Oral language supports early literacy: A pilot cluster randomized trial in disadvantaged schools

Abstract

This study examined the impact of teacher professional development aimed at improving the capacity of primary teachers in disadvantaged schools to strengthen children's expressive and receptive oral language skills and early literacy success in the first 2 years of school. Fourteen low-SES schools in Victoria, Australia were randomly allocated to a research (n = 8) or control arm (n = 6), resulting in an initial sample of 1254 students, (n = 602 in research arm and n = 652 in control arm). The intervention comprised 6 days of teacher and principal professional development (delivered by language and literacy experts), school-based continuing contact with the research team and completion by one staff member of each research school of a postgraduate unit on early language and literacy. Schools in the control arm received standard teaching according to state auspiced curriculum guidelines. Full data were available on 979 students at follow-up (time 2). Students in the research arm performed significantly better on Test of Language Development: Primary (Fourth Edition) sub-tests (p ≤ .002) and the Reading Progress Test (F = 10.4(1); p = .001) than students in the control arm at time 2. Narrative scores were not significantly different at time 2, although students in research schools showed greater gains. Findings provide “proof of concept” for this approach, and are discussed with respect to implications for teacher professional development and pre-service education concerning the psycholinguistic competencies that underpin the transition to literacy.

Keywords::

• Oral language
• early literacy
• teachers

Notes

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

This project was funded by the (Australian) Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), through the Literacy & Numeracy Pilots scheme. The views expressed here are those of the authors, not necessarily of DEEWR.

Notes

1. Referred to as “elementary” school in the US.

2. Victoria (the location of the study described) is located in the south-east corner of Australia. It is the country's most densely populated state, with 5.5 million people, 70% of whom live in the state capital, Melbourne.

3. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Socio Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Education and Occupation (IEO) was used as a basis for selecting low SES schools for inclusion in the pilot. This score is standardized against a mean of 1000 with a standard deviation of 100. This means that the average SEIFA score will be 1000 and the middle two-thirds of SEIFA scores will fall between 900–1100 (approximately) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008).

4. In Victoria, the first year of formal schooling is known as the “Prep” (preparatory) year. Children must turn 5 before April 30 in the calendar year in which they commence school, and must commence school, at the latest, in the year that they turn 6 (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development).

5. VELS preceded the introduction of “AusVELS” in 2013.