The aim of this study was to determine whether GraphoLearn, a computer-assisted reading tool, could be used to support the English reading skills of struggling readers in India. GraphoLearn led to significant improvements in children’s letter-sound knowledge. Thus, it offers a potential intervention to support struggling readers of English in India.

Authors: Priyanka Patel, Minna Torppa, Mikko Aro, Ulla Richardson, & Heikki Lyytinen

Source: Patel, P., Torppa, M., Aro, M., Richardson, U., and Lyytinen, H. (2018). GraphoLearn India: The Effectiveness of a Computer-Assisted Reading Intervention in Supporting Struggling Readers of English. Front. Psychol. 9:1045. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01045

There are hundreds of millions of illiterate individuals in India. Those living in poverty struggle to learn English as they have no prior exposure to it and no support at home. The aim of this study was to determine whether GraphoLearn, a computer-assisted reading tool, could be used to support the English reading skills of struggling readers in India. Participants were 7-year-old, Grade 3 students (N = 30) who were not native English speakers. Grapholearn led to significant improvements in children’s letter-sound knowledge. Thus, it was determined that GraphoLearn offers a potential intervention to support struggling readers of English in India.

• The population of India is over 1.3 billion, and the literacy rate is 72% among those aged 15 years or older.
• Education plays a major role in literacy; however, those living in poverty face many problems in accessing education.
• With a country-wide push towards English-medium education in India, poor students especially are studying in a language that they may have no prior exposure to and no support at home for.
• Speaking English can influence the standard of living in India, as those with better English skills attain better job opportunities and consequently better pay.
• Slum children often have no exposure to English prior to entering school, as parents typically cannot speak English and are also illiterate in their mother tongue.

What is GraphoLearn?

• This was previously known as GraphoGame.
• It is a theoretically-driven, computer-assisted tool for early reading that provides training on the connections between spoken and written language by explicitly instructing on grapheme–phoneme correspondences.

Methods of Teaching English

Rote manner

• Children in India are taught English in rote manner.
• Students learn the names of letters, rather than sounds, and are then expected to learn ‘common’ words as a whole.
• Through such rote learning methods, children are unable to blend or decode unfamiliar words and are therefore only able to ‘read’ words that are familiar to them.

Systematic phonics

• This refers to explicitly instructing readers on the linkages that exist between letters and their corresponding sounds and how that is then used to read words.
• This approach is believed to be the most logical way to support early reading development.

The study

This study examined the efficacy of GraphoLearn, a computer-assisted reading tool, in improving basic English reading skills of slum children in India by supporting the development of grapheme–phoneme knowledge, reading, and spelling ability.

Participants were 31 Grade 3 learners, aged 7–8 years. Students were randomly allocated to either the experimental group (which played GraphoLearn; n = 16) or the control group, which played a math game (n = 15). All students came from low-income homes with no exposure to English in the home environment. One student’s data was removed because they did not participate in any of the post-tests.

Implications

• The GraphoLearn intervention group showed the greatest improvements with the letter-sounds task; therefore, it can effectively support the development of English letter-sound knowledge among Indian children.
• Letter-sound knowledge has been identified as a critical building block in early reading development and it affects early literacy skills.
• Technology has the potential to enhance learning.
• The greatest efficiency may be achieved if technology is used to create a ‘blended learning’ environment in which teachers use information gathered from the technology to guide further instruction.

This paper reviews recent data regarding how different types of donor interventions (structural or pedagogical) have contributed to improved reading outcomes. Moreover, effect sizes are compared over a series of intervention studies conducted from 2003 to 2015. We identify the programme design characteristics and types of interventions that increase the likelihood of successful expansion of the interventions commonly referred to as ‘scaling-up’, the ability to sustain interventions, and the value of reading programmes in low- and middle-income countries.

Authors: Audrey-Marie Moore, Amber Gove, & Karen Tietjen

Source: Moore, A.-M., Gove, A., & Tietjen, K. (2017). Great expectations: A framework for assessing and understanding key factors affecting student learning of foundational reading skills. In A. Gove, A. Mora, & P. McCardle (Eds.), Progress toward a literate world: Early reading interventions in low-income countries, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 155, 13–30.

This paper reviews recent data regarding how different types of donor interventions (structural or pedagogical) have contributed to improved reading outcomes. Moreover, effect sizes are compared over a series of intervention studies conducted from 2003 to 2015. We identify the programme design characteristics and types of interventions that increase the likelihood of successful expansion of the interventions commonly referred to as ‘scaling-up’, the ability to sustain interventions, and the value of reading programmes in low- and middle-income countries.

• The Education for All (EFA) movement is a global commitment to providing high-quality basic education for all children, youth, and adults.
• Basic education is a human right, is central to countries’ economic, social, and political development, and leads to better family health and nutrition, improved capacity of the poor to participate in the political process, and higher lifetime incomes.
• Reading skill acquisition is most effectively achieved by instruction in languages that the student speaks and understands, a phonics-based approach, and a materials-rich environment.
• To achieve basic education outcomes, a move from focusing on access to focusing on quality and learning is required.

The study

This paper reviews recent data on how different types of donor interventions have contributed to improved reading outcomes. Moreover, it compares effect sizes over a series of intervention studies conducted from 2003 to 2015. We present a framework for understanding how the intensity, frequency, and fidelity of the interventions as well together with the enabling environments of reform affect the magnitude and rates at which reading and learning outcomes can be expected to improve. This article identifies the programme design characteristics and types of interventions that increase the likelihood of successful expansion of the interventions commonly referred to as ‘scaling-up’.

Implications

• Dosage and duration of intervention as well as an enabling environment affect the success of the intervention.
• Donors and implementers should endeavour to instigate more comparisons between different approaches within their implementation designs and test multiple hypotheses to answer key policy and practice questions.

This study systematically reviewed literacy interventions in low- and middle-income countries, and estimated their effects on children’s reading skills using a meta-analytic approach. The results revealed an overall effect of .30 across various literacy outcomes. The largest effects were identified for emergent literacy skills (.40) and the smallest effects for reading comprehension (.25) and oral language skills (.20).

Authors: Young-Suk G. Kim, Hansol Lee, & Stephanie S. Zuilkowski

Source: Kim, Y.-S. G., Lee, H., & Zuilkowski, S.S. (2020). Impact of Literacy Interventions on Reading Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis. Child Development, 91(2), 638-660, DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13204

This study systematically reviewed literacy interventions in low- and middle-income countries, and estimated their effects on children’s reading skills using a meta-analytic approach. A total of 67 studies met the inclusion criteria. The results revealed an overall effect of .30 across various literacy outcomes. Largest effects were identified for emergent literacy skills (.40) and the smallest effects for reading comprehension (.25) and oral language skills (.20).

• Reading is one of the core foundational skills for academic achievement and careers in the modern information-driven society.
• Beyond individual growth and advancement, reading skills also have economic consequences at the societal level.
• Unfortunately, many children—particularly those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)—do not develop foundational reading skills even after years of instruction.
• It is estimated that 9 out of 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have basic reading skills. A similarly dire situation is also found in Central and Southern Asia.

The study

The goal of this study was to review the effects of reading interventions on reading and language outcomes in LMICs using a meta-analytic approach.

Research questions:

1. What is the impact of multicomponent literacy intervention in LMICs on language and reading outcomes?
2. Do the effects vary as a function of intervention features as well as contextual factors?

Overall, a total of 67 studiesmet all the inclusion criteria, with 129 independent samples representing 661 effect sizes from 32 countries (N = 213,464)

Factors affecting the effect size

• Language in which reading is taught was an issue, as reading acquisition is easier in a child’s most familiar language.
• In some interventions, teachers were provided with a one-off teacher training workshop, whereas in others ongoing support was provided, including regular classroom visits, feedback, and booster training sessions.
• The majority of interventions targeted instruction in the school context only, whereas some incorporated community involvement to encourage literacy-related activities in the children’s homes and communities.
• Interventions also varied in terms of duration and target subjects.
• Results may also have been moderated as a function of contextual features such as urbanicity and region.

Implications

• Despite the impact of reading development on individual income, health, and empowerment, as well as the economic development of a country, reading has not been taught explicitly as a skill in many LMICs and the majority of children cannot read a single word even after years of instruction.
• The average effect size of .30 is quite impressive and promising.
• With explicit and systematic instruction, lower-level skills (such as emergent literacy skills) are easier to improve (relatively) than higher-order skills such as reading comprehension. Improving reading comprehension requires concerted and sustained efforts to a greater extent compared to constrained skills such as emergent literacy skills.
• One moderator that had a relatively consistent result was teacher training support. The average effect was larger when teachers were either provided with ongoing PD beyond a one-off workshop or had no training.

This study discusses an educational intervention with a strong emphasis on reading development in a bilingual context in the Western Highlands (WH) of Guatemala. The majority of students speak a Mayan language as their mother tongue, although they are generally taught in Spanish. For this intervention, we report data for the first 3 years of implementation of a bilingual/intercultural education model that includes teacher training at the university level and the development of bilingual materials.

Authors: Fernando Rubio, Leslie Rosales de Véliz, María Cristina Perdomo Mosquera, & Ventura Salanic López

Source: Rubio, F., de V´eliz, L. R., Perdoma Mosquera, M. C., & Salanic L´ opez, V. (2017). Impact of teachers’ practices on students’ reading comprehension growth in Guatemala. In A. Gove, A. Mora, & P. McCardle (Eds.), Progress toward a literate world: Early reading interventions in low-income countries, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 155, 67–76.

This study discusses an educational intervention with a strong emphasis on reading development in a bilingual context in the Western Highlands (WH) of Guatemala. The majority of students speak a Mayan language as their mother tongue, although they are generally taught in Spanish. For this intervention, we report data for the first 3 years of implementation of a bilingual/intercultural education model that includes teacher training at the university level and the development of bilingual materials.

• The WH of Guatemala is representative of much of rural Guatemala; a multicultural, multilingual country where more than 20 languages—including Spanish—are spoken.
• The country has one of the highest inequality levels in the Americas.
• Teachers are poorly trained and few instructional materials exist, leading to more than one third of children in rural areas not completing first grade.

The study

This study presents the results for the first 3 years of implementation of the LLL project.

Hypothesis:

• Students of teachers who employed project intervention components showed greater growth in reading than teachers who did not report using such interventions.

The sample consisted of 114 WH elementary schools. Data were collected over a 1-year period from 326 teachers serving approximately 6,000 students. Teachers’ use of interventions was measured through a self-report questionnaire about specific intervention components. Student progress in reading comprehension was measured with the Ministry of Education National Reading Assessments for Elementary Grades at the beginning and end of the school year.

Implications

• This intervention programme was implemented on a region-wide basis.
• Initial results show that growth has been promising, although clearly this work must be ongoing to continue to have an impact.
• Teachers require training at university level, and training should be accompanied by ongoing support from coaches willing to help them improve their practice.
• Encouraging the Ministry of Education to develop and provide reading and assessment materials in different languages of instruction is beginning to have positive effects.
• Parents’ participation in reading is beginning to affect growth.

The Government of Mozambique has long struggled to improve the low reading levels of children in early grades. A research-based reading intervention was developed and tested in two provinces. This article examines student reading performance from cohorts of second- and third-grade students before and after a 1-year intervention when compared to a control group. The study identifies factors required for successful scale-up of the intervention.

Authors: Shirley Burchfield, Haiyan Hua, David Noyes, & Willem van de Waal

Source: Burchfield, S., Hua, H., Noyes, D., & Van de Waal, W. (2017). Improving early grade reading outcomes: Aprender a ler in Mozambique. In A. Gove, A. Mora, & P. McCardle (Eds.), Progress toward a literate world: Early reading interventions in low-income countries, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. 155, 117–130.

The Government of Mozambique has long struggled to improve the low reading levels of children in early grades. A research-based reading intervention was developed and tested in two provinces. This article examines student reading performance from cohorts of second- and third-grade students before and after a 1-year intervention when compared to a control group. The study identifies factors required for successful scale-up of the intervention.

• In the 1990s (after the civil war), school attendance in Mozambique was difficult due to high poverty levels, impassable roads, and deteriorating or non-existent schools, despite a commitment to improve education.
• Enrolment was low (around 40%) and schools lacked books, supplies, and qualified teachers.
• Between 2003 and 2010, primary school enrolment increased from 3.3 million to 5.3 million.
• With an insufficient number of trained teachers and too few schools to meet the increased demand, most schools operated with double shifts.
• One study reported that only 41% of children at Grade 3 could read a single word, and only 6% could read 11 words or more per minute.

The study

Research questions:

1. To what extent have programme interventions improved reading outcomes for children in Nampula and Zambésia provinces?
2. What factors might assist or impede scale-up efforts?

Sampling included a priori random assignment of 180 schools to either a treatment or a control group in Zambésia and Nampula. Evaluators selected 10 children from each class (3,475 in total). The same schools were sampled at baseline and for midline 1 and midline 2 evaluation, although different students were assessed across the applications.

Components of the intervention

• Reading reinforcement programme: provides training, coaching, and teaching materials in Portuguese to teachers in Grades 2 and 3 using a phonics-based scope and sequence.
• School director training and coaching programme: provides school directors with training in school leadership, effective communication, giving and receiving feedback, using practical school management tools for data-based decision making, and building community participation.
• Institutional capacity building: project staff work with the Provincial Directorate of Education and Culture and Teacher Training Institutes to prepare them to eventually take over programme initiatives.
• Measuring impact for evidence-based decision making: the project integrates a rigorous monitoring and evaluation process throughout the programme.

Implications

• Four factors were most likely to have contributed to the results: availability of materials, student and teacher attendance, training and supervision, and language of instruction.
• Each teacher in the Aprender a Ler treatment schools received two copies of each of 18 titles of read-aloud books and one copy per child of each of 18 decodable books. In control schools, only 10% of children had any reading books.
• One impediment to programme scale-up is high student and teacher absenteeism: 52% in full treatment schools and 62% in control schools for students, and 31% in treatment schools and 34% in control schools for teachers.
• The programme selects the strongest and most committed reading coaches and school directors to join a core group of trainers. The success of the scale-up depends on the strength of each district education office.
• Inability to understand the language of instruction is an impediment to scaling up the programme. The project has developed teaching and learning materials in three Bantu languages. The purpose is to teach vocabulary and comprehension in Portuguese by using a cross-linguistic transfer model. This new component will likely significantly improve children’s ability to learn to read and enhance their overall academic performance.

Interest in reading contributes to reading activity and to the amount of reading, which in turn promotes students’ reading performance. Teachers (and their instruction) provide an important supporting environment for children’s learning and motivation. Child-centred teaching practices that are sensitive to the development of children’s autonomy, competence beliefs, and social interactions with peers support interest in reading.

Author: Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen

Source: Lerkkanen, M-K. (2018). The influence of instructional practices on reading motivation in Finland. In Orellana García P. & Baldwin Lind P. (eds.). Reading Achievement and Motivation in Boys and Girls, Literacy Studies 15, 65-78. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-75948-7_4

Interest in reading contributes to reading activity and to the amount of reading, which in turn promotes students’ reading performance. Teachers (and their instruction) provide an important supporting environment for children’s learning and motivation. Child-centred teaching practices that are sensitive to the development of children’s autonomy, competence beliefs, and social interactions with peers support interest in reading.

• Differences between individuals in terms of development of reading skills and interest in reading start before entering school.
• Educational contexts that promote children’s autonomy to initiate tasks and complete them, without applying strict performance criteria, have been shown to strengthen children’s interest in reading.
• Motivation combined with effort is the key to success at school.
• While intrinsic motivation involves students’ thoughts, ability, beliefs, and emotions in learning situations, extrinsic motivation often works only while external reward is available.
• The value aspect of achievement motivation includes three components: attainment value, utility value, and intrinsic (or interest) value.
• Students’ interest in reading is typically high at the beginning of school but often decreases during the elementary school years.

Gender differences

• Girls typically demonstrate higher levels of interest and a stronger self-concept of ability concerning reading. They also typically outperform boys in most literacy tasks at school.
• There is greater variance within groups of boys and within groups of girls than there are differences between genders.

The study

The findings of a large-scale First Steps study on how Finnish teachers’ instructional practices are associated with children’s interest in reading are summarised in this study.

Research question:

• How do teaching practices and the quality of teacher-child interactions observed in classrooms influence children’s motivation in reading, particularly among boys and at-risk children in the early school years?

Participants in the First Steps study were originally approximately 2000 children and their parents and teachers from 4 municipalities in Finland. The study includes several yearly assessments of students’ academic performance, motivation, social skills, and wellbeing.

Implications

Teaching practices that are sensitive to the development of children’s autonomy, self-efficacy, and social interactions with peers can support their interest in reading.

Raising children’s curiosity (by giving them choices and supporting their autonomy to make choices themselves) can support students to sustain their interest in a task or activity.

Teacher’s positive verbal reinforcement toward a child’s (deserved) effort rather than toward their intelligence may increase intrinsic motivation.

Mistakes and misunderstandings should be considered learning opportunities.

Teachers need to support children’s connection with others in the classroom. High-quality classroom interactions should be emotionally supportive, caring, and respectful.

Using the longitudinal reading scores of 6,874 students from 424 schools at 12 sites across Africa and Asia, results showed there was 1) a modest but consistent relationship between students’ home literacy environments and reading scores, and 2) a strong relationship between reading gains and participation in community reading activities, suggesting that interventions should consider both home and community learning environments and their differential influences on interventions across different low-resource settings.

Authors: Amy Jo Dowd, Elliott Friedlander, Christine Jonason, Jane Leer, Lisa Zook Sorensen, Jarrett Guajardo, Nikhit D’Sa, Clara Pava, & Lauren Pisani

Source: Dowd, A. J., Friedlander, E., Jonason, C., Leer, J., Sorensen, L. Z., Guajardo, J., D’Sa, N., Pava, C., & Pisani, L. (2017). Lifewide learning for early reading development. In A. Gove, A. Mora, & P. McCardle (Eds.), Progress toward a literate world: Early reading interventions in low-income countries, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 155, 31–49.

This study examined the relationships between children’s reading abilities and the enabling environment for learning in the context of Save the Children’s Literacy Boost programme. Using the longitudinal reading scores of 6,874 students from 424 schools at 12 sites across Africa and Asia, results suggested there was 1) a modest but consistent relationship between students’ home literacy environments and reading scores, and 2) a strong relationship between reading gains and participation in community reading activities, suggesting that interventions should consider both home and community learning environments and their differential influences on interventions across different low-resource settings.

• Repeated attempts to affect student learning exclusively through schools have largely failed.
• Learning is influenced by the enabling environment outside school, whether captured as materials, being surrounded by readers, good reading habits, or reading together.

The study

This study investigated how home- and community-enabling environments contribute to children’s learning. This was achieved using longitudinal data from 12 sites across Bangladesh, Burundi, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Malawi, the Philippines, and Rwanda.

Research hypotheses:

H1: At baseline, the enabling environment of the home (specifically reading materials and literacy habits) will be positively associated with students’ reading achievement, controlling for demographic and school characteristics.

H2: At endline, the enabling environment of the community (specifically the amount of community reading activities in which a student participates) will be positively associated with how much the student learned, regardless of starting achievement level, baseline home learning environment, demographic, and school characteristics.

The sample was drawn from 12 sites (each of which had between 25 and 85 schools). In each school, 20 students (10 boys and 10 girls) were randomly selected to participate in the study. Datasets include between 338 and 827 students in Grades 1–4.

Measures

Reading Assessment

• Untimed letter identification
• Fluency
• Comprehension

Home Enabling Environment

• The reading materials index sums the different reading material types at home, with child-friendly materials (×3).
• The reading habits index sums the number of times in the past week household members a) were seen reading, b) read to the student, c) helped or encouraged the student to study, and d) told the student a story.

Community Enabling Environment

• This refers to the degree of participation in Literacy Boost community reading activities during past week, as follows: a) meeting with a reading buddy, b) borrowing books from a book bank, c) attending a reading camp, d) participating in a ‘make-and-take’ activity to create reading materials to take home, and e) participating in a read-a-thon.

Implications

Home environment influences reading skills, even taking other background characteristics into account. Reading habits significantly predict achievement more often than reading materials. Participation in community reading activities is typically positively related to students’ reading gains, and the magnitude of the effect is greater for advanced skills.

In this study, the comparative efficacy of a phonics-based reading programme and a language experience approach-based literacy programme to develop reading skills among Zambian early childhood school learners were investigated. The learners (N = 1986) took either the phonics-based reading programme (n = 1593) or the alternative language experience approach-based programme (n = 393). Results suggest that learners in the phonics-based literacy programme demonstrated significantly better results in letter-sound knowledge and in reading skills.

Authors: Francis K. Sampa, Emma Ojanen, Jari Westerholm, Ritva Ketonen, & Heikki Lyytinen

Source: Sampa, F.K., Ojanen, E., Westerholm, J., Ketonen, R., & Lyytinen, H. (2018) Literacy programs efficacy for developing children’s early reading skills in familiar language in Zambia, Journal of Psychology in Africa, 28(2), 128-135, DOI: 10.1080/14330237.2018.1435050

In this study, the comparative efficacy of a phonics-based reading programme and a language experience approach-based literacy programme to develop reading skills among Zambian early childhood school learners were investigated. The learners (N = 1986) took either the phonics-based reading programme (n = 1593) or the alternative language experience approach-based programme (n = 393). Results suggest that learners in the phonics-based literacy programme demonstrated significantly better results in letter-sound knowledge and in reading skills.

• Use of the familiar language for early literacy acquisition is an international standard and especially well-founded among readers whose familial language is transparent.
• Zambia has adopted the Primary Reading Programme (PRP) and the Primary Literacy Programme (PLP) for literacy instruction in the early grades using seven familiar indigenous languages: Cinyanja, Icibemba, Chitonga, Kiikaonde, Silozi, Lunda, and Luvale.

Defining the Primary Literacy Programme

• This is a phonics-based reading programme in which learners are meant to acquire literacy by learning letter-sound connections in a familiar language.
• The programme focuses on a decoding process where learners are taught to break down written language into small and simple components by identifying and storing sounds of the letters and assembling the sounds according to the sequences of letters.
• Familiar language was used for learning to read from Grade 1 to the end of Grade 2, and only oral English was introduced in Grade 2.

The study

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative efficacy of a phonics-based approach and language experience-based approach to teaching early literacy to Zambian early-grade learners.

Research question:

• What is the comparative efficacy of a phonics-based programme and a language experience-based programme in teaching reading to Zambian early childhood learners with linguistic diversity?

Participants were 1986 early childhood school learners who were randomly selected from 200 schools in 16 Zambian school districts. Samples for the PRP comprised 393 learners from 40 schools. Samples for PLP comprised 1593 learners from 160 schools.

Summary

Early childhood learners taking the PLP performed relatively better in reading skills acquisition compared to those taking the PRP. This may be because Zambian languages contain grapheme-phoneme correspondences that behave consistently. All African languages are relatively new and are transparent orthographies, which makes initial literacy learning much easier than in English, where each of the vowels may represent different phonemes. Orthographic consistency facilitates more rapid development of phonemic awareness and consequently the basic reading skill. The most appropriate instruction methods focus on teaching connections between spoken and written language at the level of phonemes and graphemes. A fluent reading skill of a familiar language facilitates learning of more complicated orthographies such as English.

Implications

• There was a large number of learners with a zero score in reading skill tests revealing that the implementation of both programmes was far from attaining a satisfactory level.
• Overall, the results from this study may be interpreted as being favourable toward the PLP, which has placed much emphasis on teaching the basic key components of learning to read (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension), and has also placed much emphasis on the phonics approach for teaching reading.

This study explored the role of reading disability risk in kindergarten and environmental factors in Grades 1–3 on reading fluency in Grade 4. Evidence was found that environmental protective factors predicted students’ improved reading fluency and reading disability risk predicted fewer protective environmental factors, which partially mediated the effect of reading disability risk on reading fluency.

Authors: Noona Kiuru, Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, Pekka Niemi, Elisa Poskiparta, Timo Ahonen, Anna-Maija Poikkeus, & Jari-Erik Nurmi

Source: Kiuru, N., Lerkkanen, M.-K., Niemi, P., Poskiparta, E., Ahonen, T., Poikkeus, A.-M., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2013). The role of reading disability risk and environmental protective factors in students reading fluency in Grade 4. Reading Research Quarterly, 48(4) pp. 349–368 | doi:10.1002/rrq.53

This study explored the role of reading disability risk in kindergarten and environmental factors in Grades 1–3 on reading fluency in Grade 4. Evidence was found that environmental protective factors predicted students’ improved reading fluency and reading disability risk predicted fewer protective environmental factors, which partially mediated the effect of reading disability risk on reading fluency.

• Fluent reading is a necessary skill for academic success as well as gathering information from printed and electronic sources.
• The risk of reading disability may result in poor reading skills.
• Not all children at risk end up with poor literacy skills. Protective factors, such as positive relationships with adults and peers, may affect development of fluent reading despite the reading disability risk.

Defining reading disability

Reading disability is a difficulty in word decoding or slow, dysfluent, and inaccurate reading.

The risk of reading disability is thought to be 17%–20% of children, and is more common among boys, children of parents with low education, and children with low general ability.

Learning to read in Finnish is relatively easy, because Finnish has highly regular orthography and simple syllabic structure. However, reading disability is still present in Finland.

Defining good teacher-student relationships

Good teacher-student relationships are characterised by high degrees of warmth, support, and sensitivity, and provide a safe context for the development of academic competences.

The study

Protective environmental factors such as peer acceptance, good teacher-student relationships, and good home-school collaboration may promote the development of good reading fluency among children with a risk for reading disability.

Research questions:

1. To what extent do environmental protective factors predict students’ reading fluency in Grade 4?
2. To what extent does the risk of reading disability measured in kindergarten predict protective factors in students’ interpersonal environment during Grades 1–3?
3. To what extent does the risk of reading disability measured in kindergarten predict students’ reading fluency in Grade 4?
4. To what extent is the effect of reading disability risk on subsequent reading fluency mediated via protective factors from students’ interpersonal environment?

Participants were 538 students and their parents and teachers from 3 medium-sized towns and one municipality in Finland.

Implications

• We can predict children’s reading fluency in Grade 4 already in kindergarten by testing their reading disability risk (although the association is moderate). Therefore, other factors are considered important.
• The risk of reading disability in kindergarten predicts poorer peer acceptance, less sensitive teacher attitude, and reduced cooperation between teacher and parents.
• Less sensitive teacher attitude and cumulative environmental factors partly explain the association between reading disability risk in kindergarten and reading fluency in Grade 4; however, reading disability risk in kindergarten is also independently associated with reading fluency in Grade 4.
• It is important that students receive support in their learning from the beginning of school, that the teacher is sensitive toward the student, and that students are accepted by their peers.

This study explored the extent to which teaching practices observed in kindergarten classrooms predict children’s interest in reading and mathematics. In classrooms where the teachers placed greater emphasis on child-centred teaching practices than on teacher-directed practices, the children showed more interest in reading and mathematics.

Authors: Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, Noona Kiuru, Eija Pakarinen, Jaana Viljaranta, Anna-Maija Poikkeus, Helena Rasku-Puttonen, Martti Siekkinen, & Jari-Erik Nurmi

Source: Lerkkanen, M-K., Kiuru, N., Pakarinen, E., Viljaranta, J., Poikkeus, A.-M., Rasku-Puttonen, H., Siekkinen, M. & Nurmi, J.-E. (2012). The role of teaching practices in the development of children’s interest in reading and mathematics in kindergarten. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37, 266-279.

This study explored the extent to which teaching practices observed in kindergarten classrooms predict children’s interest in reading and mathematics. In classrooms where the teachers placed greater emphasis on child-centred teaching practices than on teacher-directed practices, the children showed more interest in reading and mathematics.

• Teachers’ instruction and classroom practices have been shown to contribute to children’s learning and academic outcomes.
• Less is known about the effects on children’s motivation toward academic subjects.

Defining Achievement Goal Theory

Achievement goal theory refers to different kinds of goals and behaviour (such as mastery, performance-approach or performance-avoidance) thatdirect students’ engagement in achievement tasks.

Other concepts used to describe motivational patterns in academic environments are achievement beliefs, expectancies, and motivational strategies.

Defining teacher-directed practices

In this didactically-oriented kind of teaching, teachers emphasise the provision of information and employ structured, drill-and-practice group lessons that are fast-paced, teach discrete skills in small steps, and include praise when predetermined goals are reached. Teacher-controlled classrooms where the acquisition of ‘basic’ academic skills through oral recitation and worksheets are given considerable weight, whereas children’s interests and social skill development receive little attention and peer interaction is not applied.

The study

Teachers differ widely in their teaching practices and classroom instruction. The present study examined the extent to which teaching practices observed in kindergarten classrooms would predict children’s interest in reading and mathematics. We expected that child-centred teaching practices (being sensitive to children’s needs and interests) would increase children’s autonomy in initiating tasks and completing them, and by doing so, strengthen children’s interest in reading and mathematics.

Research questions:

1. To what extent do kindergarten classrooms differ with respect to children’s interest in reading and mathematics?
2. To what extent do observed teaching practices predict classroom differences identified in children’s interest in reading and mathematics, after controlling for classroom differences in pre-skills in reading and maths?

Participants were 515 kindergarten-aged children and their 49 teachers from 3 municipalities in Finland. Children’s pre-skills in reading and mathematics were investigated during the autumn and their interests were investigated during spring. Teachers were observed using the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM).

Implications

• Using child-centred practices in teaching, such as allowing children a lot of freedom to choose tasks and complete them without the pressure of getting the right answer, increases children’s motivation to study, which may lead to better academic achievements.

Examples of child-centred teaching practices

• Children are allowed to take responsibility to the degree they are able.
• There is a mixture of the teacher and children making choices.
• The teacher encourages children to engage in conversation and elaborate on their thoughts.
• The teacher provides opportunities for cooperative, small-group activities that promote peer interaction.
• The teacher is attentive to children’s individual skill level and adapts tasks accordingly.
• Attention is given to connections occurring between/within academic lessons.
• Tasks and lessons are designed to teach identifiable concepts and to develop comprehension.