The Contribution of Phonemic Awareness and Executive Functions to Reading Skills of Italian Pupils

ABSTRACT

Phonemic awareness (PA) refers to the ability to reflect on and manipulate phonemes. The development of the ability to become aware of and conduct mental operations on phonemes might involve higher‐order cognitive processes, such as executive functions (EFs), which help modulate attention to goal‐relevant information and support behavioral control. These processes, in turn, contribute to the development of reading skills. This study investigated the contribution of various PA and EF skills in three decoding tasks. A sample of 3rd–5th graders, (M_age = 9.2 years, SD = 10.1 months) completed a battery of tests assessing PA (i.e., PASTA, and the CMF Word Blending test), EFs (Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices, phonological and categorical Fluency Tests), and reading (i.e., the MT Reading test, DDE‐2 Word and DDE‐2 Pseudo‐Words Reading tests) skills. Significant correlations were found among PA, EFs, and reading measures. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that 18%–37% of the variance in the reading conditions was primarily predicted by PASTA and EFs. Albeit caution is needed in tracking definitive conclusions, the findings seem to suggest that the concurrent assessment of blending, EFs, and reading skills should be encouraged for pupils in grades 3–5.