The Effects of Morphological Instruction on Literacy Skills

TLDR

The study discusses how morphological instruction findings relate to current educational practice and theory. The study examined how morphological instruction affects reading, spelling, vocabulary, and morphological skills across reader ability, age, and instructional context. The authors conducted a meta‑analysis of peer‑reviewed studies involving preschool to Grade 8 participants, averaging effect sizes by linguistic outcome category and comparison group. The meta‑analysis of 22 studies shows that morphological instruction benefits learners overall, especially less able readers, is equally effective for younger students, and is more effective when combined with other literacy instruction.

Abstract

The authors reviewed all peer-reviewed studies with participants from preschool to Grade 8 for this meta-analysis of morphological interventions. They identified 22 applicable studies. Instructional effects (Cohen’s d) were averaged by linguistic outcome categories (morphological sublexical, nonmorphological sublexical, lexical, and supralexical) and comparison group (experimental group vs. control or experimental group vs. alternative training). The authors investigated the effects of morphological instruction (a) on reading, spelling, vocabulary, and morphological skills, (b) for less able readers versus undifferentiated samples, (c) for younger versus older students, and (d) in combination with instruction of other literacy skills or in isolation. Results indicate that (a) morphological instruction benefits learners, (b) it brings particular benefits for less able readers, (c) it is no less effective for younger students, and (d) it is more effective when combined with other aspects of literacy instruction. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of current educational practice and theory.