Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Early-intervention, Computer-Based Literacy Program to Boost Phonological Skills in 4- to 6-year-old Children |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
O'Callaghan, Paul, McIvor, Aimee, McVeigh, Claire, Rushe, Teresa |
| Source: |
British Journal of Educational Psychology. Dec 2016 86(4):546-558. |
| Availability: |
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
13 |
| Publication Date: |
2016 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles
Reports - Research |
| Education Level: |
Elementary Education |
| Descriptors: |
Program Effectiveness, Reading Programs, Foreign Countries, Intervention, Elementary School Students, Randomized Controlled Trials, Phonology, Reading Skills, Phonological Awareness, Statistical Analysis, Effect Size, Short Term Memory, Computer Assisted Instruction, Educational Technology |
| Geographic Terms: |
North America, United Kingdom (England) |
| DOI: |
10.1111/bjep.12122/abstract |
| ISSN: |
0007-0998 |
| Abstract: |
Background: Many school-based interventions are being delivered in the absence of evidence of effectiveness (Snowling & Hulme, 2011, "Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 81," 1). Aims: This study sought to address this oversight by evaluating the effectiveness of the commonly used the Lexia Reading Core5 intervention, with 4- to 6-year-old pupils in Northern Ireland. Sample: A total of 126 primary school pupils in year 1 and year 2 were screened on the Phonological Assessment Battery 2nd Edition (PhAB-2). Children were recruited from the equivalent year groups to Reception and Year 1 in England and Wales, and Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten in North America. Methods: A total of 98 below-average pupils were randomized (T0) to either an 8-week block (x-bar = 647.51 min, SD = 158.21) of daily access to Lexia Reading Core5 (n = 49) or a waiting-list control group (n = 49). Assessment of phonological skills was completed at post-intervention (T1) and at 2-month follow-up (T2) for the intervention group only. Results: Analysis of covariance which controlled for baseline scores found that the Lexia Reading Core5 intervention group made significantly greater gains in blending, F(1, 95) = 6.50, p = 0.012, partial ?[superscript 2] = 0.064 (small effect size) and non-word reading, F(1, 95) = 7.20, p = 0.009, partial ?[superscript 2] = 0.070 (small effect size). Analysis of the 2-month follow-up of the intervention group found that all group treatment gains were maintained. However, improvements were not uniform among the intervention group with 35% failing to make progress despite access to support. Post-hoc analysis revealed that higher T0 phonological working memory scores predicted improvements made in phonological skills. Conclusions: An early-intervention, computer-based literacy program can be effective in boosting the phonological skills of 4- to 6-year-olds, particularly if these literacy difficulties are not linked to phonological working memory deficits. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2016 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1120013 |
| Database: |
ERIC |
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