The periodic monitoring of education levels showed that a quarter of pupils left elementary school with inadequate technical reading skills. It is therefore of great importance to improve the...Show moreThe periodic monitoring of education levels showed that a quarter of pupils left elementary school with inadequate technical reading skills. It is therefore of great importance to improve the technical reading skills of pupils in primary education. Indeed, pupils who struggle with these reading skills early on had a significantly poorer prognosis in later grades than their peers with good reading skills. This study had the potential to contribute to slowing the decline in technical reading skills among elementary school students. This study compared the Universal Reading Intervention (UIL) program with a read-aloud (RA) and a control condition. The UIL is a supplemental reading program for children needing additional instruction, focusing on technical reading skills and comprehension. Unlike reading-along instruction, UIL includes Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI), which has proven effective for improving student reading achievement, especially for those with reading deficits. The current study investigated the extent to which instruction, class, and motivation differentiated the effects of the UIL on children’s technical reading in grades six and seven. Technical reading was operationalized by word list reading and reading aloud. A total of 51 children participated in this study and they were randomly divided over three conditions. The children followed reading instruction twice a week for four weeks. A Mixed Repeated Measures ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference in word list reading scores between the UIL, RA and the control group. In addition, there was no significant difference between children in grade six versus seven in their growth on reading aloud and word list reading. Finally, a Multiple Regression showed that both motivation and class were found to have no significant effect on the growth score. The results of the current study shed new light on the interaction between instruction, student class, and motivation in improving students' technical reading skills. In future research, it is important to evaluate an intervention with a larger and robust sample.Show less
Proficient reading competencies are considered one of the most important basic skills for functioning in society. Unfortunately, research has shown that the reading skills of Dutch students have...Show moreProficient reading competencies are considered one of the most important basic skills for functioning in society. Unfortunately, research has shown that the reading skills of Dutch students have significantly declined in recent years, and reading motivation also deteriorated sharply. To reduce current reading deficits and stimulate reading motivation, additional measures are necessary, such as providing effective, targeted, and intensive individual guidance. Therefore, this study investigated whether a tutor reading intervention with guided reading or rather a tutor intervention based on explicit direct instruction, the UIL, is most effective for improving the technical reading skills of students with reading deficits. The study was conducted based on data from 50 students in grades 6 and 7 with reading deficits. The students, all from regular education, were randomly assigned to the guided reading group, the UIL group or the control group. The intervention consisted of eight online tutor reading lessons. To assess the growth in students' reading skills, a pre- and posttest was conducted using CBM Word Reading as the measurement instrument. The repeated measures ANOVA’s revealed that both tutor reading interventions are effective in stimulating the technical reading skills of students with reading problems in grades 6 and 7. The students who received explicit direct instruction had slightly more growth than the students with the guided reading method, however this difference was not significant. Further research with a larger sample size is required to determine whether the guided reading method and the UIL actually differ significantly in effectiveness or not. Based on the current research, it was concluded that both tutor reading interventions can be utilized within education to effectively support students with reading deficits in their development into independent readers.Show less
