Author: Saboor Hamdani
Supervisor: Tehreem Arshad, Sharmeen Aslam Tarar, Rukhsana Kausar PhD
Degree: MS
Year: 2014-2016
University: Centre for Clinical Psychology, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
The present study aimed to identify the developmental pattern of
Urdu Oral Narrative Skills in Preschoolers aged between 4 and 5
years: The developmental patterns were examined on the basis of
age. The Between Group Cross-sectional Research Design was
used and 79 preschoolers were recruited using two stage sampling
(Convenience and Purposive) from three private middle SES
schools of Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan. Initially, the participants
whose mothers were available and provided permission were
included. Then they were screened for their intellectual
functioning, and language abilities, and then from the participants
who passed the screening, sample of three personal narratives
using Conversational Maps Technique were collected. The
narrative data was analyzed on both macro-structural and microstructural levels by using High Point Analysis and use of Cohesions (conjunctive and referential), respectively. The results
of independent samples t-test revealed that there were no
differences in narrative skills development of preschoolers on the
basis of age, gender, family system, and habit of
storytelling/shared reading in homes. In addition, the result of
Pearson-product moment correlation revealed a positive
relationship between the macro-structural and microstructural
levels, meaning that both the levels of narrative develop
simultaneously. This was the first indigenous research study
targeting narrative skills development in Urdu language, hence,
the patterns identified, might help in extending the theory and
research in this field. Further the data collected might serve as a
baseline for constructing assessment measures in the domain of
speech and language.
Keywords: Narrative Skills Development, Oral Narratives.
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