Table 1
Participant Demographics at Each of the Three Time Points.
| T0 0 MONTHS (BEGINNING OF THE FIRST YEAR OF KINDERGARTEN) | T1 13 MONTHS (BEGINNING OF THE SECOND YEAR OF KINDERGARTEN) | T2 18 MONTHS (TOWARDS THE END OF KINDERGARTEN) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants (n) | 279 (95.55%) | 245 (83.90%) | 242 (82.88%) |
| Age (months) | M = 58.41; SD = 4.47 | M = 72.66; SD = 4.38 | M = 77.42; SD = 4.35 |
| Gender (%) | 46% female | 46% female | 47% female |
| Group Allocation (%) | 47% control group | 47% control group | 48% control group |
[i] Note. 76% of the kindergarten children participated at all three time points. After T0, 36 of the participants exited the study due to relocation. After T0, 13 participants were added to the pool to help offset this loss.
Table 2
Scoring of Soloistic Production.
| CRITERIA | POINTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1. Number of Interactional Turns | ≥5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2. Longest Turn in Words | 40 | 40–64 | 65–88 | 89–113 | >113 |
| 3. Average Turn Length | <29 | 29–49 | 50–70 | 71–91 | >91 |
| Final Score | <6 | 6–8 | 9–11 | 12–14 | 15 |
Table 3
Scoring of Representation of Distant Content.
| CRITERIA | POINTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1. Number of Perceivable Elements | ≥9 | 9–12 | 13–16 | 17–20 | >20 |
| 2. Occurrence of Additional Elements | ≥1 | – | – | – | – |
| Final Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ≥5 |
Table 4
Scoring of Textual Organisation.
| CRITERIA | POINTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1. Chronological Order of Propositions | Partially | Always | – | – | – |
| 2. Use of Simple Cohesive Devices | Often or seldom and varied | Often and varied | – | – | – |
| 3. Use of Complex Cohesive Devices | Yes | – | – | – | – |
| 4. Signs of Text Organisation | Yes | – | – | – | – |
| Final Score | <3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ≥6 |
Table 5
Scoring of Genre-Specific Patterns.
| CRITERIA | POINTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1. Completion of Narrative Tasks | ≤4 | 4–5 | 6–7 | 8–9 | ≥10 |
| 2. Occurrence of Narrative Markers | ≤1 marker per 54 words | >1 marker per 54 words | – | – | – |
| 3. Different Types of Narrative Markers | Yes | – | – | – | – |
| Final Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ≥5 |
Table 6
Interrater Reliability of MuTex.
| SOLOISTIC PRODUCTION | REPRESENTATION OF DISTANT CONTENT | TEXTUAL ORGANISATION | GENRE-SPECIFIC PATTERNS | TOTAL SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T0 | 1 | 0.91 | 0.85 | 0.80 | 0.94 |
| T1 | 1 | 0.87 | 0.72 | 0.67 | 0.93 |
| T2 | 1 | 0.86 | 0.87 | 0.64 | 0.92 |
Table 7
Descriptive Statistics and Correlations.
| VARIABLE | M | SD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. SPt0 | 2.27 | 1.04 | ||||||||||||||
| 2. RDt0 | 1.91 | 0.90 | 0.63** | |||||||||||||
| 3. TOt0 | 2.63 | 1.22 | 0.51** | 0.50** | ||||||||||||
| 4. GPt0 | 2.18 | 1.23 | 0.55** | 0.59** | 0.51** | |||||||||||
| 5. TSt0 | 8.99 | 3.57 | 0.81** | 0.81** | 0.79** | 0.83** | ||||||||||
| 6. SPt1 | 3.03 | 1.02 | 0.35** | 0.32** | 0.39** | 0.21** | 0.39** | |||||||||
| 7. RDt1 | 2.72 | 1.18 | 0.30** | 0.32** | 0.39** | 0.24** | 0.38** | 0.62** | ||||||||
| 8. TOt1 | 3.40 | 0.98 | 0.18** | 0.27** | 0.29** | 0.22** | 0.30** | 0.27** | 0.23** | |||||||
| 9. GPt1 | 3.07 | 1.40 | 0.30** | 0.27** | 0.30** | 0.24** | 0.33** | 0.51** | 0.62** | 0.35** | ||||||
| 10. TSt1 | 12.22 | 3.52 | 0.37** | 0.38** | 0.44** | 0.30** | 0.46** | 0.78** | 0.83** | 0.57** | 0.85** | |||||
| 11. SPt2 | 3.49 | 1.02 | 0.19** | 0.22** | 0.19** | 0.18** | 0.24** | 0.34** | 0.25** | 0.18** | 0.24** | 0.33** | ||||
| 12. RDt2 | 3.20 | 1.19 | 0.30** | 0.31** | 0.27** | 0.25** | 0.35** | 0.39** | 0.39** | 0.24** | 0.30** | 0.43** | 0.62** | |||
| 13. TOt2 | 3.69 | 0.95 | 0.22** | 0.29** | 0.29** | 0.32** | 0.35** | 0.23** | 0.19** | 0.40** | 0.19** | 0.32** | 0.32** | 0.33** | ||
| 14. GPt2 | 3.44 | 1.30 | 0.36** | 0.35** | 0.30** | 0.26** | 0.39** | 0.34** | 0.30** | 0.27** | 0.24** | 0.37** | 0.43** | 0.55** | 0.25** | |
| 15. TSt2 | 13.82 | 3.38 | 0.36** | 0.39** | 0.35** | 0.34** | 0.44** | 0.44** | 0.39** | 0.35** | 0.33** | 0.48** | 0.78** | 0.85** | 0.59** | 0.78** |
[i] Note. SP = Soloistic Production. RD = Representation of Distant Content. TO = Textual Organisation. GP = Genre-Specific Patterns, TS = Total score for oral narrative ability.
**p < .01.
Figure 1
Results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis Across all Time Points (N = 292).
Note. SP = Soloistic Production. RD = Representation of Distant Content. TO = Textual Organisation. GP = Genre-Specific Patterns. ω = McDonald’s Omega. The correlation coefficients represent the standardised solution. ***indicates p < .001.
Table 8
Model Fit Indices MuTex T0, T1, T2 (N = 292).
| MODEL | χ2 | df | CFI | ΔCFI | RMSEA (90% CI) | ΔRMSEA | SRMR | ΔSRMR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Configural | 74.91 | 39 | 0.967 | 0.056(.036–.075) | 0.056 | |||
| Metrica | 76.95 | 41 | 0.967 | 0 | 0.055(.035–.074) | –0.001 | 0.057 | 0.001 |
| Scalarb | 79.48 | 43 | 0.966 | –0.001 | 0.054(.035–.072) | –0.001 | 0.058 | 0.001 |
[i] Note. X2 = Chi-Square; df = Degrees of freedom; CFI = Comparative fit index; RMSEA = Root mean square error of approximation; SRMR; Standardised root mean square residual; CI = Confidence interval.
a Factor loadings (partly) set equally among time points.
b Factor loadings and item intercepts (partly) set equally among time points.
Table 9
Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Criterion Variables at T0.
| VARIABLE | M | SD | RANGE | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Oral Narrative Ability (MuTex) | 8.99 | 3.57 | 4–19 | ||||
| 2. Age | 58.45 | 4.44 | 50–75 | 0.22** | |||
| 3. Parental Education Level | 1.84 | 1.01 | 0–3 | 0.14* | –0.03 | ||
| 4. Executive Functions | 45.40 | 11.81 | 8–92 | 0.35** | 0.10 | 0.21** | |
| 5. German spoken at home (0 = No, 1 = Yes) | 0.82 | 0.39 | 0–1 | 0.28** | 0.01 | 0.31** | 0.28** |
[i] Note. Oral Narrative Ability is the total score for the MuTex instrument. Age is reported in months. Parental Education Level was coded on a 4-point ordinal scale: 0 = compulsory schooling or less, 1 = higher secondary degree or professional apprenticeship, 2 = higher professional education, and 3 = university degree. Executive Functions is the total score from the MEFS, ranging from 0 to 100. German spoken at home was dummy-coded (0 = German is not spoken at home, 1 = German is spoken at home). The mean (M) for this variable represents the proportion of the sample speaking German at home. Correlations involving this variable are point-biserial correlations. *p < .05; **p < .01.