The implementation of a reading intervention during winter break and the role of parent involvement for children receiving special education services

Abstract

<p>Extensive research has been conducted on summer reading loss among children from low-SES families and children who are struggling readers (Alexander, Entwisle, & Olson, 2001; Allington, et al., 2010; Compton-Lilly, Caloia, Quast, & McCann, 2016; Cooper, Nye, Charlton, Lindsay, & Greathouse, 1996; Heyns, 1978; Parker & Reid, 2017). A limited number of studies have focused on academic loss over short school breaks, such as winter break, especially for students receiving special education services (Allinder & Fuchs, 1994; Zvoch, 2016) and none have specifically explored reading loss over short breaks for students with identified reading disabilities. This study examined the impact of a home-based reading intervention implemented over a 14 day winter break for 13 children in grades 2-6 who were receiving special education services in reading. Data sources included: pre- and post-winter break progress monitoring scores, reading logs, journals, and parent interviews. Analysis of transcripts from parent interviews was conducted in two cycles: in vivo coding (Saldaña, 2016) for the first cycle, and focused coding (Charmaz, 2014) for the second cycle. Results showed that 54% of children made gains from pre- to post-test on progress monitoring scores. Sixth grade students appeared to benefit from working independently on the reading intervention, while younger students tended to receive more support from parents during engagement with the intervention. Female participants had more positive outcomes than males. Parent involvement with the reading intervention revealed important findings regarding needed supports for enactment of home-based interventions, as well as patterns of access to resources such as books and library services. Implications for both practitioners and researchers are discussed.</p>