International Journal of Disability Development and Education · 1998 · 10 citations · 0 references
EducationEarly Childhood EducationLiteracy EducationEarly LiteracyReading DevelopmentReading EducationEarly Language DevelopmentEarly Literacy DevelopmentEarly Literacy SkillsEmergent LiteracyLiteracy DevelopmentReadingControl Group DesignDisadvantaged StudentsEarly Childhood Literacy DevelopmentEarly Literacy InstructionEarly Reading AcquisitionEarly Reading AssessmentEarly Reading DevelopmentMatched Control Group
Abstract A within‐school evaluation of Schoolwide Early Language and Literacy (SWELL) was undertaken in six disadvantaged schools in NSW in 1995 and 1996 using a sample of Kindergarten students in each school before (control group) and after (experimental group) the implementation of SWELL. As many control and experimental students as could be accessed were tested on four different early literacy measures when they were mid‐way through Year 1. Assessment at the end of the Kindergarten year and mid‐way through Year 1 indicated that experimental students significantly outperformed their control counterparts on tests measuring pseudoword decoding and reading connected text at the end of Kindergarten, and on tests measuring pseudoword decoding, reading connected text, invented spelling, and a standardised reading measure mid‐way through Year 1.