This study investigates Australian parents' experiences with identification and support of primary school-aged children diagnosed with dyslexia. From the parent perspective, it evaluates whether recent government initiatives intended to support dyslexic students are perceived as positively impacting these students. Data collection included online surveys and semi-structured interviews, analysed using frequency distribution tables and thematic analysis. The findings reveal many parents identified children's reading difficulties early on but were dissatisfied with the support provided by schools and the high costs and long wait times for diagnosis. Parents expressed concerns that evidence-based reading instruction and adequate accommodations were not implemented, even when included in IEPs, which parents attributed to a lack of teacher knowledge and training regarding dyslexia and support strategies. This research highlights specific experiences of students with dyslexia falling through the cracks and the urgent need for systemic changes in the Australian educational framework to better support these students.
Reading fluency is essential for literacy development and academic success. However, students with learning disabilities often experience significant summer reading loss that intensifies existing difficulties. This study used a multiple probe single-subject design to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured reading fluency intervention aimed at reducing summer learning regression in three elementary students with learning disabilities. Implemented over eight weeks, the intervention incorporated evidence-based practices including repeated reading, prosodic reading, and self-monitoring. Participants received individualized instruction three times per week, and fluency was assessed using correct words per minute (CWPM). Results showed marked improvements across all participants, with an average increase of 67% in CWPM during the intervention phase. These gains were maintained at follow-up, and Tau-U analysis. Findings suggest structured summer interventions can effectively prevent regression and support sustained literacy development.
This study explores the perceived barriers and facilitators experienced by teachers implementing multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for reading in Victorian primary schools. Drawing on survey data from 74 educators across three Victorian primary schools, the findings highlight the critical role of resources, context, staff knowledge and training, and school leadership in effective MTSS implementation. The absence of key resources - particularly time, staff, and funding - was more frequently cited as a barrier than their presence was as a facilitator. Additionally, leadership was frequently identified as a key facilitator to implementation but was not reported as a barrier by any participants in this study. Findings are interpreted through the lens of implementation science, particularly the Active Implementation Frameworks (AIFs), offering practical insights for policymakers, system leaders, and school communities seeking to embed sustainable MTSS practices in Australian schools. Implications for future research and limitations of the study are discussed.
Handwriting is a key component of literacy, allowing children to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. Handwriting challenges often result in a referral for occupational therapy due to its impact on classroom engagement. A foundational skill supporting handwriting is drawing sub-strokes of letters, known as prewriting patterns. Whilst there is some understanding of handwriting classroom instruction, little is known about prewriting teaching practice. This study examined current practice of prewriting within Australian kindergartens through an online teacher survey involving 169 participants. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings identified variation in teaching practices with 75.74% of participants explicitly teaching prewriting patterns. Instruction time ranged from zero to more than 40 minutes. Only 19.53% of the participants received training on prewriting during university and 70.06% sought additional training. Explicit teaching of prewriting patterns is inconsistent within Australian classrooms for 4-5-year olds. Further research could determine how to support teachers to explicitly teach prewriting patterns.
The purpose of this study was to describe the manner in which response to intervention (RTI) was implemented with fidelity at a pre K-10 school in India. We employed a mixed methods case study design, using 43 diverse sources of data including surveys, focus groups, and official school documents. RTI implementation was studied based on the Fidelity of Implementation Rubric and Worksheet (FIRW), consisting of five domains and 31 components that address essential aspects of effective RTI implementation. Measures were taken to maximize transparency and trustworthiness of the findings including triangulation, peer debrief, member checking, and clarifying researcher bias. The school achieved an overall score of 3.61 points out of 5 points (72%) on the FIRW, which implied adequate fidelity as per prior literature. We present findings and practical recommendations related to teaching and curriculum practices, and institutional factors that enable and constrain RTI implementation in relatively lower-resource settings.
This study investigates the divergent thinking components and task performance of children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) using the CreaCube task, a manipulative robotic activity. We hypothesize that children with ADHD will exhibit higher levels of fluency, flexibility, and originality in their problem-solving compared to their neurotypical peers. The study included fifteen children aged 9 to 14, including seven diagnosed with ADHD and eight controls. The CreaCube task required participants to assemble modular robotic cubes. We examined the components of divergent thinking and the time it took to solve the task. Despite finding no significant differences between ADHD and neurotypical children, behavioral observations suggest distinct exploratory patterns among participants with ADHD. These preliminary findings show the potential of robotics-based tasks for studying creative problem-solving approaches in ADHD. Through this study, we show the relevance of educational robotics for capturing the interactive nature of creativity in children with ADHD.
In this qualitative study, we describe the reported processes, enablers and barriers associated with transformations towards adopting structured literacy instruction at the whole-school level. Theoretical sampling was used to select six Victorian schools known as early adopters of structured literacy practices in the early years. Participants (n = 28), who represented various disciplines and roles, were interviewed individually. Using inductive thematic analysis, five processes were identified as pivotal to implementing this transformation across a school. These were (i) acknowledging the need for change, (ii) the critical and multiple roles of leaders throughout the entire transformation process, (iii) rigorous development of teachers' knowledge and skills, (iv) adoption of a comprehensive approach to assessment and instruction, and (v) working towards consistency and low variance across the school. Practice considerations derived from our findings are provided as a series of practice guidelines to assist leaders who are embarking on a similar transformation to school-wide instruction
Over the course of two decades of research, 1774 students were assessed using a curriculum-based measure of oral reading fluency (the Wheldall Assessment of Reading Passages, or WARP) and on several other established measures of reading and reading-related skills. The full sample comprised 501 typical readers from Years 2 to 6 and 1273 low-progress readers in Years 2 to 6 attending intensive literacy intervention programs. Data presented here show that WARP scores were strongly correlated with text reading accuracy, word reading accuracy and spelling, while they were moderately correlated with nonword reading accuracy and reading comprehension, and less strongly correlated with receptive vocabulary. WARP scores were also strongly correlated with scores from the same students who were assessed three, six and/or nine months after the original testing time point. These results indicate that the WARP has excellent criterion validity and test-retest reliability.
Although professional learning is the main approach for improving teacher knowledge, little evidence exists for its effectiveness in changing practice and improving student outcomes. One possible explanation is poor alignment between professional learning and classroom practice. In this paper, we describe a system-wide approach to changing teacher knowledge and reading pedagogy. Classroom teachers (n = 199) across 43 schools engaged in professional learning on contemporary science of learning and training in the use of published systematic and explicit reading instruction programs. Following the intervention, students' word reading data revealed that the percentage of students requiring support post intervention had significantly decreased and video samples of teachers' practice showed adoption of practices aligned with explicit instruction. Focus-group themes reflected considerable perceived growth in teacher knowledge and practice resulting from the intervention. Our study provides preliminary support for the effectiveness and efficiency of system-level change to reading pedagogy.
Literature underlines the social stigma frequently connected to children with SLD associated with vulnerability to social exclusion and lower socio-emotional competencies. Consequently, they may internalise this biased perspective, affecting their sense of self and behaviour in social contexts. The present study aims to explore socio-emotional functioning in children with SLD and investigate its relationship with cognitive functioning and Theory of Mind. The participants include 75 children with SLD, 26 with LA, and 100 non-clinical children (M = 10.1, SD = 1.10). Participants were assessed in socio-emotional skills (Roberts-2 test), cognitive functioning (WISC-IV), and ToM (RMET). The SLD sample shows deficits in elaborating, facing, and resolving interpersonal problems. Only working memory performance is linked with interpersonal elaboration, while verbal and ToM are not. In conclusion, children with SLD are vulnerable to emotional and behavioural problems and show poorer socio-emotional skills. Working memory has a key role in promoting these competencies.
Scientific texts often present challenges in comprehension for children. This investigation aimed to assess the effects of integrating learning facilities in the domain of science education by testing the impact of incorporating laboratory experiments on students' science achievement and their social-emotional development. The study involved 120 Arabic-speaking fifth-graders, 60 of whom exhibited reading difficulties. These participants were allocated to either an intervention group, which engaged in laboratory experiments, or a control group, which experienced traditional, lecture-based learning. ANOVA analysis was employed to examine the influence of time, group, and reading proficiency on outcomes in scientific text comprehension, motivation, and classroom climate. Findings indicated a significant main effect for each of these factors. A significant interaction effect was observed solely for scientific text reading comprehension. These outcomes are interpreted within the context of the specific challenges faced by Arabic-speaking children in science learning, underscoring the necessity of integrating diverse educational facilities.
High school students attending Flexible Learning Programmes (FLPs) experience more speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) than those in mainstream, which may impact their academic engagement, socioemotional health, and future employment. We explored the effectiveness of a pilot workshop designed to increase educators' confidence to support these students and examined their perspectives on training needs and opportunities. Thirty-one educators from a local network of FLPs attended the workshop, with 25 completing the pre- and 15 completing the post-workshop survey. Quantitative findings indicated an overall significant increase in educator confidence from pre-topost-workshop, with increased confidence observed across domains such as identifying students with SLCN and providing adjusted assessments. Content analysis of open-ended responses highlight the need for further training and resourcing, including opportunities to collaborate with speech pathologists to implement systems-level approaches. The findings will guide research that co-designs and evaluates classroom-based supports for students with SLCN in FLPs.
This study explores teachers' perceptions of barriers to implementing the Response to Intervention (RTI) model for students with learning difficulties in Saudi Arabia. Using a qualitative case study approach with semi-structured interviews, the study included eight female teachers. Findings indicate that key barriers include time constraints, inadequate classroom environments, lack of teacher collaboration, administrative challenges, insufficient data, and limited awareness due to inadequate training. Additionally, the absence of university approval hinders implementation. To address these challenges, teachers suggest professional development, enhanced collaboration, optimal resource allocation, and a comprehensive RTI guide.
We aimed to investigate the effects of phonological awareness - PA, rapid automatised naming - RAN, visuospatial and verbal working memory - WM and executive functions - EF on the reading and arithmetic skills of children with low- to medium-performance levels. Participants were 472 Brazilian children from 3rd to 5th grades. Quantile Regression Analysis was employed. The PA, RAN and EF were shared main predictors of both reading and math. Verbal WM emerged as a unique main predictor for reading, while visuospatial WM and visuospatial short-term memory were the main predictors for arithmetic. Among children with very low reading proficiency, the effects of cognitive predictors were more pronounced, a trend not observed in arithmetic. The results suggest varying magnitudes of cognitive predictors for reading when considering different levels of performance/difficulties. We also corroborate unique and shared main predictors of reading and math that have implications for research, clinical and educational settings.
Coverage of reading and reading instruction in initial teacher education is highly contested, with the "reading wars" representing decades of debate concerning approaches that should be promoted to teachers-in-training. Empirical evidence strongly endorses explicit and systematic teaching of code-based skills as a starting point, together with strong coverage of vocabulary, syntax, fluency, comprehension, and background knowledge. However, most faculties of education in Australia and other English-speaking industrialised nations have persisted in promoting "balanced literacy" and postmodern constructs, such as "multiple literacies". We describe the development, delivery, and evaluation of three online short-course programmes for primary and secondary teachers on the science of language and reading and report on feedback from a sample of 945 participants. Quantitative and qualitative data show that participants (the largest subgroup being teachers) attach a high value to this knowledge and its practical applications. Implications for initial teacher education, education policy-makers, and school leaders are considered.
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Multi-Component Reading Intervention Program (MRIP) developed to support reading fluency skills and reading motivation of third and fourth grade Turkish students with learning difficulties (LD). The changing criterion design, a single-subject research method, was used in determining the effectiveness of the MRIP. Five students aged 9-10 with LD participated in the study. For all participants, reading fluency is improved through MRIP. The results of this study manifested that the MRIP was effective in improving the reading fluency performance of students with LD and the participating students could maintain their skills 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 month after the implementation of the MRIP. Findings suggest that experts should benefit from the MRIP to improve the reading fluency skills of Turkish students with LD.
Technology has revolutionised how we interact, work, and learn, with digital literacy offering lifelong learning opportunities. College students heavily rely on the Internet for education. As more students with developmental difficulties enter higher education, it is vital to understand how disparities impact classroom learning. This study assesses online inquiry and research skills in college students with reading difficulties compared to those with typical reading skills. We recruited 67 college students, including those with reading difficulties, in online research about the ketogenic diet, responding to open-ended questions. Findings reveal that students with reading difficulties could access basic information online like their peers but encountered challenges in identifying critical data, explaining concepts, describing processes, and constructing resource-based arguments. This study underscores the importance of educational assessments to enhance digital literacy among college students with reading difficulties, with implications for instruction and future research.
