TY - JOUR
T1 - ABRACADABRA aids Indigenous and non-Indigenous early literacy in Australia
T2 - Evidence from a multisite randomized controlled trial
AU - Wolgemuth, Jennifer R.
AU - Savage, Robert
AU - Helmer, Janet
AU - Harper, Helen
AU - Lea, Tess
AU - Abrami, Phillip C.
AU - Kirby, Adrienne
AU - Chalkiti, Kalotina
AU - Morris, Peter
AU - Carapetis, Jonathan
AU - Louden, William
N1 - Funding Information:
The Australian ABRACADABRA study was made possible by a grant from the Telstra Foundation with additional funds from The Fred Hollows Foundation, Collier Charitable Fund, the Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. An Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grant in partnership with the Telstra Foundation, the Center for the Study of Learning and Performance , and the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training specifically funded the RCT.
PY - 2013/5/20
Y1 - 2013/5/20
N2 - In many western countries, identifiable populations of children read below age-expectations, and the need for effective interventions remains pressing. Indigenous populations across the globe tend to have reading outcomes lower than comparative general populations. This is a critical issue in Australia's Northern Territory where Indigenous students are far less likely to meet minimum reading standards. There is some evidence to suggest that computer-based instruction may be of particular benefit to struggling readers. To redress reading disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, a multisite single-blind randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the ABRACADABRA web-based reading tool, http://abralite.concordia.ca, on reading, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness was conducted in Northern Territory, Australian primary schools with 164 intervention and 148 control (regular instruction) children. The total sample was 28% Indigenous. Results revealed that all intervention group students made significant gains in phonological awareness (d =.37) and phoneme-grapheme knowledge over control group peers (d =.37). Indigenous students gained significantly more per hour of instruction than non-Indigenous students in phonological awareness and early literacy skills. Results suggest that ABRACADABRA prevents lags in foundational literacy experienced by poor readers including Indigenous students.
AB - In many western countries, identifiable populations of children read below age-expectations, and the need for effective interventions remains pressing. Indigenous populations across the globe tend to have reading outcomes lower than comparative general populations. This is a critical issue in Australia's Northern Territory where Indigenous students are far less likely to meet minimum reading standards. There is some evidence to suggest that computer-based instruction may be of particular benefit to struggling readers. To redress reading disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, a multisite single-blind randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the ABRACADABRA web-based reading tool, http://abralite.concordia.ca, on reading, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness was conducted in Northern Territory, Australian primary schools with 164 intervention and 148 control (regular instruction) children. The total sample was 28% Indigenous. Results revealed that all intervention group students made significant gains in phonological awareness (d =.37) and phoneme-grapheme knowledge over control group peers (d =.37). Indigenous students gained significantly more per hour of instruction than non-Indigenous students in phonological awareness and early literacy skills. Results suggest that ABRACADABRA prevents lags in foundational literacy experienced by poor readers including Indigenous students.
KW - Computer-based instruction
KW - Early literacy
KW - Indigenous populations
KW - Phonological awareness
KW - Randomized experiment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877786384&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84877786384&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compedu.2013.04.002
DO - 10.1016/j.compedu.2013.04.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84877786384
VL - 67
SP - 250
EP - 264
JO - Computers and Education
JF - Computers and Education
SN - 0360-1315
ER -