Leren kleuters van elkaar? Experimenteel onderzoek naar het effect van leeftijdsgenoten op de taalontwikkeling van kleuters

Abstract

To establish whether peers influence the language development of schoolgoing infants, research was conducted amongst 80 Dutch kindergarten pupils. An experimental design was employed. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions or the control condition. No influences of demographic variables on group-distribution were found. General passive language levels as well as passive and active theme-specific vocabulary were tested. The experiment consisted of a session of free play in which theme vocabulary could be transferred. Afterwards, knowledge of theme vocabulary was tested again. Results indicate no significant differences in the progress in theme vocabulary between the three conditions. Thus findings do not show a significant peereffect on the language development of young children. Further research is recommended.