Structural Development of the Fictional Narratives of African American Preschoolers

Sandra C. Jackson North Carolina Central University, Durham Contact author: Johanna R. Price, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 105 Smith Level Rd. CB#8180, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8180. E-mail: price{at}mail.fpg.unc PURPOSE: This study examined the structural development of African American preschoolers' narratives. It also investigated the effect of background variables (e.g., gender, maternal education, stimulation and responsiveness of the home environment, and whether or not the child lived in poverty) on the children's narratives. METHOD: Sixty-five children completed a story-retelling task at age 4 and again at kindergarten entry. Narratives were then coded for story grammar elements. RESULTS: Four-year-olds narrated some attempts to solve the problem and some elements of the story ending. At kindergarten entry, children had higher total narrative scores and included more of every type of story grammar element except relationship. Overall, narratives were not related to background variables. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The Bus Story Language Test (C. Renfrew, 1991) appears to be an assessment tool that is sensitive to structural growth in African American children's narratives from 4 years to kindergarten entry. KEY WORDS: language development, narratives, preschoolers, African American English CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Reddit Technorati Twitter What's this?