Program
Special Education M.A.
Number of Pages
79
Year Approved
2024
First Advisor
Silmser, Lisa
Second Reader
Nathan Elliott
Abstract
Reading is a fundamental skill, which does not develop naturally, but rather requires careful and explicit instruction. Phonemic awareness has been identified as the most critical pre-reading skill for primary students (National Reading Panel, 2000). This literature review investigated how instruction and intervention in phonemic awareness is implemented for readers, what effect that intervention has, and why a research-to-practice gap exists despite research supporting its critical role in developing early reading skills. A total of 26 studies were reviewed with that focus in mind. The research showed that developing phonemic awareness both helped students gain decoding skills, learn to read, and mitigated later reading difficulties (Carson et al., 2019; Goldstein et al., 2017; Gonzalez-Valenzuela & Martin-Ruiz, 2020; Kjeldsen et al., 2019; Partenan & Siegel, 2014). Findings also demonstrated that struggling readers, including special education students, benefitted from small group interventions in phonemic awareness and that better reading outcomes were associated with intensive action taking place during preschool, kindergarten, and first grade (Alajlan, 2021; Allor et al., 2014: Carson et al, 2019; Denton et al., 2013; Kaminski & Powell-Smith, 2017; Lovett et al., 2017; Washburn et al., 2023). While not explicitly stated, research also suggested that providing educators with explicit instructional materials, training, and ongoing coaching rather than adhering to the business as usual approach positively affected reading growth (Allor et al., 2014; Bratsch-Hines et al., 2020; Carson et al., 2019; Denton et al., 2013; Fien et al., 2015; Goldstein et al., 2017; Gonzalez-Valenzuela & Martin-Ruiz, 2020; Hagan-Burke et al., 2013; Pindiprolu & Marks, 2020; Solari et al., 2018; Vernon-Feagans et al., 2018). Phonemic awareness is a critical component of reading instruction at the early elementary level for all readers and especially for those who struggle.
Degree Name
Special Education M.A.
Document Type
Masterʼs thesis
Recommended Citation
Doty, P. (2024). The Effect of Phonemic Awareness Intervention on Reading Acquisition for Readers at Risk [Masterʼs thesis, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/1127
Terms of Use and License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.