Effects of paired reading programme on word reading skills in Chinese pre-schoolers with special educational needs

Abstract

Investigating the effect of teacher-implemented paired reading program on pre-schoolers with special educational needs, the present study recruited 45 Chinese pre-schoolers and 26 preschool teachers. Ten sessions of paired reading training and Chinese vocabulary training activities were provided to participants in the experimental group. Results indicated that pre-schoolers with special educational needs showed greater improvement in Chinese word recognition for both trained and untrained words after the intervention program as compared to progress in the control group. However, no significant effect was revealed in pre-schoolers’ reading fluency. Apart from word reading skills, pre-schoolers’ reading competence and motivation as perceived by teachers also showed positive results. Regarding impact on teachers, higher self-efficacy and a general increment in knowledge on administering reading program and word recognition training were reported by teachers from the experimental group. These findings suggested that paired reading program delivered in school settings by teachers may benefit both pre-schoolers and the teaching staff.