Correlations between handwriting and spelling in Elementary School children

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the handwriting and spelling performance of elementary school students and to investigate correlations between these variables according to school grade and system. Method: The researchers analyzed 34 noun phrases written from dictation by 80 elementary school children aged 2-5 years, 20 attending each grade (10 from public schools and 10 from private schools per grade). The children were recommended by their own teacher for performing well at school. The analysis of the children’s handwriting took into account the position of the writing in space, irregularities in letter formation, and irregularities in the spacing between letters. Writing errors were classified as either phonological or orthographic in nature. The performances of students of each grade were compared, as were those of children attending public and private schools. Correlations between performance variables were investigated. A likelihood ratio test was conducted, and the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used, with statistical significance set to 0.05. Results: No differences were observed among the different grades as to the occurrence of dysgraphia or dysorthographia. Both disorders were more common in the public school system than in the private one. The most frequent types of spelling errors found were the switching of graphemes corresponding to voiced-voiceless phonemes and the omission of codas. Dysgraphia and spelling performance were positively correlated. Conclusion: The writing performances were similar among children of all grades, in terms of both handwriting and spelling. The more features of dysgraphia were present, the greater the number of errors found in the writing of elementary school children, particularly in the public school system.