A randomized controlled trial of an early-intervention, computer-based literacy program to boost phonological skills in 4- to 6-year-old children.
Br J Educ Psychol
; 86(4): 546-558, 2016 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27473924
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¯ = 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 = .012, partial η2 = .064 (small effect size) and non-word reading, F(1, 95) = 7.20, p = .009, partial η2 = .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.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Lectura
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Fonética
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Instrucción por Computador
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Intervención Educativa Precoz
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Alfabetización
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
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Evaluation_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Br J Educ Psychol
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido