THE STABILITY OF GENDER-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN EARLY READING DEVELOPMENT IN POLISH CHILDREN

The role of gender in early reading development in Polish children was investigated. The longitudinal study was conducted from the middle of preparatory pre-school year to the middle of first grade. The rate and accuracy of reading words and pseudo-words of different length and degree of difficulty were measured in five successive measures. The same children 64 (40 girls and 24 boys) took part in each assessment. The aim was to analyse the stability of gender-related differences. The studies showed that gender significantly differentiates children in the early development of reading skills in favour of girls. Differences in the rate of reading between children appeared to be stable in the period covered by the study. Whereas differences in the accuracy of reading diminished considerably in the last, fifth measure falling in the middle of first grade.