Cognitive and Linguistic Development of Portuguese Children Growing Up in Luxembourg - DEVPOLUX
Coordinating Institution:
Université du Luxembourg
Other Partner(s):
Universität des Saarlandes ,
Federal University of Bahia (Brazil) ,
Federal University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) ,
University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) ,
University of Minho (Portugal)
From: 01/03/2010
To: 28/02/2013
Budget: 474,000.00€
Contact(s):
Engel-De Abreu Pascale
,
Martin Romain
Summary
The major aim of this project is to advance the understanding of the extrinsic factors that can impact on children’s cognitive development and educational achievement. This line of research is importance as it represents a crucial step in the development of prevention programs for young children who are at risk for school failure. The study is multinational, involving six collaborating Universities from São Paulo/Br, Salvador/Br, Luxembourg, Germany, and Portugal.
The project will explore the links between socioeconomic status (SES), linguistic background, and cognitive development in a large population of young children ranging over four different countries and from various socioeconomic, cultural, and language status groups. One of the main objectives is to explore the specific effects of SES/poverty on children’s language and executive function skills. Growing up in underprivileged conditions is associated with reduced academic achievement but little is know about the underlying cognitive mechanisms responsible for this effect.
Another major objective is to explore the effects of multilingual experience on specific neurocognitive systems. Increasing evidence suggests that growing up as a bilingual might convey some cognitive advantages, in particular in the domain of executive function skills. Given that executive function and language are critical components of cognitive and social development, this research project will have important theoretical implications for our understanding of the development of these abilities as well as practical implications in relation to social inclusion, poverty risk reduction, and second and third language instruction in the home and in schools.
A battery of behavioural measures tapping three different areas of executive functions (working memory, inhibition, and switching) and two domains of language (lexicon and syntax) will be administered to a large population of 7- and 9-year-olds (N = 900). The study will involve 3 groups of bilingual children growing up in Luxembourg: Portuguese immigrant children, Luxembourgish secondary language learners and Luxembourgish balanced bilinguals. Furthermore, 5 groups of monolingual children will be recruited from: impoverished areas in Brazil, high SES groups in Brazil, Portugal, and Germany. Socioeconomic status, intellectual stimulation in the home, and native/foreign language exposure will be explored via a questionnaire completed by the caregiver. Nutritional status will be examined by a thorough anthropometrical assessment of each child. The hypotheses to be tested will address if SES and language status account for group differences in the neurocognitive systems listed and whether potential effects might be mediated by nutritional status or the quality of social or intellectual stimulation in the home.
Refereed Scientific Publications:
- Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. (2008a). Cognitive control and lexical access in younger and older bilinguals. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 34(4), 859–873.
- Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. (2008b). Lexical access in bilinguals: Effects of vocabulary size and executive control. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 21(6), 522-538.
- Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Ryan, J. (2006). Executive control in a modified antisaccade task: Effects of aging and bilingualism. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Learning Memory and Cognition, 32(6), 1341-1354.
- Engel, P. M. J. (2009). Working memory and learning: A 3-year longitudinal study of children growing up in a multilingual environment. University of York, York.
- Engel, P. M. J., Gathercole, S. E., & Martin, R. (in prep.). Links between working memory and learning.
- Engel, P. M. J., Gathercole, S. E., Martin, R., & Santos, F. H. (2008). Brave New Word, multilingualism and language learning: A study of Portuguese immigrant children growing up in a multilingual society. Paper presented at the New Directions in Word Learning Workshop, University of York.
- Engel, P. M. J., Santos, F. H., & Gathercole, S. E. (2008). Are working memory measures free of socioeconomic influence? Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 51(6), 1580-1587.
- Hackman, D. A., & Farah, M. J. (2009). Socioeconomic status and the developing brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(2), 65-73.
- Hackman, D. A., Smith, E., Gallop, R. J., & Farah, M. J. (2009). Pathways mediating the relationship between early childhood socioeconomic status and executive function. Paper presented at the SRCD, Denver.