A longitudinal study of the efficacy of the Cellfield reading intervention in a South African context
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Authors
Charalambous, Angela
Issue Date
2022-01
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Cellfield intervention , Dyslexia , Long-term reading improvement , Multi-deficit theory of reading difficulty , Phonological processing , Reading difficulty , Reading intervention
Alternative Title
Abstract
Internationally, including in South Africa, many children do not acquire ageappropriate
reading skills in the suggested timeframe. As a result, many children
are at-risk of not achieving academic success, since reading does not develop
into an efficient tool that allows children to read for meaning.
Various theories have been developed to explain why some children struggle to
develop reading skills. These theories form the foundation of interventions to
assist struggling readers. The Cellfield intervention is based on the multi-deficit
theory of reading difficulties, and as such, addresses several foundation reading
skills simultaneously. Existing research has confirmed that the Cellfield
intervention leads to improvement in reading skill directly following the
intervention, but no research exists to determine the long-term efficacy of the
Cellfield intervention.
The broad aim of this study was to determine the long-term efficacy of the Cellfield
intervention in a group of South African learners (n = 41) whose reading was
below age-appropriate level. Using a quasi-experimental design, participants
were assessed before and after the Cellfield intervention which was typically
conducted over a two to three-week period, and then again, a minimum of one
year following the intervention. Using standardised reading tests (the Woodcock
Reading Mastery Test and by the Gray Oral Reading Test), six reading variables
were measured, including Word Identification, Word Attack, Comprehension,
Reading Rate, Reading Fluency and Passage Comprehension. Additionally, the
results obtained from the treatment group were compared to a control group (n =11) who had also been found to be behind in reading, but who did not undergo
the Cellfield intervention. Statistical analyses of the findings revealed that the
Cellfield intervention had a statistically significant effect on reading skills and that
these improvements were maintained in the long-term. Furthermore, the results
suggested that the change in reading skill in the treatment group were steeper,
compared to the control group.