:
20 DECEMBER 2020
 SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL STUDY
WORKING TITLE:
A Study on Preschool Children’s Developing Knowledge of Written Language
KEYWORDS:
writing, emergent literacy, preschool, language development, written language
1. OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY:

“Writing” is refer in all the forms on visual, communication, and written,but not just
conventional writing which tend to emerge towards the commencement of the formal
schooling. It is important to emphasise the writing which involves the children in
primarily of the facilitation of their written expression through the developmental
progression from mark marking, scribbling, and drawing (Mackenzie,2011).
Meanwhile, emergent literacy has found that the evidence of reseacher has
indicating that the children enter to school with the great deal of the skill and also
knowledge about reading and writing, although its not in a formal or conventional
way (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2015). Thereby, the exploration on how the elements of
print, text, and written language features can be introduced during the engagement
of emergent writing experiences. Writing amongst childrens gives some opportunities
to involves childrens in meaning making using multiples modes of communication.
For example, visual, auditory, tactile, verbal and written. However, some of the
researchers insist that before writing commonly, the children scribble to convey
meaning through print (Gombert & Fayol, 2010). However, these scribble or early
writing are not random. Commonly, there is differentiation on hypothesis , these
scribbles contain some unquestionable features. In the beginning, the children
scribbles or writing contain unique details. Scribbling is the first step of the children
skills while, it looks like a lot of lines, lopps, and squiggles. But these marks are very
important to young child. Their scribbles shows their way of writing thinking. Focus of
these is to mirror the children’s understanding that writing and drawing are different,
that writing does not indicate the meaning directly as pictures do. Instead, it is an
attempt to conduct the meaning in symbolically to represent the linguistic units. The
study is focusing on the writing development from scribbles to scrabble in Meru
Preschool.
2. PROBLEM STATEMENT (I.P.I.A):
i. Current Issue/ Symptoms

- Current issues that happen in Malaysia is young children do not know the
symbolic and referential nature of writing, alternatively believe that young
children treat print as if it indicate the meaning directly just as the picture.

ii. Specific problem(s) underpinning the issue

- Children’s writing or scribbles do not contain any letters,do not show the
equality on the length of the spoken word, and do not contain the capacity
between words.

- In children writing or scribbles have many types of writing that still can’t
identified until now. There are undifferentiated-non instrumental writing and
undifferentiated writing. (Ferreiro,2015)

- Children generate the baring of knowledge of the language-specific in

developing on writing such as directionality (left to right), and symbol shapes
around age 3-5 years of age.

- According to Tolchinsky (2016), children started to display some of the

knowledge in universal properties of writing as early as age 3 years and by 4
years of age, most of the children have to written output that is linear and
discrete.

- The problem of this study was to concurrently examine the development of the
Meru Preschool children’s performance on the a range of emergent writing
tasks, and to examine systematically if the focus of writing develop in a linear
or unified manner.

iii. Proposed solution

- Proposed to conducted a cross-sectional examination of the relativey large

group of children across the Meru Preschool.

- Examining emergent writing have indicated large variability in the children”s

performance.
3. SIGNIFICANCE / IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY:

This study is crutial to identify into the quantify features in children’s writing and also
regarding the knowledge of emergent writing is the shortage of concession on how it
should be measured and quatified. According to the interrelation among studies and
theory of findings across the studies are difficult. Reacting to the several in research
allows for an extensive examination on how to measure emergent writing and what,
if any development trends were present.
4. OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this study is to closely examine the development of written language
across several range of emergent writing tasks on Meru preschool children’s
performance and to examine on how writing features develop in a linear or unified
manner in preschool children.
5. RESEARCH 6. DATA COLLECTION 7. DATA ANALYSIS
QUESTIONS /
HYPOTHESIS

- Does the children’s - Write Letter Task - Inter-rater reliability

able to write letters? (Documents
- Analysis of variance
Analysis)
- Does the children’s (ANOVA)
able to write their - Write Names
- Bonferroni correction
own name? (Documents
Analysis) - Guttman Scale
- Does the children’s
able to spell the - Write CVC word
common simple Task (Observation &
CVC words? Documents
Analysis)
- Does the children’s
able to recognize the - Write Sentences
picture and write the Retell Task
description of the (Observation &
picture? Documents
 - Will the children’s Analysis)

able to draw what - Picture Description

the examiners says Task (Observation &
in the sentences? Documents
Analysis)
8. LITERATURE REVIEW:

Most previous investigation have shown that children reserve a knowledgeable of

skills or knowledge on being able to write commonly, a question that stays to be
debate is how writing develops. Just as preschoolers don’t begin to speak by
speaking in advanced utterances, or decrypt by reading an unique. Preschoolers
don’t begin writing in complete sentences like an event of oral language or reading,
the acquisition of writing talent progresses by little. Some researchers contend that
before writing conventionally, the preschoolers scribble to convey message through
print. (Ferreiro & Teberosky, 2015 & 2016).
However, these scribbles or early writing don’t seem to be random. In the step of
Tolchinsky’s (2016) has differentiation the hypothesis towards the scribbles. It has a
bound of option where the children’s scribbles or writing the universal options.
Universal Option has embrace with characteristics of writing like dimensionality
(writing units/marks area of organized in straight lines), separateness
(segmentation), and lack of iconity (writing units abstracts). These options mirror the
children’s understanding that writing and drawing area completely different, the
writing doesn’t represent directly as a footage do. Instead, it’s an endeavor to convey
the symbolically represent linguistic units. These universal option mirror the essential
of nature writing brings a principle of representational process and therefore the
specific writing conventions for a specific language.
Thus, a children’s written informationa develops the different options on the unit of
manifested in their written output. These options termed into language-spefic options
that could vary across the writing systems fro example, English, and also embody
radial asymmentry (left to right), image shapes, and spacing between words. Once
the preschoolers have associate the degree of understanding of the symbolic nature
of writing, it’s easier for them to be hold regarding the particular visual options of the
writing systems. Later refine their written output has mistreatment to language-
specific options. There is presently nobody accepted theory, however writing
develops, but two hypotheses are planned regarding the preschoolers written
communication awareness are the Linearity Hypothesis and Unified Hypothesis.
(Ferreiro & Teberosky, 2015 & 2016).
9. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:

The theoretical framework is based on the three-factor model of emergent writing-

related abilities proposed by Cynthia S. Puranik & Christoper J. Lonigan (2018).
10. RESEARCH DESIGN : Descriptive research
11. POPULATION:

- Participants for this study will recruiting from 10 private preschool in a

moderate sized city in Klang District, Meru.

12. SAMPLES :

- Size of the sample is 40 children will be participating in this study.

13. STUDY INSTRUMENT:

- The instrument research that will be conducting are tests, survey and
observation
14. REFERENCES:

1. Alaniz, M. L., Galit, E., Necesito, C. I., & Rosario, E. R. (2015). Hand strength, handwriting,
and functional skills in children with autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(4),
6904220030p1. doi:10.5014/ajot.2015.016022
2. Al-Maadadi, F., & Ihmeideh, F. (2016). Early writing development: kindergarten teachers’
beliefs about emergent writing in Qatari preschool settings. International Journal of Early
Years Education, 24(4), 435–447. doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2016.1244047
3. Edwards S, Cutter-Mackenzie A (2011). Environmental in Early Childhood Education through
Writing Development. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood. 36(1):51-59.
4. Ferreiro E, Teberosky A.(2015). Literacy before schooling. Exeter, NH: Heinemann.
5. Gombert JE, Fayol (2010). M. Writing in preliterate children. Learning and Instruction. 2:23–41.
6. Puranik, Cynthia & Lonigan, Christopher. (2018). Emergent Writing in Preschoolers:
Preliminary Evidence for a Theoretical Framework. Reading Research Quarterly. 49.
10.1002/rrq.79.
7. Tolchinsky-Landsmann L, Levin I.(2016). Writing in four-to-six-year olds: Representation of semantic
and phonetic similarities and differences. Journal of Child Language. 14:127–144.
8. Whitehurst G, Lonigan C. (2015). Emergent literacy: Development from prereaders to readers. In:
Neuman SB, Dickensen DK, editors. Handbook of early literacy research.  New York: Guilford Press; pp.
11–29. 
15. STUDY CONTRIBUTIONS:

- The current study contributes to understanding of the children’s knowledge on

writing skills.
- Contribute to letter writing so that potentially an element of literacy skills
(alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and name writing) that develop
children writing.
Appendix

Sample of Instrument