The literacy abilities of 11 year-old students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds

Abstract

This study investigated the literacy skills of all children in Year 6 of a Queensland school in a socially disadvantaged area who were exposed to a “whole language” approach to the learning of written language. Standardized tests of non-word spelling and reading comprehension (including written sentence responses) revealed a large group of children with literacy difficulties. This group of 11-year-old children, and a group of matched controls, were further assessed on measures of phonological awareness and letter sound knowledge. The results indicated that the means of both groups were below those of the standardization populations, and that the children had particular difficulty writing short answers to questions. The group of children identified as performing poorly on the non-word spelling test was heterogeneous. Some had poor phonological awareness skills, some had limited sound-letter correspondence knowledge, some children had problems with both skills. The data demonstrated the need for assessment to identify the specific sub-skills with which individuals have difficulty, in order to allow for appropriate intervention rather than a generic phonological awareness intervention package for all children with literacy difficulties irrespective of age or social status.

Keywords:

• Literacy
• socio-economic background
• phonological awareness
• language comprehension
• upper primary