Abstract

SEABRA, Alessandra Gotuzo et al. Writing in students with learning difficulties: Matthew effect. Rev. psicopedag. [online]. 2022, vol.39, n.120, pp. 333-343. ISSN 0103-8486.  http://dx.doi.org/10.51207/2179-4057.20220030.

The study investigated writing of 2^nd and 4^th grade children with and without signs of the specific learning disorder, and aimed to compare the difference in writing between these two groups of students, to analyze whether the difference between them would be smaller in the early grades and would tend to increase in the final grades, as theoretically predicted by Matthew effect. 51 teachers and 1085 students participated in this study, among which 49 had signs compatible with the specific learning disorder. The instrument used to analyze the students writing was the School Performance Test (TDE-II). It was observed that, in general, the total number of correct words in the TDE-II dictation was greater in the 4^th grade, compared to the 2^nd grade, as expected, and the difference between students with and without complaints of difficulties was greater among the students in 4^th grade than among 2^nd grade students. Post-hoc tests showed that there was no statistically significant difference between 2^nd grade students with complaints and 4^th grade students of with complaints, that is, the difference between them was so small that it was not significant. This result corroborates the "Matthew effect": children with difficulties at the beginning of schooling tend to present lower gains and, increasingly, distance themselves from colleagues with more developed skills. Thus, strategies and interventions must be designed to facilitate children's literacy and promote advances at beginning of schooling.

Keywords : Literacy; Language Development; Specific Learning Disorder; Early Intervention (Education); Child.

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