Reading Instructional Practices Research Articles

Beyond English centrality: integrating expansive conceptions of language for literacy programming into IEPs

This article addresses the English centrality in reading policy, assessment, and instructional practices in the U.S. and its implications for the educational programing for emerging bilingual students (EBs) with disabilities. A recent review of the state of practice as it relates to EBs with disabilities reveals concerns that have endured for nearly six decades: biased assessment, disproportionality issues in special education, and teachers’ lack of understanding of language acquisition and students’ potential. These concerns demonstrate a need for the field to prioritize multilingual lenses for both the identification of and programming for EBs with disabilities. We propose attention to conceptions of language that expand beyond the structuralist standpoint that prevails in the current science of reading reform. We offer guiding principles for IEP development grounded in sociocultural perspectives when designing bilingual instructional practices, which can be applied to the educational programming for EBs with disabilities. Within a sociocultural view of bilingualism and biliteracy, language, and literacy are understood by multiplicities in use, practice, form, and function, in which all communicators draw from expansive meaning-making repertoires, whether in listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and multimodally representing. By expanding conceptions of a student’s linguistic repertoire, we honor their use of language as one, holistic system in which their named languages plus a multitude of linguistic practices intersect and interact.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of reading comprehension interventions in the South African multilingual context

ABSTRACT International comparative measures show that South Africa has extremely low standards in reading. A variety of programmes aimed at boosting reading have been developed, however, the effectiveness of these programmes is unclear. Prior reviews of effective reading instruction practices have focused almost exclusively on learners whose first language and language of instruction is English. This paper reviews evidence from 17 intervention studies which focused on the teaching of reading comprehension in the distinctive multilingual context of South Africa. Although in line with prior reviews, we found some evidence that reading strategy instruction including vocabulary development are features of successful interventions alongside effective teacher education and resourcing of reading. These findings remained inconclusive due to variability in the quality of research, considerable methodological variations of the studies and the limited number of studies. Research in this field requires a more rigorous scientific approach to improve the evidence base.

Exploring the Efficacy of HyFlex Learning for Enhancing Reading Comprehension Skills of Secondary School Students: A Research and Development Study

This study examined the effectiveness of a HyFlex learning management plan for developing the reading comprehension skills of secondary school students. The research investigated the needs and challenges of secondary school students regarding reading problems in the context of applying HyFlex, the development of a learning management model that incorporates HyFlex, and the effect of the learning management plan on enhancing students' reading comprehension. The study employed a research and development method consisting of three phases: a needs analysis, the development of the learning management plan, and its implementation with participants. The study involved three distinct groups of participants. The first group consisted of 19 stakeholders involved in reading management, who took part in the needs analysis phase. The second group comprised five experts and 30 students who participated in the development process of the learning management plan. Finally, the third group consisted of 50 students who were involved in the implementation process of the learning management plan. The instruments were an interview form, a learning management evaluation form, the HyFlex learning management tool, a reading comprehension test, and a satisfaction interview. The findings reveal the presence of reading difficulties as part of broader language problems in Thailand, thereby emphasizing the need for targeted interventions. The results also indicate that Thailand is prepared for technology integration in learning, which aligns with other research. Moreover, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of the HyFlex learning approach, which combines face-to-face and online environments, to develop students’ reading comprehension. These findings contribute to the understanding of effective instructional approaches for enhancing reading comprehension skills, and inform the implementation of evidence-based practices in reading instruction.

‘Failing to progress’ or not being supported to make progress? Examining variability in reading

Background: By Grade 4, learners should be able to read fluently and comprehend reading materials at their grade level. However, many learners in Africa, particularly in the Namibian context, seem to go through the primary phase with poor reading skills.Aim: This article examines the overall reading growth of Grade 5 learners, and then disaggregates performance according to grade age level and older Grade 5 learners in intervention and control schools.Setting: Data for this study were collected from four low performing schools in the Zambezi Region of north-eastern Namibia.Methods: Data are drawn from a quasi-experimental study in which teachers in intervention schools were provided with ongoing support over 4 months to enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge about reading, with the ultimate goal of improving Grade 5 learners’ reading outcomes.Results: While reading scores were generally low across the schools, differential effects in terms of age clearly emerged. Significant differences emerged between grade-appropriate age groups (10 and 11-year-olds) and older learners (12–16-year-olds) in all the assessments, with older learners, expected to be cognitively more mature, showing the least progress. The results also showed better progress across age groups in intervention schools than in control schools.Conclusion: The findings indicate that explicit reading instructional practices can lead to significant gains in reading even among learners showing low reading scores in poor schooling contexts.Contribution: This study contributes to the knowledge of the factors that influence reading progress and learning among children in low-performing schools in low socioeconomic contexts.

Teachers’ Opinions about the Teaching of Reading in Spain

Previous research has evidenced which skills are required for reading acquisition and which methods are effective for teaching reading. However, recent research indicated that teachers lack sufficient knowledge about the constructs involved in reading instruction. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine Spanish teachers’ practice and opinions on reading instruction. Two samples of Spanish teachers, 840 Preschool teachers and 876 Primary teachers, were surveyed about their opinion on reading skills, their reading instruction practices, and methods of detecting and assessing reading difficulties. The questionnaire for primary teachers also included questions on preparedness and knowledge. Most teachers favored whole-word methods, included maturity and motivation, as relevant aids for phonological awareness and showed poor grasp of factors underpinning reading acquisition. Teachers showed inconsistent and limited knowledge of the evidence-based approach for effective reading instruction. Specific programs are needed to provide preservice teachers with evidence-based instruction and continuous training for in service teachers.

Socioeconomic status and reading outcomes: Neurobiological and behavioral correlates.

In this chapter, we examine reading outcomes and socioeconomic status (SES) using a developmental cognitive and educational neuroscience perspective. Our focus is on reading achievement and intervention outcomes for students from lower SES backgrounds who struggle with reading. Socioeconomic disadvantage is a specific type of vulnerability students experience, which is often narrowly defined based on parental income, education level, and/or occupational prestige. However, implications of socioeconomic status extend broadly to a suite of areas relevant for reading outcomes including a student's access to resources, experiences, language exposure, academic outcomes, and psychological correlates. Underlying this constellation of factors are brain systems supporting the processing of oral and written language as well as stress-related factors. We review the implications of SES and reading achievement, and their intersectionality, for the science and practice of reading instruction.

Phonological Awareness in Arabic among Early Grade Teachers

Early-grade teachers’ ability to incorporate high-quality explicit phonological awareness (PA) instruction into the classroom helps children succeed in early reading endeavors and significantly reduces reading difficulties among children at risk for reading problems. Teachers’ deep knowledge of teaching PA is expected to affect their reading instructional practices inside the classrooms. This study aims to gain perspective on early grade teachers’ perceptions, knowledge, and practices related to teaching PA skills in the Arabic language. To this end, a modified survey instrument was completed by 109 Arabic language teachers at kindergarten and primary grade levels. Results reveal that although teachers recognize the significance of PA for reading development, many show poor knowledge of certain PA fundamentals and do not formally assess PA or provide adequate and explicit PA instruction in their classrooms. Furthermore, results show that teachers with more teaching experience provide their students with more chances to complete PA activities in the classroom. These findings suggest a need to provide Arabic language teachers with adequate knowledge and training as well as assessment and teaching materials to enable them to provide the required PA skills, as a crucial reading skill, in the classroom..

Läsundervisning i en språkligt heterogen lågstadieklass

This article presents results from a case study that examines reading instruction practices in a linguistically heterogeneous class in year 3. In this school the proportion of newly arrived students has increased significantly in a short time and the article focuses on classroom observations and a teacher interview about the work with reading instruction in this particular class. The theoretical framework is based on Cummins’ The Literacy Engagement Framework and theories about teachers’ beliefs. The results show how in reading instruction students' understanding is supported through the teacher's work with extending the language and through support in students' meaning-making (scaffold meaning). The students' background knowledge is activated when connections between text content and the students' everyday life are made, but multilingual identities are seldom affirmed or made visible. The focus of reading instruction is primarily to support linguistic preunderstanding and correctness. Reading homework is an important part of reading instruction and is practiced in cooperation with multilingual parents in a language they often do not know. Strongly present are the teacher’s beliefs about students' linguistic repertoires as a resource primarily for learning Swedish, as well as beliefs about a separation between the languages of multilingual individuals.

General and special education teachers’ knowledge about reading comprehension processes and instructional practices

The study investigated teachers’ knowledge of reading comprehension processes and reading comprehension instruction. The study was carried out among teachers (N = 65) in Estonia. The content analysis classified qualitative data from semi-structured interviews as quantitative data. The results showed that teachers’ content knowledge about reading comprehension processes and pedagogical knowledge of reading comprehension instruction were considerably variable yet mostly limited. Special education teachers (n = 37) mentioned a wider range of reading strategies than classroom teachers (n = 28). When describing how to support struggling readers, significant differences emerged between the teacher groups: Special education teachers mentioned activities to support students’ reading comprehension more frequently than classroom teachers whereas classroom teachers mentioned activities for supporting reading motivation more often than special education teachers. Teachers’ lack of knowledge about reading comprehension processes and reading comprehension instruction indicate the need to improve these topics in preservice and in-service teacher training to enhance their teaching skills.

The effects of achievement goals and perceived reading instruction on Chinese student reading performance: Evidence from PISA 2018

BackgroundResearch has shown that achievement goals and reading instruction play important roles in students' reading performance. However, little is known about the specific effects of different types of achievement goals and reading instructional practices on reading performance in mainland China.MethodsThis study used Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 data to examine the effects of Chinese students' achievement goals and perceived reading instruction on reading performance. Four districts in mainland China, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang (B–S–J–Z), participated in PISA 2018. A profile of B–S–J–Z students' achievement goals and perceived reading instruction compared with those in other East Asian societies is presented. The relative contributions of different achievement goals, instructional practices at the student and school levels, and their interactive effects on reading performance are then examined by using hierarchical linear modelling.ResultsThe results show that performance and avoidance goals are important for B–S–J–Z students' reading performance when classroom and school teaching environments are considered. The disciplinary climate, adaptative instruction and teachers' stimulation are positively related to reading performance at both the student and school levels. Some cross‐level interactions between personal achievement goals and school reading instruction are found.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that achievement goals and reading instructional practices at both the student and school levels contribute to Chinese students' reading performance. The relationships between school reading instruction practices and students' reading performance vary for different achievement goals.

The effects of a ‘catch-up’ reading intervention for Grade 5 learners and teachers

This article reports on the effectiveness of a reading comprehension intervention that was implemented in Namibia. It aimed to empower teachers with knowledge and strategies for teaching reading comprehension, so as to improve the low reading comprehension of Grade 5 learners. The intervention targeted the improvement of performance in both the decoding and comprehension aspects of reading and was carried out during two school terms, in which teachers were provided with teaching and learning resources, guidance on how to utilise the resources and coaching on instructional practices. The study involved two control and two intervention schools. A modest interventionist approach was applied in which four of the six quality criteria for formative assessment of intervention programmes, as proposed by Nieveen (2007) were adopted to guide the study. Analysis of the pre- and post-intervention scores for the intervention and control groupsindicated larger effect sizes in decoding ability and reading comprehension at the intervention schools than at the control schools. The intervention teachers also seemed to have changed some of their instructional practices and some shifts in their attitudes towards teaching reading were discerned. The findings suggest that better quality teaching and learning can happen if teachers receive ongoing support to enhance their instructional practices. With effective reading instructional practices, learners’ decoding skills are developed, resulting in improved reading comprehension levels.

What's in a word? Cross-linguistic influences on Spanish-English and Chinese-English bilingual children's word reading development.

This study investigates the cross-linguistic transfer of literacy skills in Spanish-English, Chinese-English bilingual, and English monolingual children (N=283, 5-10years). Research question 1 examines English literacy and asks how phonological and morpho-semantic skills contribute to word reading as a function of children's language background. Structural equation modeling revealed contrasting bilingual effects: compared to English monolinguals, Spanish-English bilinguals relied more on phonological awareness in word reading, whereas Chinese-English bilinguals relied more on lexical knowledge. Research question 2 examines relations between bilinguals' heritage language proficiency and English literacy. Results revealed direct and indirect effects of heritage language meta-linguistic skills on English word reading. The study yields implications for reading theories and instructional practices in optimizing literacy in linguistically diverse children.

TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCAFFOLDING EFL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Scaffolding has held great appeal for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) and scholars in helping students take greater responsibility or ownership in their language learning and reach academic success. However, little is known about how teachers perceived this type of support as improving students’ reading comprehension in English within the teaching and learning context in Vietnam high schools. This paper therefore reports a descriptive study that explored teachers’ perceptions of scaffolding EFL students’ reading comprehension at high schools in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data from seventy-nine high school teachers. The findings provide insightful views into teachers’ perceptions about scaffolding students’ reading comprehension. The findings also reveal how teachers experienced varying degrees of their perceptions of scaffolding and challenges while delivering their scaffolding practices in reading instruction.
 
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EXPLORING READING SKILLS’ INSTRUCTION IN COMPULSORY ENGLISH COURSE – A CASE STUDY OF PUBLIC COLLEGE

The present study explores the reading instruction at grade- XII at a public college in Karachi to capture the reading instruction practices in compulsory English course. Using case study method involving interviews with teachers followed by observations of their reading classes an in-depth study was planned that attempted to give a holistic picture of the reading instructional practices. The teachers’ classroom practices were also interpreted in the light of the analyzed curriculum and text book being followed. The findings indicate a missed opportunity since no meaningful outcomes can be envisaged as a result of the conventional, content based and examination oriented classroom pedagogy adopted by teachers in their reading classes. The interview and classroom observation data contradicted indicating the teachers’ claims differed drastically from their actual classroom practices. This study reconfirms earlier studies and suggests several policy and pedagogical implications for education department, college administrators, English language teachers and teacher educators.

Measuring Explicit Instruction Using Classroom Observations of Student-Teacher Interactions (COSTI).

This article describes the development and technical adequacy of the Classroom Observations of Student Teacher Interactions (COSTI) instrument, a tool for measuring the frequency and rate of explicit instructional interactions, such as those used in Direct Instruction curricula, for teaching children basic reading and math skills. COSTI was originally developed to provide teachers with coaching feedback to improve their explicit reading instructional practices, and has been shown in multiple studies to be a reliable and valid predictor of student gains in beginning reading and math skills. This article discusses potential uses of the instrument for training and coaching across curricula with varying instructional design features, and lays out a future research agenda to further improve COSTI and related observation tools for studying explicit instructional practices and their contribution to student learning.

Specific EF-Related Tasks and Reading in Adolescents With Typical Hearing or a Cochlear Implant

The acquisition of effective reading comprehension for adolescents with a cochlear implant (CI) in inclusive settings is crucial for ensuring the benefit of current traditional reading curricula and instructional practices. Executive functions (EF) are recognized as important cognitive processes during reading by students with typical hearing (TH). This study compared the relationship between EF and reading comprehension in adolescents with TH and a CI. Three tests sessions were performed on two groups of adolescents between 12 and 16 years old (36 with CI and 54 with TH). Reading comprehension was assessed by a standardized reading battery and EF by computerized tests. The results indicated that adolescents with CI perform EF tasks with a similar efficiency as the TH group, but the performance of CI group on expository texts was lower than in TH students. Reading comprehension of expository texts was related to inhibition and shifting in adolescents with CI.

Academic reading instruction in tertiary English preparatory classes: A qualitative case study of an experienced instructor

Academic literacy is a crucial means to read, comprehend, and reflect on academic texts. In tertiary English preparatory classes, to lay strong foundations for academic literacy, it is necessary to build a well-structured framework for academic reading instruction. One means of doing this is exploring the pedagogical views and practices of experienced teachers. This qualitative case study focuses on a highly experienced English instructor with established records of success and investigates the participant’s views about academic reading instruction, her academic reading instruction practices, and the extent of consistency between her views and practices. The instructor has forty-one years of teaching experience, was given the Excellence in Teaching Award by her institution and is an active digital immigrant with two educational blogs. The research reveals an in-depth analysis of the instructor’s multiple subjectivities in academic reading instruction and the details about her investment in learning. The data were collected by semi-structured interviews, teacher’s blog posts and journal, and classroom observations and analyzed via thematic analysis. The findings displayed that the instructor believes in the significance of construction and activation of students’ background knowledge as well as teacher and student motivation for successful reading. She reported teaching and practicing a number of pre-, while- and post-reading strategies. The reading instruction practices of the instructor displayed full compatibility with her concerning views. The study has significant implications for contexts teaching English for academic purposes (EAP) and concludes that experienced L2 teachers may apply effective teaching practices and serve as examples for their colleagues.

How the Science of Reading Informs 21st-Century Education.

The science of reading should be informed by an evolving evidence base built upon the scientific method. Decades of basic research and randomized controlled trials of interventions and instructional routines have formed a substantial evidence base to guide best practices in reading instruction, reading intervention, and the early identification of at-risk readers. The recent resurfacing of questions about what constitutes the science of reading is leading to misinformation in the public space that may be viewed by educational stakeholders as merely differences of opinion among scientists. Our goals in this paper are to revisit the science of reading through an epistemological lens to clarify what constitutes evidence in the science of reading and to offer a critical evaluation of the evidence provided by the science of reading. To this end, we summarize those things that we believe have compelling evidence, promising evidence, or a lack of compelling evidence. We conclude with a discussion of areas of focus that we believe will advance the science of reading to meet the needs of all children in the 21st century.

Professional Learning in Reading Instruction: The Influence of Context on Engagement and Enactment

Professional learning is widely acknowledged as an effective way to improve teacher practice and, consequently, student outcomes. However, this presupposes a direct link from professional learning to the enactment of the content of professional learning in teaching. This paper explores teachers’ engagement with a continuing professional learning (CPL) program intended to improve teachers’ knowledge and practice in reading instruction. Six case study subjects, self-selected from 10 schools participating in a year‑long CPL program, provided the opportunity to explore what teachers enacted from the professional learning. This research highlighted the significance of contextual factors on how teachers engaged with and enacted information from the CPL. Contextual factors included individual beliefs about reading instruction and the expectations of the systems in which they are operating. This research emphasised the need to identify the personal and professional contexts of teachers involved in CPL programs in order to more effectively influence practice.

Teaching conventional early reading skills to children with intellectual disabilities in special schools in the UK: a survey of current practices and perceived barriers

ABSTRACT Statistics relating to special schools indicate very low rates of basic literacy. However, there is very little information available regarding typical instruction in these settings and, therefore, no clear picture of the potential barriers precluding the improvement of reading skills in special schools. The current paper investigated current practices in conventional early reading instruction (i.e., instruction involving the development of reading abilities using traditional orthography) with children in special schools and, in particular, children with intellectual disabilities. One hundred and ninety teachers participated in the survey, which aimed to: collate information on current practices related to conventional early reading instruction for children with intellectual disabilities in special schools across the United Kingdom (UK); investigate the putative effects of age and severity of intellectual disabilities on teachers’ choice of instructional approaches; and examine teachers’ perceptions of barriers to improving reading skills in this population. Age and severity of intellectual disability were associated with different responses relating to the choice of approaches and expectations. Access to training and suitable curricula were seen as greater barriers to improving reading skills than time or staffing.