The reading performance of primary school children has declined in recent years, potentially leading to more significant problems over time. Reading interventions have the potential to improve...Show moreThe reading performance of primary school children has declined in recent years, potentially leading to more significant problems over time. Reading interventions have the potential to improve reading performance. This study examined the effects of an intensive and individualized reading intervention on the reading performance of children with reading difficulties. Three aspects of reading were studied, word reading, reading fluency and reading comprehension. The reading intervention was the Universele Interventie voor Lezen (UIL), an online and intensive reading intervention. The control condition was the Read Along (RA), where children spent time reading with a tutor. The participants were 29 primary school children with reading difficulties from grade 5 and 6. A repeated measured ANOVA with one within-subjects factor (time: pretest vs. posttest) and one between-subjects factor (intervention: UIL vs. RA) was conducted to examine the effects of the reading intervention. The results showed that the reading skills of the children in both the UIL and the RA improved from pretest to posttest. The effects of the UIL and the RA were similar on most aspects of reading, except for word reading. In this result, a marginal difference was measured between the interventions in favour of the UIL. The research demonstrates that it is feasible to offer an online intervention in reading. In addition, the results suggest that children with reading difficulties may benefit from the UIL and the RA. Further research is needed before conclusively determining the effectiveness of the reading intervention. It is recommended to add a treatment-free control group and to recruit younger and a larger group of participants.Show less
Research has shown that the reading skills of Dutch children are deteriorating. The emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic has led to even more concerns in education. Many students have fallen...Show moreResearch has shown that the reading skills of Dutch children are deteriorating. The emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic has led to even more concerns in education. Many students have fallen behind in reading and could benefit from additional reading instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an intensive, individualized reading intervention on the reading performance, reading enjoyment and reading self-perceptions of students with reading difficulties. More specifically, the effects of the UIL, an online and intensive tutoring intervention, were compared to the effects of the MLM control condition, a simpler and more typical intervention method where the tutor reads along with the student. Participants were 29 elementary-school children with reading problems (grades 5 and 6), selected from seven schools in the Netherlands. To compare the effects of the UIL and MLM, the study employed a mixed design with both within (time, pretest vs. posttest) and between subject factors (intervention, UIL vs. MLM). The results revealed that all students made substantial gains in reading and reading self-perceptions from pretest to posttest. These gains were similar for both the UIL and MLM groups with the exception of word reading. The results suggest that both the UIL and MLM might be effective for improving reading and reading self-perceptions of students with reading difficulties. Furthermore, the results indicate that it’s feasible to provide reading interventions in an online learning environment. Due to the small sample size, it is recommended to replicate the study with a larger sample and a third non-treatment control condition before drawing firm conclusions about the effectiveness of the intervention.Show less
