Primary school teachers' use and perception of digital technology in early reading and writing education in inclusive settings

'To have a plan': teachers' perceptions of working with a literacy instruction combining phonics and comprehension applications for students with intellectual disability and communication difficulties

PURPOSE

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically have difficulties with literacy learning, often not acquiring basic literacy skills. Research and practical experience indicate that when these students are provided with evidence-based instruction, including comprehension as well as phonemic strategies, literacy may develop.

METHODS

In this study, four pairs of teachers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of a 12-week digital literacy intervention that focused on both phonics and comprehension strategies. The intervention aimed to enhance literacy and communication development in students aged 7-21, who had mild to severe ID.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Four themes were identified in the analysis. It was seen that the teachers found it valuable to have access to two apps accessing and facilitating the use of different literacy strategies in meeting the needs of individual students. This digital format was also perceived as positive, contributing to creating a supportive and systematic learning environment that enhanced and increased literacy learning. The teachers recurringly also talked about the positive influence of participating in research, lifting the strong focus, and positive attention as very important for both teachers and students.

Print and digital reading habits and comprehension in children with and without special education needs

BACKGROUND

Text comprehension is a major obstacle for many Primary school students with special education needs (SEN). Reading episodes bring students opportunities to be exposed to new vocabulary and knowledge, potentially boosting their development of text comprehension skills.

AIMS

Our study seeks to understand how reading frequency (leisure and academic) and reading medium (print and digital) contribute to the development of text comprehension during Primary school in students with and without SEN.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

We tested 2289 Spanish students from fourth to sixth grade, from which 212 had an official decision of SEN. Students self-reported their reading frequency (as a measure of their reading habits) and completed a standardized text comprehension test. We employed multiple regression models with a robust maximum likelihood estimator to test associations between reading frequency and comprehension.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

Students' comprehension was positively associated with their leisure print reading habits, and negatively associated with their frequency of academic digital reading. Those associations were independent of SEN status.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Results highlight the importance of promoting leisure reading in print to all students, regardless of SEN status. In addition, caution is advised when encouraging Primary school children to use digital texts when the emphasis is on comprehending texts for acquiring knowledge.