Piagetian conceptualization of the visuo-spatial aspacts of reading

Piagetian spatial theory was used to analyse the structures underlying reading at the identification level. A set of eight Piagetian Tasks, derived from this analysis, was inter-correlated with eight Reading Tasks and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. This battery of tests was administered individually to 60 Grade Two children. The pattern of correlation between the Reading and Piagetian Tasks indicates that the Piagetian spatial structures underlie successful reading performance. Performance on the individual items in the Piagetian Tasks followed the rank order predicted from a conceptual analysis of the complexity of the Piagetian structures underlying individual items within a task. A Stage Analysis, to determine the developmental level of each child across Piagetian Tasks, confirmed the Correlational Analysis in that no child who was in Piagetian Stage II was a good reader.Arts, Faculty ofPsychology, Department ofGraduat