Supporting reading comprehension and self-perception in adolescents with reading difficulties & the feasibility of literacy targeted PLD.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to better understand the benefits of focused literacy intervention for Year 8 students with literacy learning difficulties. The impact of the intervention on students’ metalinguistic knowledge, reading and spelling along with their self-concept and self-efficacy was examined. In addition, the feasibility and impact of supporting teachers’ knowledge and application of more explicit teaching in foundational learning areas such as vocabulary, listening comprehension, and phonological awareness for persistent struggling readers to complement the intervention was explored.

Method: Four Year 8 students, who were identified to be struggling with their reading comprehension and foundational linguistic skills, took part in an integrated intervention programme. Participants received an average of 14 hours of intervention that focused on developing their phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic knowledge, reading fluency and reading comprehension. The impact of the intervention on students’ literacy learning and self-perception was evaluated through a multiple single case study design using repeated probes during the intervention phase along with pre-post measures. The impact of a professional learning approach focused on supporting students’ foundational literacy learning in the classroom setting was also evaluated for seven teachers through a case study design.

Results: The student participants showed visible gains across all assessment measures, particularly in their reading and spelling accuracy. The results also indicated that the students’ positive self-perception increased following the intervention. The teachers reported that the workshops and teaching demonstrations had a positive impact on their knowledge and confidence in supporting their struggling students.

Conclusion: The results from this study should be used as a stepping stone to inform larger scale studies that utilise an integrated approach to support students with literacy learning difficulties in the intermediate schooling years. Teachers also heavily highlighted the need for further professional learning in the area of foundational linguistic skills, so the benefit of providing them with this support alongside intervention should be considered in future studies.