Successful Interventions: A Student Literacy Review For Queensland State Schools

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Reading is indispensable to a students’ academic progress in school, and consequently their success in life. Research has shown that both children and adults who struggle to read are severly disadvantaged when they cannot create meaning from text. Research indicate that when students experience difficulties in reading in the formative years, they stand a minimal chance of reaching reading parity with their peers. In addition, students experiencing reading difficulties often encounter further setbacks and as they advance through the grades the academic development in comparison to those who read well grows more distinct.

The purpose of this review of literature aims to explore some of the possible factors that contribute to reading difficulties …show more content…

Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data collected indicated that some intervention programs and targeted literacy teaching strategies do make a difference to literacy …show more content…

1998; Hill & Russell 1999). Despite recent moves towards middle school reform and improved literacy standards, there has remained a gap in literacy provision for adolescent learners, particularly those defined as ‘educationally disadvantaged’ or ‘at risk’ (Masters & Forster 1997; DEETYA 1998). Results of of some of these literacy intervention programs offered to underachieving adolescents are unsuccessful to helping to develop these students literacy skills to meet the requirements of an increasingly abstract and specialised curriculum. Factors contributing to the failure of these programs include the failure to cater for the individual needs of the students which further contributes to a differentiated curriculum and stratified outcomes.

Explicit targeting of the intervention program and strategies to address individual students’ literacy learning is vital. The overall aim of the Literature Review is to consider a range of literacy intervention programs and strategies in order obtain sound research on selecting an appropriate literacy intervention program during my Action Research Project which could offer recommendations for the further development of literacy intervention strategies as a whole school literacy program in