In an epidemiological study, the scripts of 121 Dutch primary-school children were evaluated annually, starting in Grade 2. The children were followed for 5 years. An evaluation scale for children's handwriting (the BHK scale) was used for rating the scripts on 13 characteristics and for measuring the speed of writing. Principal component analysis of the LONG matrix (in which the data collected on the five occasions are arranged beneath each other) yielded three clusters of items: (a) fine-motor ability, (b) structural performance, and (c) stylistic preference. It was found that the children with dysgraphic handwriting (10% scoring highest on the BHK quality items) had lower fine-motor ability and, in the higher grades, showed less preference for a personal style. Their structural performance also was poorer than that of the other writers. Children with and without dysgraphic handwriting did not differ in writing speed. Some implications of the study for handwriting instruction are discussed.
To investigate the development of handwriting in primary school children a study was conducted in which the scripts of 127 pupils were rated yearly, starting in Grade 2. Children were followed-up on for 3, 4, or 5 yr. The BHK-scale for children's handwriting was used for rating the scripts on 13 characteristics and for measuring the speed of writing. The shifts in frequency of occurrence of the various characteristics over time were analyzed using Correspondence Analysis. A one-dimensional solution was chosen, yielding a time dimension. Results were interpreted in terms of (a) children's growing motor ability, (b) a deterioration of the form aspects of the script as they had initially learned those, and (c) the development of a personal writing style with regard to esthetic aspects. A strong relation was found between the speed of writing and grade.
In this study the structure of handwriting was investigated longitudinally, across grades. The scripts of 63 primary school children were evaluated annually, starting in Grade 2. Children were followed for 5 years. An evaluation scale for children's handwriting (the BHK-scale) was used to rate the scripts on 13 characteristics and to measure the speed of writing. Principal component analysis of the BROAD matrix (in which the data collected on the five occasions are arranged side by side) showed that the structure of handwriting characteristics is very stable over these years. Principal component analysis of the LONG matrix (in which the data collected on the five occasions are arranged beneath each other) yielded three clusters of items, which concern (a) fine motor ability of the children, (b) structural performance, and (c) stylistic preference. Sex, grade, and writing speed were related to this structure. In yet another approach a principal component analysis was performed on the within-group correlation matrix of the different grades. In this way the effect of differences in means between grades was removed from the analysis. Three principal components emerged, which, after varimax rotation, correspond to the three clusters noted in the principal component analysis of the LONG matrix.
To investigate the development of handwriting in primary school children a study was conducted in which the scripts of 127 pupils were rated yearly, starting in Grade 2. Children were followed-up on for 3, 4, or 5 yr. The BHK-scale for children's handwriting was used for rating the scripts on 13 characteristics and for measuring the speed of writing. The shifts in frequency of occurrence of the various characteristics over time were analyzed using Correspondence Analysis. A one-dimensional solution was chosen, yielding a time dimension. Results were interpreted in terms of (a) children's growing motor ability, (b) a deterioration of the form aspects of the script as they had initially learned those, and (c) the development of a personal writing style with regard to esthetic aspects. A strong relation was found between the speed of writing and grade.
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