The Importance of Literacy Attainment in Primary Education

Why the government are driving to ensure literacy is a main priority, especially reading by six years of age. The importance of this and the effects on the child, parents, teachers and society. Abstract This paper attempts to analyse why the government are working so hard at ensuring all our primary children are reading by the age of six. The importance of this and the effect on children, teachers and society. It is well documented that reading is one of the most important abilities students acquire as they progress through their early school years. It is the foundation for learning across all subjects, it can be used for recreation and for personal growth, and it equips young children with the ability to participate fully in their communities and the larger society (Campbell et al, 2001) We will look at key issues and research which underpin the government literacy policy and ways in which it can be improved in school. In particular we focus on the extensive research between poor literacy attainment and behavioural problems within the primary setting. We trace the early literacy support programmes and how they are practised in the class room setting. We address the theoretical views on how language acquisition and literacy are interwoven. We look at the role of the teacher and school, and how policy and practice can smooth the progress of child literacy attainment by age of 6. Contents Title and Abstracti Chapter 11 Introduction 1 Chapter 22 Literature Review2 Research in to reading difficulties and behavioural problems2 2. 1 How does this affect the individual, parents, teachers and society5 2. 2 What impact does it have on the school6 Chapter 38 Analysis and critique of evidence base8 What challenges does it impose on the teachers nd what effective teaching methods are considered best practice8 3. 1 How does policy compare the theoretical research10 3. 2 Why do other countries not deem early literacy as important as the UK12 Chapter 413 Conclusion13 Chapter 514 Recommendations14 Bibliography15 Appendices19 Chapter 1 Introduction David Cameron’s conservative educational policy put his party on a collision course with the teaching profession, when he announced in November 07 that virtually every child in the country will be expected to read by the age of six under a conservative government. Cameron wants pupils to sit a reading test at the end of year one, and the target will be for all-bar those with serious learning difficulties, to pass. Their policy to scrap the key stage one testing, which was quite controversial, has already been enforced. His policy to concentrate on the absolute foundation stone, which is an ability to read, has yet to be enforced. He wants 90% of our children reading by the age of six, the other 10% with acute special needs will be given additional help (BBC News Nov 2007). It is also been observed that most children will naturally read by the age of six, as they progress though the foundation stage and key stage one. The problem arises with the children that do not progress so easily. At the age of four and five most children are less aware of their peers, they are more interested in their own ability to do. Yet as they turn six their awareness of others and their abilities become more interesting. This in-turn leads to the less gifted children realising that they are not as bright as other children, which can leads to them feeling disheartened and inadequate. Consequently this may lead to the less gifted children giving up and becoming disengaged, which can cause behavioural problems. Therefore if the teacher can help these children early, perhaps the achievement gap will not be so noticeable, therefore prevent further elevation of problems that arise from detachment (Teacher TV 2009). It is though however that at such a young age, this behaviour is more easily managed and can be reversed (Moffitt 2006). Apparently there is a scheme behind David Cameron’s policy. As early prevention may hopefully alleviate the need for expensive intervention later on. Chapter 2 Literature Review Research in to reading difficulties and behavioural problems As it has frequently been observed that reading difficulties are accompanied by behaviour problems ( Berger, Yule & Rutter, 1975; Rutter, Tizeird & Whitmore, 1970). However, the exact nature of the relationship has been difficult to elucidate. One possibility is that behaviour problems arise as a consequence of the child's reaction to being a poor reader. An alternative possibility is that the behaviour problems pre-date the reading difficulty and affect the child's capacity to profit from reading instruction. A third possibility is that behaviour problems are related to reading difficulties because they share a common cause. A likely candidate for such a common cause would be home background. Of course, none of these possibilities are mutually exclusive. All could be partly true, with causal influences operating in both directions between reading difficulties and behaviour problems, as well as coming from home background. Several studies have attempted to sort out these various possibilities. Two major approaches have been employed. The first is to compare children who have both reading difficulties and behaviour problems with children who have reading difficulties alone and with children who have behaviour problems alone. If the children with both reading difficulties and behaviour problems are similar in background to those with reading difficulties alone, rather than those with behaviour problems alone, then it is likely that behaviour problems arise in part as a consequence of reading failure. Conversely, if the children with combined problems are more similar in background to those with behaviour problems, then it seems likely that the behaviour problems are the primary disorder. A number of studies have been reported using this approach with antisocial behaviour problems. Rutter and Yule (1970) studied 9 to 10 year-old children on the Isle of Wight. They found that the children with combined problems were more similar in background to those with reading difficulty alone and concluded that the reading difficulties produced the behaviour problems. Sturge 1982) research with 10 year old children from inner London school found that those with combined problems had background characteristics in between those of the two groups with pure disorders. She concluded that in some cases, behaviour problems might be secondary to reading difficulties, but that this could not be the complete explanation. However, Varlaam (1974) also used inner London children and did find those with com bined problems to be more similar to children with pure reading difficulties. Generically speaking, then, the evidence using this approach has been consistent with the view that behaviour problems arise as a consequence of reading failure. The second approach adopted by researchers on this issue is the longitudinal study. With this approach, children are followed over the first few years of schooling. Those who have developed reading difficulties after this time are then studied to see if their behaviour problems were present before formal reading instructions began or whether they developed only later as a reaction to reading failure. Two studies have used the longitudinal approach. McMichael (1979) assessed Scottish children for behaviour problems and reading readiness at school entry and then two years later assessed reading achievement and behaviour problems. She found that antisocial behaviour problems preceded the later reading difficulties. However, the children with behaviour problems at school entry also had lower reading readiness skills. On the other hand, McMichael found no evidence of an increase in behaviour problems as a consequence of reading failure. Stott (1981), working with Canadian children, followed them over the first three years of schooling. His findings concurred with those of McMichael (1979) in that children who developed reading difficulties were found to have behaviour problems at school entry. Stott attempted to rule out the possibility that home background was a common cause of both behaviour problems and reading difficulties by grouping the children according to living conditions. He concluded that on the whole it was behaviour problems which led to reading difficulties, home background was not ruled out as a contributing factor Moffatt 2006) of Royal Institute of London did an extensive study on twins and genetics relating to poor literacy and behaviour problems in primary. His research was surprising, as his results, found genetics did not explain it. He feels it’s an environmental process, such as what goes on in the classroom, and this is important because it can be changed. His researchers say their fi ndings indicate that academic intervention can have a positive effect on behaviour. Programmes that target either reading problems or behaviour problems during the pre-school and early primary school years are likely to produce changes in both areas, the research concludes. 2. 1 How does this affect the individual, parents, teachers and society There is a strong link to literacy attainment and confidence levels with regards to socio-economic advantaged children. The facilitation of these opportunities in the home (quiet reading environments, encouragement to read as a leisure activity, having plenty of books readily available, all enhance the development. The negative effects of reading problems are also well documented (Harris & Sipay, 1990). There is evidence that reading disability is associated with social, economic, and psychological problems. The Green Paper,’ Excellence for all children, meeting the special educational needs’(DfEE 1997), acknowledged the Literacy task force recommendations for developing strategies to enable parents and schools to work together in supporting the literacy achievement for children with SEN’ (DfEE 1997, section 13, p 15). With this in mind it is important that the teacher offers practical advice and methods of intervention to the parents. The effects of good prevention and early intervention, along with effective parenting support will help reduce the risk of antisocial behaviour later on (Rutter 1979 and Epstein 1986). By working with the parents, the teacher can construct a plan of action that will facilitate the child’s learning. If the parents are poor, the teacher can suggest the child takes books from school to read at home with the parent. If the parent is not able to read or is working all the time, alternatives arrangements can be made for other family members to help. By taking a pragmatic approach the teacher will hopefully be able to help both the child and their parent with play based activities that will help to raise the spirits of the child while they learn (Wadworths 1991). The role of the teacher in literature-based instruction is one of decision maker, mentor, and coach. The teacher plans and supports activities that allow children to do those things one naturally does with literature (Routman, 1991). This role includes planning themes, helping students activate the appropriate prior knowledge, and supporting students in reading and responding to the literature in appropriate ways (Martinez & Roser, 1991). In some instances the teacher plans and teaches mini-lessons using the literature as a model for helping students learn a needed strategy or skill (Trachtenberg, 1990). As a mentor, the teacher serves as a model for reading and writing, by reading aloud to students, the teacher models language for them. Through shared writing (McKenzie, 1985), the teacher models all aspects of writing, grammar, usage, and spelling. By supporting students with such activities as shared reading, literature discussion circles, and response activities, the teacher plays the role of coach (Cooper, 1993). 2. 2 What impact does it have on the school The principal’s challenge is to ensure that teachers have knowledge of current literacy best practices and access to the tools and resources needed to incorporate them. The principals need to have a working knowledge of literacy and the latest research findings about learning. They also need to ensure high quality instruction is supported by strong literacy frameworks. This may include the opportunity for peer coaching, classroom visitations, and literacy courses made available. Along side the practical courses the principal should ensure all her teachers opinions and ideas are valued, it is her role to support, motivate and encourage excellence in all her teaching staff. As teachers are a major part of a vision for literacy, competent, caring, and committed teachers create the conditions for learning literacy. To assure quality learning for all young children, all teachers need a foundational knowledge about literacy learning, and they need to apply that knowledge with sensitivity and skill in daily reading and writing instruction (Little 1999). a growing body of evidence suggests that reading problems are preventable for the vast majority of students who encounter difficulty in learning to read, if these students receive extra support in the form of an early intervention program (Goldenberg, 1994; Hiebert & Taylor, 1994; Reynolds, 1991). All of the reading recovery programs reflect a model of reading as an active, meaningful, constructive process. Before-reading activities are used to build or activate relevant background knowledge, concepts, and vocabulary. Students are taught to monitor their reading to ensure that what they are reading makes sense. They are taught strategies for correcting word recognition errors that detract from meaning, and they are given opportunities for reacting and responding to selections they have read. The texts they are asked to read are read for enjoyment and for information. Other activities are developed within a framework of reading for meaning. Because reading for meaning is the constant point of reference and because students in these programs need substantial help in building word-identification skills, the amount of time spent in discussing selections and in teacher questioning about the selection is kept to a minimum (Reynolds and Wheldall 2007). Chapter 3 Analysis and critique of evidence base What challenges does it impose on the teachers and what effective teaching methods are considered best practice The Curriculum is only as good as the people who offer it; practitioners play a major part in how a child leans and indeed what they learn. Gerhardts (2004 and Gopnik et al. , 2001) point out that for a child to develop effectively, it is important that the child has a warm loving, nurturing relationship with their teacher. Pedagogy on which teachers can draw on: All children need to acquire knowledge of the alphabetic system to become skilled readers. The most direct way for teachers to accomplish this is by providing explicit, systematic phonics instruction as one part of a comprehensive early reading program. Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is effective for all students in kindergarten and grade 1, regardless of socioeconomic status or the ease with which children learn to read. Along side this runs the different modes of reading and their advantages to the children. The term mode of reading refers to the different ways literature may be read aloud by the teacher, shared, guided by the teacher, cooperatively, or independently (Cooper, 1993). By changing the modes of reading used for different students, teachers are able to scaffold instruction and provide different levels of support for students in order to make them successful in reading a piece of literature (Cooper, 1993; Cullinan, 1992; Tunnell & Jacobs, 1989) Reading aloud is the single most influential factor in young children’s success in learning to read. It builds listening skills and vocabulary, aids reading comprehension, and develops a positive attitude toward reading. The teacher reads aloud daily to the whole class from a variety of children’s literature (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry). Shared Reading The children (or a small group of children) see the text, observe the teacher reading it with fluency and expression, and are invited to read along. Eyes on text with voice support are shared reading. Shared reading gives an authentic reason to practice skills and strategies. It creates a low risk environment and supplies support so children can join in and see themselves as readers. Guided reading The teacher selects books from a variety of genres for a small group with the expectation that all children can read the selection at an instructional level (90 to 94 percent) with prompts and questions. Guided reading provides the teacher with time to observe reading behaviours. It lets the teacher see the children functioning as readers and helps the teacher know what to stress next to move the children forward. The child selects and reads a variety of genres, an integral component of all levels of reading development. Independent reading provides practice and builds fluency and comprehension. It also demonstrates that reading is a priority. It is a time to assist a student in choosing appropriate books and allows them time in reading books of their choice. This helps ensure success and enjoyment (Cheminais 2005). scaffolding instruction Which is a concept that has grown out of research on how individuals learn (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1986; Vygotsky, 1978). This concept is based on the idea that at the beginning of learning, students need a great deal of support; gradually, this support is taken away to allow students to try their independence. This is what Pearson (1985) called the gradual release of responsibility. If students are unable to achieve independence, the teacher brings back the support system to help students experience success until they are able to achieve independence (Cooper, 1993). By using this method it is hopefully more clear-cut which children are in need of more support. Modeling Through Storybook Reading Recent research clarifies the extreme importance of reading storybooks to young children both at home and in school. Very early, children begin to imitate that reading — at first by relying exclusively on picture clues and memory. With increased experience they begin to focus on the information that print conveys (Snow, 1983; Sulzby, 1985; Teale, 1987). 3. 1 How does policy compare the theoretical research Most all theorists regardless of their particular thesis, believe that nature and nurture are interwoven in a child’s development. As Chomsky’s belief in nature still relies on nurturing for a child to gain its full developmental potential. As he wrote â€Å"If a child is placed in an impoverished environment, innate abilities simply will not develop, mature, and flourish (Taylor and Woods (2005). Similarly, a child brought up in an institution may have ample experience and nutrition, but still may not develop normally, either physically or mentally, if normal human interaction is lacking†(Chomsky 1987 p 2). So as Chomsky, believes the child is born with specific linguistic knowledge; Skinner, is portrayed as believing that language is entirely a matter of conditioning; Piaget, who sees language development as an outgrowth of general cognitive development; and Bruner, who emphasises the importance of the social/interactional context in which language development takes place. All have a common link as one depends on the other to reach its true potential (McCartney K and Phillips D 2006). Every Childs development does depend on their physical, cognitive, social and emotional self. And each of these components of self depends in part, on the changes that are taking place in other areas of development (Shaffer 1992). In reality, this is some times overlooked by practitioners in their assessments and evaluations of our children. As the measurements of achievements rears it ugly head, and some teachers focus on the bright and gifted while the less gifted child is left to his own devises. Most school want to have a good record of achievement and thus instruct their teachers to comply with their wish to get the best results for the school as possible. For some teachers this is a bitter pill to swallow as their time is taken up by helping the gifted children reach the highest targets, unavoidably leaves the less gifted neglected. Ability tracking, is yet another thorn for the less gifted children as this is where students are grouped by their ability, some theorists argue that this undermines the self-esteem of low ability students. As children are placed on the red, yellow, blue or green table depending on how clever they are perceived to be, by the teacher. Thus contributing to poor academic achievement and a high number of children feeling disheartened and demoralised. As we mentioned earlier how children of six are more aware of their peers, this only highlights the fact, leaving the less gifted children believing they are stupid, so they stop trying to achieve. Rutters research in 1983 suggests that mixed ability groups are more advantageous for children in primary education and ability tracking was more sensible in the latter senior years at secondary. Rutter 1983) put high emphasis on the teacher’s attitudes towards their pupils as being vitally important to the Childs achievements. Motivation, praise, encouragement and a high expectation are all crucial to ensuring a child succeeds (Pollard 1997). 3. 2 Why do other countries not deem early literacy as important as the UK Dr Ken Spencer (2007) from the Institute of Learning at University of Hull, fought back in response to all the critics of Cameron, as they protested why other countries did not deem this an important issue. He made them aware of the reason why Scandinavian children can start reading at six: their language has a transparent writing system, in which each sound has only one letter associated with it. With such a writing system all children read in about six month, no matter when they start school. His research evidence shows that learning to read English will always take three or more years longer, than most other languages. There is now indisputable evidence that complex combinations of letters and their irregular behaviour interact to make English the worst example of alphabetical language. Chapter 4 Conclusion Language and literacy development, like all human development, will be heavily determined by the nature of the environment, and may be severely limited unless the environment is appropriate. A stimulating environment is required to enable natural curiosity, intelligence, and creativity to develop, and to enable our biological capacities to unfold. The fact that the course of development is largely internally determined does not mean that it will proceed without care, stimulation, and opportunity (Penn 2005). Like Chomsky perceived â€Å"teaching is not like filling a cup with water, but ore like enabling a flower to grow in its own way; but it will not grow and flourish without proper care†(Chomsky 1897,p1). There is evidence that teachers whom have a holistic view with a child centred approach, can lead to a more fruitful interaction between the realms of theory and practice, which in turn will benefit the child’s learning and behaviour. The examples of rese arch in the fields of literacy and development discussed, show how work which was originally theoretically motivated can lead to practical recommendations for intervention. Chapter 5 Recommendations It does appear that there is extensive evidence to suggest that poor teacher may have a lot to do with poor literacy attainment and behavioural issues. Perhaps David Cameron quest for literacy attainment will only be achieved once the teaching pedagogy improves. Adults, like children, learn better when they perceive a need for the information they are learning. Staff development should provide teachers with authentic, meaningful tasks that relate to improving classroom instruction. Helping teachers improve instruction must focus on more than just going through the motions of teaching. Showers, Joyce, and Bennett (1987) analyzed more than two hundred research studies on staff development and concluded that a major factor in how teachers teach is how they think about teaching. Staff development should help teachers increase their knowledge and learn to think about their instructional decisions. Having a basic level of knowledge about an innovation is important in helping teachers â€Å"buy in† to it (Showers et al. , 1987). Over the last fifteen years the emphasis on staff development has evolved in many ways, from workshop sessions to more comprehensive, collaborative approaches that focus on the individual needs and concerns of teachers (Waxman, 1987). Hopefully by improving our pedagogy and focusing on a more holistic child centred environment all children and teachers will benefit. The research literature to date has suggested pathways for us to take. It is up to us as a society to make the journey. 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