Representative Research Publications 

Chan, W. T., Bull, R., Ng, E. L., Waschl, N., & Poon, K. K. (2021). Validation of the Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS) using multilevel factor analysis. Psychological Assessment33(11), 1138-1151. 

Waschl, N., Poon, K.K., Chen, M., & Xie, H. (2021). Assessing Family Outcomes over time: Longitudinal measurement invariance of the Family Outcomes Survey-Revised. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education.

Waschl, N., Yang, X., Xie, H., Chen, M., & Poon, K. K. (2021). Construct validity of the Family Outcomes Survey-Revised expanded helpfulness scale. Research in Developmental Disabilities112, 103895. 

Waschl, N., Xie, H., Chen, M., & Poon, K. (2019). Construct, convergent, and discriminant validity of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale for Singapore. Infants & Young Children, 32, 1.

Xie, H., Bian, X., Chen, C.Y., Squires, J., Lu, P. (2019). Examining the convergent evidence of a parent-completed, social-emotional screening tool in China. Journal of Child and Family Studies28, 1471-1480.

Yao, S.Y., Bull, R., Khng, K. H., & Rahim, A. (2018). Psychometric properties of the NEPSY-II affect recognition subtest in a preschool sample: a Rasch modeling approach. The Clinical Neuropsychologist32(1), 63-80.

Bull, R., Yao, S. Y., & Ng, E. L. (2017). Assessing quality of kindergarten classrooms in Singapore: Psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised. International Journal of Early Childhood49, 1-20. 

Goh, S. K., Tham, E. K., Magiati, I., Sim, L., Sanmugam, S., Qiu, A., ... & Rifkin-Graboi, A. (2017). Analysis of item-level bias in the Bayley-III language subscales: the validity and utility of standardized language assessment in a multilingual setting. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research60(9), 2663-2671.

Waschl, N. A., Nettelbeck, T., & Burns, N. R. (2017). The role of visuospatial ability in the Raven’s Progressive Matrices. Journal of Individual Differences, 38(4), 241–255.
Khng, K. H., & Ng, E. L. (2021). Fine motor and executive functioning skills predict math and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten: A compensatory account. Infancia y Aprendizaje: Journal for the Study of Education and Development.

Wang, J., Yang, Y., Macias, C., & Bonawitz E. (2021). Children with more uncertainty in their intuitive theories seek domain-relevant information. Psychological Science, 32(7), 1147-1156.

Yu, Y., & Kushnir, T. (2020). The ontogeny of cumulative culture: Individual toddlers vary in faithful imitation and goal emulation. Developmental Science, 23(1), e12862.

Rifkin-Graboi, A., Khng, K. H., Cheung, P., Tsotsi, S., Sun, H., Kwok, F., Yu, Y., Xie, H., Yang, Y., Chen, M., Ng, D.C.C., Hu, P.L., Tan, N.C. (2019). Will the future BE POSITIVE? Early life experience as a signal to the developing brain pre school entry. Learning: Research and Practice5(2), 99-125. 

Yu, Y., Bonawitz, E., & Shafto, P. (2019). Pedagogical questions in parent-child conversations. Child Development, 90(1), 147-161.

Rifkin-Graboi, A., Quan, J., Richmond, J., Goh K.Y, Sim, L.W., Chong Y.S., Bureau, J.F., Chen, H., Qiu, A., (2018). Greater caregiving risk, better infant memory performance? Hippocampus28(7), 497-511. 

Ng, E. L., & Lee, K. (2015). Effects of trait test anxiety and state anxiety on children's working memory task performance. Learning and Individual Differences40, 141-148. 

Khng, K. H., & Lee, K. (2014). The relationship between Stroop and Stop-Signal measures of inhibition in adolescents: Influences from variations in context and measure estimation. PLoS ONE9(7), e101356. 
Chua, B.L., Wong, I. Y. F., Karuppiah, N., & Nie, Y. (2020). Actions and Consequences: Activity Cards. Singapore: MLL, PCHD, NIE, NTU.

Karuppiah, N., Chua, B.L., Wong, I. Y. F., & Nie, Y. (2020). Identifying and understanding emotions: I’m hap-hap-happy!. Singapore: MLL, PCHD, NIE, NTU.

Khng, K. H., & Mane, R. (2020). Beyond BCI—Validating a wireless, consumer-grade EEG headset against a medical-grade system for evaluating EEG effects of a test anxiety intervention in schools. Advanced Engineering Informatics. 

Nie, Y., Chua, B.L., Karuppiah, N., & Wong, I. Y. F. (2020). Self-regulation and control of behaviour: What happened to Grace?. Singapore: MLL, PCHD, NIE, NTU.

Nie, Y., Chua, B.L., Karuppiah, N., & Wong, I. Y. F. (2020). Self-regulation and control of behaviour: What happened to Tom?. Singapore: MLL, PCHD, NIE, NTU.

Karuppiah, N. (2019). SKIP Development Project: Learning Resources for Preschool Educators. Singapore: ECSE, NIE, NTU.

Chen, M., Hyppa-Martin, J., Reichle, J., & Symons, F. (2016). Comparing single case design overlap-based effect size metrics from studies examining speech generating device intervention. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 121(3), 169-193. 

Choy, M. Y., & Karuppiah, N. (2016). Preparing Kindergarten Two children for Primary One in Singapore: perceptions and practices of parents, kindergarten teachers and primary schoolteachers. Early Child Development and Care, 186(3), 453-465.

Layne, H., Óskarsdóttir , E. & Niittymäki, H (2016). The subjective side of success: Children's stories of a good life. International Journal of Bias, Identity and Diversities in Education, 1(1), 28-41.
Loh, C. E., Sun, B. & Leong, C.H. (2022) Reading Identities, mobilities, and reading futures: critical spatial perspectives on adolescent access to literacy resources. Harvard Educational Review, 92(1), 55-85.

Sun, B., Loh, C. E., O’Brien, B.A., & Silver, R. (2021). The Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Bilingual Singaporean Children’s Leisure Reading. AERA Open. 7, 233285842110338–. 

Sun, B., Loh, C. E. & Nie, Y. (2021). The COVID-19 School Closure Effect on Students’ Print and Digital Leisure ReadingComputers and Education Open.

O’Brien, B.A., Habib, M.B., Arshad, N.A., Lim, N.C. (2020). The impact of different writing systems on children’s spelling error profiles: alphabetic, akshara and hanzi casesFrontiers in Psychology Special Issue: Spelling Across Orthographies.

Sun, B., Hu, G. W., &. Curdt-Christiansen, X.L (2020). Metalinguistic contribution to reading comprehension: A study of monolingual children in China and bilingual children in Singapore. Applied Psycholinguistics41(3), 657-684.

Sun, H., Toh, W. M., & Steinkrauss, R. (2020). Instructional strategies and linguistic features of kindergarten teachers’ shared book reading: the case of Singapore. Applied Psycholinguistics41(2), 427-456.  

Sun, H., Ng, S. C., O’Brien, B.A., & Fritzsche, T. (2020). Child, family, and school factors in bilingual preschoolers’ vocabulary development in heritage languages. Journal of Child Language, 1-27. 

Sun, H., Yussof, N., Vijayakumar, P., Lai, G., O’Brien, B. A., & Ong, Q.H. (2020). Teacher's code-switching and bilingual children's heritage language learning and cognitive switching flexibility. Journal of Child Language47(2), 309-336. 

Loh, C. E., Sun, B. (2019). I'd still prefer to read the hard copy: adolescents' print and digital reading habits. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy62(6), 663-672.

O’Brien, B.A., Habib, M.B., Onnis, L. (2019). Technology-based tools for literacy: Examining factors of intervention grain size and individual differences. Special Issue: Reading in the digital age: The impact of using digital devices on children’s reading, writing and thinking skills. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(2625).

O’Brien, B.A., Mohamed, H.M., Yussof, N.T. & Ng, S. C. (2019). The phonological awareness relation to early reading in English for three groups of simultaneous bilingual children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 32(4), 909-937.

O’Brien, B. A., Lim, N. C., Mohamed, M. B. H., & Arshad, N. A. (2019). Cross-lag analysis of early reading and spelling development for bilinguals learning English and Asian scripts. Reading and Writing, 1-33.

Sun, H., Loh, J. Y., & Charles, A. C. (2019). Motion and sound in animated storybooks for preschooler’s total fixation time and mandarin language learning: an eye-tracking study with Singaporean bilingual children. AERA Open5(2), 1-19. 

Wu, C. Y., Zaccarella, E., & Friederici, A. D. (2019). Universal neural basis of structure building evidenced by network modulations emerging from Broca's area: The case of Chinese. Human Brain Mapping, 40(6), 1705-1717.

Sun, B., Hu, G., & Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2018). Metalinguistic contribution to writing competence: a study of monolingual children in China and bilingual children in Singapore. Reading and Writing31(7), 1499-1523.

Sun, H., Yussof, N., Mohamed, M., Rahim, A., Cheung, W. L., Cheong, S. A., & Bull, R. (2018). Bilingual language experience and social-emotional wellbeing:  A cross-sectional study of Singapore pre-schoolers. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1-16. 

O’Brien, B.A & Wallot, S. (2016). Silent reading fluency and comprehension in bilingual children. Frontiers in Psychology7.

Wu, C. Y., Vissiennon, K., Friederici, A.D., & Brauer, J. (2016). Preschoolers’ brains rely on semantic cues prior to the mastery of syntax during sentence comprehension. NeuroImage126, 256-266.

O'Brien, B.A. (2014). The development of sensitivity to sublexical orthographic constraints: An investigation of positional frequency and consistency using a wordlikeness choice task. Reading Psychology35(4), 285-311.

O'Brien, B. A., Yin, B., Li, L., Zhang, D., Chin, C. F., Zhao, S., & Vaish, V. (2014). Bilingualism, Literacy and Reading Achievement (NIE Working Paper Series No. 4). Singapore: National Institute of Education. ISBN: 978-981-09-3467-5.

Wu, C.Y., Ho, M.H.R., & Chen, S.H.A. (2012). A meta-analysis of fMRI studies on chinese orthographic, phonological, and semantic processing. NeuroImage63(1), 381-391.
Ng, E. L., & Lee, K. (2019). The different involvement of working memory in math and test anxiety. In I. Mammarella, S. Caviola, A. Dowker (Ed.), Mathematics anxiety: What is known and what is still to be understood (pp. 126-140). London: Routledge.

Cheung, P., Rubenson, M., & Barner, D. (2017). To infinity and beyond: Children generalize the successor function to all possible numbers years after learning to count. Cognitive Psychology92, 22-36. 

Khng, K. H., & Lee, K. (2009). Inhibiting interference from prior knowledge: Arithmetic intrusions in algebra word problem solving. Learning and Individual Differences19(2), 262-268. 
Tan, H.K., Goh K.Y., Tsotsi, S., Bruntraeger, M., Chen, H., Broekman, B., Tan, K.H., Chong, Y.S., Meaney, M.J., Qiu, A., Rifkin-Graboi, A. (2020). Maternal antenatal anxiety and electrophysiological functioning amongst a sub-set of preschoolers participating in the GUSTO cohort. BMC Psychiatry20(1), 62. 

Yang, Y., Song, Q., Doan, S., & Wang, Q. (2020). Maternal reactions to children’s negative emotions: The relations to psychological adjustment, emotion knowledge, and coping in cultural contexts. Transcultural Psychiatry, 57(3), 408-420.

Yu, Y., Shafto, P. & Bonawitz, E. (2020). Inconvenient samples: Modeling biases related to parental consent by coupling observational and experimental results. Open Mind: Discoveries in Cognitive Science, 4, 13–24. 

Song, Q., Yang, Y., Doan, S., & Wang, Q. (2019). Savoring or dampening? Maternal reactions to children’s positive emotions in cultural contexts. Culture and Brain, 7(2), 172-189. 

Rifkin-Graboi A., Kong L., Sim L.W., Sanmugam S., Broekman B.F., Chen H., Wong E., Kwek K., Saw S.M., Chong Y.S., Gluckman P.D., Fortier M.V., Pederson D., Meaney M.J., Qiu A*. (2015). Maternal sensitivity, infant limbic structure volume and functional connectivity: a preliminary study. Transl Psychiatry, 5, e668.

Karuppiah, N. (2021). Multicultural Education Radio Recording CNA938 21 July 2021 Dr Nirmala - Multiculturalism Education (http://www.nie.edu.sg/videos/default-source/crcd/cna938-21-july-2021-(dr-nirmala---multiculturalism-education).mp4?sfvrsn=cbb0652e_0)

Karuppiah, N. (2021). Enhancing the quality of teacher-child interactions in Singapore pre-schools. Journal of Childhood, Education and Society, 2(1), 58-68.

Huai, L. P. R., Karuppiah, N., & Yu, Y. (2020). Questioning during story-telling ac in Singapore pre-schools. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, 14(3), 73-90.

Karuppiah, N., & Hussain, H. (2019, September). Connecting the dots for effective school transitionSingteach, Issue 70, Sep 2019, 1-2.

Karuppiah, N. (2019, June). Creating learning environments for young children. NEWS, 108, 18-19.

Bull, R., Bautista, A., Salleh, H., & Karuppiah, N.. (2018). Evolving a harmonized hybrid system of ECEC: A careful balancing act: A case study of the Singapore early childhood education and care system. New York: Teachers College.

Hussain, H., Jesuvadian, M.K., Tay-Lim, J., Karuppiah, N., Norazman, L.Y., & Lim, L. (2018). Supporting children in their transition to Primary 1: A guide for teachers and parents in Singapore. Singapore: National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.

Khng, K. H. (2018). Mindfulness in education: the case of Singapore. Learning: Research and Practice, 4(1), 52-65.

Layne, H., Dervin, F., & Longfor, R. (2018). Success and Multiculturalism in Finnish Schools. In Race R. (eds), Advancing Multicultural Dialogues in Education (pp. 159-176). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Tan, O. S., Liu, W. C., & Low, E. L. (2018). Teacher Education in the 21st Century Singapore’s Evolution and Innovation. Puchong, Selangor D.E.: Springer Singapore.

Munez, D., Bautista, A., Khiu, E., Keh, J. S., & Bull, R. (2017). Preschool teachers’ engagement in professional development: Frequency, perceived usefulness, and relationship with self-efficacy beliefs. Psychology, Society, & Education, 9, 181. 

Tan, O. S., Low, E. L. & Hung, D. (2017). Lee Kuan Yew's Educational Legacy. Puchong, Selangor D.E.: Springer Singapore.

Choy, M. Y., & Karuppiah, N. (2015). Preparing Kindergarten Two children for Primary One in Singapore: Perceptions and practices of parents, kindergarten teachers and primary school teachers. Early Child Development and Care.

Karuppiah, N. (2015). Childcare staff and parents’ beliefs about quality care for infants/toddlers in centre-based programmes in Singapore. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(30), 105-113.

Karuppiah, N. (2014). Computer habits and behaviours among young children in Singapore. Early Child Development and Care.

Karuppiah, N. (2012). Assessment and culture. In D. Pandergast (Ed.), Teaching early years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. NSW: Allen and Unwin. 

Berthelson, D., Brownlee, J., & Karuppiah, N. (2011). Teachers’ beliefs and practices in early childhood education in Singapore. Singapore: Pearson Education.

Karuppiah, N., & Berthelsen, D. (2011). Multicultural education of preschool teachers. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, Education, 36(4), 38-42.

Karuppiah, N. (2011). Sparking creativity through simple art & craft activities. Singapore: Pearson Education. 

Karuppiah, N. (2011). Sparking curiosity through simple science. Singapore: Pearson Education. 

Karuppiah, N. (2010). Multicultural education: Identifying training needs of preschool teachers. Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.

Berthelsen, D., Brownlee, J., & Karuppiah, N. (2009). Childcare workers’ and centre directors’ beliefs about child care quality and professional training. Early Child Development and Care, 1-19.

Tan, O. S. (2007).  Problem-based learning pedagogies: psychological processes and enhancement of intelligences. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 6(2), 101-114

Tsotsi, S., & Yang, Y. (2022). Master Your Feelings: Emotional Competence in Early Childhood Parent-Related Antecedents and Child Outcomes. In Tan, O.S., Poon, K.K., O’Brien, B.A., Rifkin-Graboi, A. (eds), Early Childhood Development and Education in Singapore (pp. 217-240). Springer, Singapore.

Yang, Y., Wang, L., & Wang, Q. (2021). Take your word or tone for it? European American and Chinese children's attention to emotional cues in speech. Child Development, 92(3), 844-852.

Wang, W., Vallotton, C. D., & Bowles, R. P. (2020). Ethnic variances in socializing young children’s mastery motivation among White, African American, and Hispanic low-income families. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 51, 329-337. 

Yang, Y., & LoBue, V. (2020). The Child Affective Facial Expression set short versions (CAFE-Ss): Development and validation of two subsets of children’s emotional faces with variability. Frontiers in Psychology11

Rifkin-Graboi, A., Goh, K.Y., Tan, H.M., Sim, L.W., Sanmugam, S., Chong, Y.S., Tan, K.H., Chen, H., Meaney, M., Qiu, A. (2019). The moderating role of the neonatal hippocampus in the relation between attachment disorganization.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)116(34), 16787-16792. 

Tsotsi, S., Broekman, B. F. P., Shek, L. P., Tan, K. H., Chong, Y. S., Chen, H., Meaney, M. J., & Rifkin-Graboi, A. E. (2019). Maternal parenting stress, child exuberance, and preschoolers behavior problems. Child Development90(1), 136-146.

Tsotsi, S., Broekman, B.F.P., Sim, L.W., Shek, L.P., Tan, K.H., Yap, F., Chong, Y.S., Qiu, A., Chen, H., Meaney, M.J., Rifkin-Graboi, A. (2019). Maternal anxiety, parenting stress, and preschoolers' behavior problems: The role of child self-regulation. Journal of Developmental and Behavioural Pediatrics40(9), 696-705.

Yang, Y. & Wang, Q. (2019). Culture in emotional development. In V. LoBue, K. Perez-Edgar, & K. Buss (Eds.), Handbook of Emotional Development (pp. 569-593). Springer.

Khng, K. H. (2017).  A better state-of-mind: deep breathing reduces state anxiety and enhances test performance through regulating test cognitions in children. Cognition and Emotion, 31(7), 1502-1510.

Yang, Y. & Wang, Q. (2016). The relation of emotion knowledge to coping in European American and Chinese immigrant children. Journal of Child and Family Studies25(2), 452-463. 

Yew, S. G. K., & O’Kearney, R. (2013). Emotional and behavioural outcomes later in childhood and adolescence for children with specific language impairments: Meta‐analyses of controlled prospective studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry54(5), 516-524.
Goh, S. K., Yang, H., Tsotsi, S., Qiu, A., Chong, Y. S., Tan, K. H., ... & Rifkin-Graboi, A. (2020). Mitigation of a prospective association between early language delay at toddlerhood and ADHD among bilingual preschoolers: Evidence from the GUSTO Cohort. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1-13.

Nah, Y. H. (2020). Pre-school teachers perceptions of challenging behaviours of students with autism spectrum disorder within inclusive settings. Advances in Autism, ahead-of-print, ahead-of-print.

Nah, Y. H., Young, R. L., & Brewer, N. (2019). Development of a brief version of the Autism Detection in Early Childhood. Autism, 23, 494-502.

Poon, K.K., & Sidhu, D.J.K. (2017). Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A review of outcomes, social attainment, and interventions. Current Opinions in Psychiatry30(2), 77-84.

Poon, K. K., Yang, X. (2016). The student profile, Service Delivery Model, and support practices of four early childhood intervention environments in Singapore. Asia Pacific Journal of Education36(3), 437-449.