A Reading Support Program for Low-Income Preschool Non-Readers in Singapore

Year 2014, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 1 - 24, 14.07.2015

Noel Chia Norman Kee

https://doi.org/10.20489/intjecse.20165

Abstract

In a highly literate society like Singapore, there still exists a small group of preschool non-readers coming mainly from low-income families. They are at utmost risk for literacy difficulties and failure. However, if these children are frequently read aloud to, they can acquire the necessary language and literacy skills to be able to read. Currently, voluntary welfare organizations, religious bodies, professional associations as well as the National Library Board offer reading support programs for such non-readers. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of one such reading support program known as Support for Preschool non-Readers (SUPER) for preschool non-readers coming from low-income families. Our findings suggest there are significant improvements in the preschool non-readers’ word knowledge acquired through picture-based vocabulary and word recognition acquired through print and word awareness after going through the 8-month reading support program. However, no significant gender and racial differences are noted.

Key Words: Low-income families, non-readers, preschool, reading support program 

Keywords

Low-income families, non-readers, preschool, reading support program

References

• Aaron, P. G. (1989). Dyslexia and hyperlexia. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Alexander, G. (1992). The mentally disabled. In H. Anuar (Ed.), Coping with your child’s reading disability (pp.28-33). Singapore: National Book Development Council of Singapore.
• Ammons, R. B., & Ammons, H. S. (1949). Full-Range Vocabulary Test. New Orleans, LA: Tulane University.
• Arnold, D. H., Logigan, C. J., Whitehurst, G. J., & Epstein, J. N. (1994). Accelerating language development through picture book reading: Replication and extension to a video-tape training format. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 235-243.
• Bachman, H. J., Morrison, F. J., & Bryant, F. B. (2002). Beyond social class: Home literacy promotion as a proximal source of Black-White differences in academic skills at kindergarten entry. Unpublished manuscript.
• Beck, I. L. (2004, April). Igniting students’ knowledge of and interest in words. Presentation at the Florida Middle School Reading Leadership Conference, Orlando, FL.
• Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford.
• Beyond Social Services (2011). Direct work: Infants and early childhood (0-6 years). Retrieved from: http://www.beyondself.sg/volunteer_direct.php.
• Booker, K. (2012). Using picture books to empower and inspire readers and writers in the upper primary classroom. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 20(2), i-xiv.
• Bus, A.G, Van Ijzendoorn, M.H., & Pellegrini, A.D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research 65(5), 1-21.
• Butler, D. (1998). Babies need books: Sharing the joy of books with children from birth to six (Rev. ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally & Co.
• Campbell, R. (2001). Read-alouds with young children. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
• Central Intelligence Agency (2013). The World Factbook (14th ed.). Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/fields/2103.html#136.
• Chia, N. K. H. (1992). The comprehension model of reading. Education Today, 42(4), 32-35.
• Chia, N. K. H. (1998). A comprehensive model of reader profiles. Teaching and Learning, 19(2), 64-72.
• Chia, N.K.H. (2013). Children who are deprived readers: From being disadvantaged to becoming disabled. Journal of Reading and Literacy, 5, 90-96.
• Cooney, R. R. (1999, April). How early are racial gaps evident in academic achievement? In F. J. Morrison (Chair), Racial differences in academic achievement: When and why? Symposium paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Chiki Development meeting, Albuquerque, NM.
• Creswell J. W. (2012). Educational Research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
• Cronbach, L. K. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297-334.
• De Temple, J., & Snow, C. E. (2003). Learning words from books. In A. van Kleeck, S. A. Stahl, & E. B. Bauer (Eds.), On reading books to children: Parents and teachers (pp.95-113). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
• Denberg, S. D. (1976-1977). The interaction of picture and print in reading instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 12, 176-189.
• Dickinson, D.K., & Tabors, P.O. (Eds.). (2001). Beginning literacy with language: Young children learning at home and school. Baltimore, MA: Brookes.
• Elangovan, S. (2013). Narrative storytelling to facilitate early literacy skills of preschoolers from low socio-economic status. Journal of Reading and Literacy, 5, 23-38.
• English Teachers Network (1997). Non-readers’ project: On the road to reading recovery. Retrieved from: http://www.etni.org.il/nonread3.htm.
• Fossett, B., & Mirenda, P. (2006). Sight word reading in children with developmental disabilities: A comparison of paired associate and picture-to-text matching instruction. Research in Developmental Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 27, 411-429.
• French, J. L. (2001). Pictorial Test of Intelligence (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
• Fry, R. (2008, June). The role of schools in the English language learner achievement gap. Report prepared for the Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, DC, USA. Goodman, K. S. (1965). A linguistic study of cues and miscues in reading. Closing the Gap, 25(2),1, 10-12.
• Gribbons, B., & Herman, J. (1997). True and quasi-experimental designs. Practical Assessment Research and Evaluation, 5(14). Retrieved from: http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=5&n=14.
• Hemphill, L., & Tivnaan, T. (2008). The importance of early vocabulary for literacy achievement in high-poverty schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 13, 426-451.
• Hiebert, E. H. (1981). Developmental patterns and interrelationships of preschool children’s print awareness. Reading Research Quarterly, 16, 236-260.
• Hoff, E. (2006). Environmental supports for language acquisition. In D. K. Dickinson & S. B. Neuman (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy development (Vol.2, pp.163- 172). New York: Guilford.
• Houghton Mifflin Company (2000). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Retrieved from: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nonreader.
• Jencks, C., & Philips, M. (1998). The Black-White test score gap. Washington, DC: Brookings.
• Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2000). Enhancing children’s print and word awareness through home-based parent intervention. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 9, 257-269.
• Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2001). Word and print awareness in 4-year-old children. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 17, 207-225.
• Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2004). Print referencing: An emergent literacy enhancement strategy and its clinical applications. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 35, 185-193.
• Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practices of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
• Lane, H. B., & Wright, T. L. (2007). Maximizing the effectiveness of reading aloud. The Reading Teacher, 60(7), 668-675.
• Law, J. S. P. (2012). Getting children from low-income families to read: What works. Journal of Reading and Literacy, 4, 7-22.
• Lonigan, C. J., & Whitehurst, G. J. (1998). Relative efficacy of parent and teacher involvement in a shared-reading intervention for preschool children from low- income backgrouns. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 13, 263-290.
• Leipzig, D. H. (2001). Reading rockets: What is reading? Washington, DC: WETA. Lesaux, N. K. (2012). Reading and reading instruction for children from low-income and non-English speaking households. The Future of Children, 22(2), 73-88.
• Mancilla-Martinez, J., & Lesaux, N. K. (2011). The gap between Spanish speakers’ word reading and word knowledge: A longitudinal study. Child Development, 82, 1544-1560.
• Martin, P., & Pappas, P. (2006). Content reading strategies that work. Retrieved from: www.edteck.com/read.
• McClelland, M. M., Kessenich, M., & Morison, F. J. (2003). Pathways to early literacy: the complex interplay of child, family, and socio-cultural factors. Advances in Child Development, 31, 411-447.
• Melser, J., & Cowley, J. (1980). In a dark dark wood. Auckland, NZ: Shortland Publications.
• Ministry of Education (2003). Language and literacy development. In Nurturing early learners: A framework for a kindergarten curriculum in Singapore (Book 5). Singapore: Pre-School Education Unit.
• Moseley, D. (2003). Word Recognition and Phonics Skills (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Hodder & Stoughton.
• Nathan, M. J. (2003, June/July). BEST move, WISE choice: Twin upgrading programs hit 20-year mark. The Quality Workforce, 69. Retrieved from: http://www.ite.edu.sg/about_ite/TQW_Archived_Issues/Tqw_69/69_p07.html
• Neuman, S. B., & Roskos, K. A. (1993). Language and literacy learning in early years: An integrated approach. Fort Worth, PH: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
• Ong, E. L. Y., & Llanos, M. (2009). How phonological awareness helped reading acquisition of a pre-school child in home environment before formal schooling. Journal of Reading and Literacy, 1, 37-47.
• Owocki, G. (2007). Grounding children in routines and procedures for meaningful learning. In Literate days: Reading and writing with preschool and primary children (Book 1). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Perie, M., Grigg, W., & Donahue, P. (2005). The nation’s report card: Reading 2005 (NCES 2006–451). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2005/2006451.pdf
• Rees, H.E. (1968). Deprivation and compensatory education. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
• Rutter, M., & Yule, W. (1975). The concept of specific reading retardation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 16, 181-197.
• Samuels, S. J. (1967). Attentional processes in reading the effects of pictures on the acquisition of reading responses. Journal of Educational Psychology, 58, 337- 342.
• Saunders, R. J., & Solman, R. T. (1984). The effect of pictures on the acquisition of a small vocabulary of similar sight-words. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 54, 265-275.
• Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi- experimental designs for generalized causal inference. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.
• Singer, H., Samuels, S. J., & Spiroff, J. (1973). The effects of pictures and contextual conditions on learning responses to printed words. Reading Research Quarterly, 9, 555-567.
• Singh, N. N., & Solman, R. T. (1990). A stimulus control analysis of the picture-word problem in children who are mentally retarded: The blocking effect. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 525-532.
• Snow, C.E., Burns, S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
• Stahl, S. A. (2003). What do we expect storybook reading to do? How storybook reading impacts word recognition. In A. van Kleeck, S. A. Stahl, & E. B. Bauer (Eds.), On reading books to children: Parents and teachers (pp.363-383). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
• Stuart, M. (1995). Prediction and qualitative assessment of five and six year old children’s reading: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 65, 287-296.
• Torgesen, J.K. (1998 February) Individual differences in response to reading intervention. Paper presented at the Pacific Coast Research Conference, LaJolla, California, USA.
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) (2013). Adult and youth literacy: national, regional and global trends, 1985-2015. Retrieved from: http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=125&I F_Language=eng&BR_Fact=LTRAT&BR_Region=40510.
• Van Alstyne, D. (1929). Picture Vocabulary Test for Preschool Children. Bloomington, IL: Public School Publishing.
• Waber, B. (1972). Ira sleeps over. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Whitehurst, G. J., Falco, F. I., Lonigan, C. J., Fischel, J. E., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Valdez-Meenchaca, M. C. (1988). Accelerating language development through picture book reading. Developmental Psychology, 24, 552-559.
• 
• Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. (2001). Emergent literacy: Development from pre- readers to readers. In S. B. Neuman & D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (pp.11-29). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
• Whitehurst, G. J., Zevenbergen, A. A., Crone, D. A., Schultz, M. D., Velting, O. N., & Fischel, J. E. (1999). Outcomes of an emergent literacy intervention from Head Start through second grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 261-272.
• Wolfenbarger, C. D., & Sipe, L. R. (2007). A unique visual and literary art form: recent research on picture books. Review of Research: Language Arts, 84(3), 273-280.
• Wong, R. Y. L. (2010). Teaching text types in the Singapore primary classroom (3rd ed.). Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
• Workforce Development Agency (WDA, n.d.). English@Workploace: Better communication, greater efficiency, higher productivity. Retrieved from: http://www.wda.gov.sg/content/dam/wda/pdf/eng.pdf.
• Zucker, T. A., Ward, A. E., & Justice, L. M. (2009). Print referencing during read- alouds: A technique for increasing emergent readers’ print knowledge. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), 62-72.