Whole Language and Phonics: Which Instructional Practices are Most Effective in Teaching At-Risk Students to Read?

Authors

  • Tamara Senior na
  • Alison Arrow Massey University
  • Keith Greaney Ministry of Education

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54322/kairaranga.v16i2.259

Keywords:

literacy, phonological instruction, reading

Abstract

A disproportionate number of New Zealand students fail to learn to read. Children from low socio-economic backgrounds are over-represented among New Zealand’s under-achieving readers. This study investigated the extent to which teachers of beginning readers in low-decile schools emphasised explicit phonological-based instruction, as well as the relationship between teacher emphasis on phonological instruction and student progress in reading-related skills. Results demonstrated that children from different literacy instruction programmes progressed similarly in all reading-related skills except word reading. Students receiving explicit phonological- based literacy instruction made superior progress in word reading skills over children receiving implicit phonological-based instruction. A strong emphasis on explicit phonological instruction was also associated with a reduction in variation of class word reading scores over time. The study findings support previous research demonstrating that phonological awareness and decoding skills play a crucial role in the development of word reading ability and that explicit phonological-based instruction can attenuate differences in word reading development. Implications for teachers and policy makers are described.

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Published

01-07-2015

Issue

Section

Vol 16 Iss 2

How to Cite

Whole Language and Phonics: Which Instructional Practices are Most Effective in Teaching At-Risk Students to Read?. (2015). Kairaranga, 16(2), 45-54. https://doi.org/10.54322/kairaranga.v16i2.259