Abstract
Most private schools in India follow the Alphabet-Spelling method to teach reading in English. This approach bypasses letter-sound correspondences and focuses on rote memorization and sight-word recognition. In an effort to provide students with more recent evidence-based practices in reading instruction, this study examined how phonics-based instruction related with early English literacy outcomes for students in kindergarten. Our sample consisted of 627 students attending a private middle-cost school in Mumbai, India where the language of instruction was English. Students were tested for early literacy skills in kindergarten using the DIBELSNext benchmarking measures. We compared groups of students who received no phonics (n = 165) to students who received one year of phonics (n = 234) and students who received two years of phonics (n = 228) respectively. Our results suggested that students who received both one and two years of phonics instruction in preschool significantly outperformed those who did not receive any phonics instruction on all the literacy skills assessed. Moreover, the incidence of students being at-risk for reading difficulties reduced significantly with an increase in years of phonics instruction. Implications for reading research, practice, and policy in the Indian context are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Data is available upon reasonable request.
References
Aggarwal, S. (1991). Three language formula: An educational problem. Gyan Publishing House
Allington, R. L. (2005). What counts as evidence in evidence-based education. Reading Today, 23(3), 16.
Annamalai, E. (2004). Medium of power: The question of English in education in India. In Tolleson, J. W. & Tsui, A. B. M. (Eds.), Medium of instruction policies: Which agenda? Whose agenda? (177–194). Erlbaum.
ASER Centre (2016). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2016. http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202016/aser_2016.pdf
ASER Centre (2018). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2018). http://img.asercentre.org/docs/ASER%202018/Release%20Material/aserreport2018.pdf
Baker, C. (2017). Quantitative research designs: Experimental, quasi-experimental, and descriptive. Evidence-based practice: An integrative approach to research, administration, and practice (pp. 155–183). http://samples.jblearning.com/9781284101539/9781284101539_CH06_Drummond.pdf
Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E. (2011). Why aren’t children learning. Development Outreach, 13(1), 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1596/1020-797x_13_1_36
Buckingham, J., Wheldall, R., & Wheldall, K. (2019). Systematic and explicit phonics instruction: A scientific, evidence-based approach to teaching the alphabetic principle. In R. Cox, S. Feez, & L. Beveridge (Eds.), The alphabetic principle and beyond (pp. 49–67). Primary English Teaching Association Australia.
Burke, M. D., Hagan-Burke, S., Kwok, O., & Parker, R. (2009). Predictive validity of early literacy indicators from the middle of kindergarten to second grade. The Journal of Special Education, 42(4), 209-226.
Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 5–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271
Catts, H. W., Petscher, Y., Schatschneider, C., Sittner Bridges, M., & Mendoza, K. (2009). Floor effects associated with universal screening and their impact on the early identification of reading disabilities. Journal of learning disabilities, 42(2), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219408326219
Centre For Civil Society (2017). Report on Budget Private Schools in India. https://ccs.in/sites/default/files/attachments/BPS_Full_Report.pdfCity, E. A., Elmore, R. F., Fiarman, S. E., & Teitel, L. (2009). Instructional rounds in education (Vol. 30). Harvard Education Press.
City EA, Elmore RF, Fiarman SE and Teitel L (2009) Instructional rounds in education (Vol. 30). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Cohen, D. K., & Ball, D. L. (1999). Instruction, capacity, and improvement. https://doi.org/10.1037/e382692004-001
Cohen, R. A. (1969). Conceptual styles, culture conflict, and nonverbal tests of intelligence. American Anthropologist, 71(5), 828–856. https://doi.org/10.1037/e382692004-001
Cunningham, A. E. (1990). Explicit versus implicit instruction in phonemic awareness. Journal of experimental child psychology, 50(3), 429–444.
de Graaff, S., Bosman, A. M., Hasselman, F., & Verhoeven, L. (2009). Benefits of systematic phonics instruction. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13(4), 318–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888430903001308
Dixon, P., Schagen, I., & Seedhouse, P. (2011). The impact of an intervention on children’s reading and spelling ability in low-income schools in India. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 22(4), 461–482. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2011.625125
Durlak, J. A. (2009). How to select, calculate, and interpret effect sizes. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 34(9), 917–928. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsp004
Ehri, L. C. (2020). The science of learning to read words: A case for systematic phonics instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 55, S45–S60. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.334
Ehri, L. C., Nunes, S. R., Stahl, S. A., & Willows, D. M. (2001). Systematic phonics instruction helps students learn to read: Evidence from the National Reading Panel’s meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 71(3), 393–447. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543071003393
Elliott, J., Lee, S. W., & Tollefson, N. (2001). A reliability and validity study of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills—Modified. School Psychology Review, 30(1), 33–49.
Foorman, B. R. (1997). Early interventions for children with reading problems: study designs and preliminary findings. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 8(1), 63–71.
Flannelly, K. J., Flannelly, L. T., & Jankowski, K. R. (2018). Threats to the internal validity of experimental and quasi-experimental research in healthcare. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 24(3), 107–130.
Gabriel, R., & Paulus, T. (2015). Committees and controversy: Consultants in the construction of education policy. Educational Policy, 29(7), 984–1011. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904814531650
Gersten, R., & Baker, S. (2003). English-language learners with leaning disabilities. In H. L. Swanson, K. R. Harris, & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of learning disabilities (pp. 94–109). The Guilford Press.
Glewwe, P., Kremer, M., & Moulin, S. (2009). Many children left behind? Textbooks and test scores in Kenya. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(1), 112–135. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.1.112
Goffreda, C. T., Diperna, J. C., & Pedersen, J. A. (2009). Preventive screening for early readers: Predictive validity of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Psychology in the Schools, 46(6), 539-552.
Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: What the research does-and does not-say. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/esed5234-master/27
Good, R. H., Kaminski, R. A., & Cummings, K. (2011). DIBELS next. Cambium Learning.
Good, R. H., Kaminski, R. A., Dewey, E. N., Wallin, J., Powell-Smith, K. A., & Latimer, R. J. (2013). DIBELS Next technical manual. Eugene.
Good, R. H., Kaminski, R. A., Shinn, M., Bratten, J., Shinn, M., Laimon, D., & Flindt, N. (2004). Technical adequacy of DIBELS: Results of the Early Childhood Research Institute on measuring growth and development. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon.
Goodman, K. S. (2006). A critical review of DIBELS. In K. S. Goodman (Ed.),The truth about DIBELS: What it is, what it does (pp. 1–39). Heinemann.
Gupta, R. (2014). Change in Teaching Practices: Case of Phonics Instruction in India. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 3911–3915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.865
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Paul H Brookes Publishing.
Hill, C. J., Bloom, H. S., Black, A. R., & Lipsey, M. W. (2008). Empirical benchmarks for interpreting effect sizes in research. Child Development Perspectives, 2(3), 172–177. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2008.00061.x
Hintze, J. M., Ryan, A. L., & Stoner, G. (2003). Concurrent validity and diagnostic accuracy of the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills and the comprehensive test of phonological processing. School Psychology Review, 32(4), 541-556.
Jasuja, N., & Khan, N. (2017). India’s fintech boom: Ensuring no man is left behind as the sector races Along. Medium. https://medium.com/wharton-fintech/indias-fintech-boom-ensuring-no-man-is-left-behind-as-the-sector-races-along-64ce5d631a65
Johnson, B. (2001). Toward a new classification of nonexperimental quantitative research. Educational Researcher, 30(2), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x030002003
Johnston, R. S., McGeown, S., & Watson, J. E. (2012). Long-term effects of synthetic versus analytic phonics teaching on the reading and spelling ability of 10 year old boys and girls. Reading and Writing, 25(6), 1365–1384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-011-9323-x
Johnston, R. S., & Watson, J. E. (2005). The effects of synthetic phonics teaching on reading and spelling attainment: A seven year longitudinal study (11 vol.). Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2005/02/20688/52449
Joshi, R. M., Nakamura, P. R., & Singh, N. C. (2017). Reading research and practice: Indian perspective. New directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2017(158), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20222
Karande, S., Sholapurwala, R., & Kulkarni, M. (2011). Managing specific learning disability in schools in India. Indian Pediatrics, 48(7), 515–520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-011-0090-1
Kirk, R. E. (2012). Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences. Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483384733
Kraft, M. A. (2020). Interpreting effect sizes of education interventions. Educational Researcher, 49(4), 241–253. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x20912798
Krishnan, P. (2021). A review of the non-equivalent control group posttest-only design. Nurse Researcher, 29(2).
Kurrien, J. (2005). Notes for the Meeting of the National Focus Group on Teaching of English, and Note on Introduction of English at the Primary Stage. Ms., NFG-English.
Lipsey, M. W., Puzio, K., Yun, C., Hebert, M. A., Steinka-Fry, K., Cole, M. W., & Busick, M. D. (2012). Translating the Statistical Representation of the Effects of Education Interventions into More Readily Interpretable Forms. National Center for Special Education Research.
Macaulay, T. B. (1835). Minute on Education (1835) by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Retrieved from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/macaulay/txt_minute_education_1835.html
Manzo, K. K. (2005). National clout of DIBELS test draws scrutiny. Education Week, 25(5), 1–2.
Meganathan, R. (2011). Language Policy in Education and the Role of English in India: From Library Language to Language of Empowerment.British Council.
Meganathan, R. (2022). Language Conundrum: English Language and Exclusivity in India’s Higher Education. In Critical Sites of Inclusion in India’s Higher Education (pp. 81-96). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
Mesmer, H. A. E., & Griffith, P. L. (2005). Everybody’s selling it—But just what is explicit, systematic phonics instruction? The Reading Teacher, 59(4), 366–376. https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.59.4.6
Miciak, J., & Fletcher, J. M. (2020). The critical role of instructional response for identifying dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(5), 343–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420906801
Ministry of Human Resource Development (2014). All India survey on higher education: 2014. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics-new/AISHE2014-15.pdf
Ministry of Human Resource Development (2018). All India survey on higher education: 2018. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics-new/AISHE%20Final%20Report%202018-19.pdf
Ministry of Human Resource Development Department of School Education and Literacy (2019). “Unified District Information System for Education.”
Ministry of Human Resource Development (2020). National Education Policy: 2020. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf
Misquitta, R., Shenoy, S., Ghosh, A., & Kotwal, N. (2022). Examining the technical adequacy and efficacy of FABLe to identify students at-risk for reading difficulties in India. Asia Pacific Education Review, 23(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-022-09751-y
MoSPI (2019). EDUCATION - Statistical Year Book India 2019. http://mospi.nic.in/statistical-year-book-india/2019/198
Munger, K. A., LoFaro, S. A., Kawryga, E. A., Sovocool, E. A., & Medina, S. Y. (2014). Does the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills next assessment take a “simple view” of reading? Educational Assessment, 19(3), 204–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2014.934609
Nation, K. (2005). Children’s Reading Comprehension Difficulties. In M. J. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 248–265). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470757642.ch14
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2011). NCERT Annual Report 2011-12.https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/annualreport/Annual-Report-2011-12.pdf
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2014). National Achievement Survey (Cycle 3), Class III: Achievement highlights. https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/NAS/NAS_Class3.pdf
National Institute for Literacy (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/NELPReport09.pdf
National Reading Panel (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups.
Nishanimut, S. P., Johnston, R. S., Joshi, R. M., Thomas, P. J., & Padakannaya, P. (2013). Effect of synthetic phonics instruction on literacy skills in an ESL setting. Learning and Individual Differences, 27, 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.06.007
Patel, P., Torppa, M., Aro, M., Richardson, U., & Lyytinen, H. (2018). GraphoLearn India: The effectiveness of a computer-assisted reading intervention in supporting struggling readers of english. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1045. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01045
Pritchett, L., & Beatty, A. (2012). The negative consequences of overambitious curricula in developing countries. Center for Global Development Working Paper, (293). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2235869
Ramanathan, H. (2008). Testing of English in India: A developing concept. Language Testing, 25(1), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532207083747
Ramanathan, H., & Bruning, M. D. (2003). Reflection on Teaching Oral English Skills in India: A Research Report. Journal of the International Society for Teacher education, 7(1), 48–55.
Rao, C., Sumathi, T. A., Midha, R., Oberoi, G., Kar, B., Khan, M., & Singh, N. C. (2021). Development and standardization of the DALI-DAB (dyslexia assessment for languages of India–dyslexia assessment battery). Annals of Dyslexia, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-021-00227-z
Ratti, L. (2015). Special Training Centres (STC) in MCD Schools: A Perspective on Curricular Issues and Reflective Practices. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research.
Riedel, B. W., & Samuels, S. J. (2007). The relation between DIBELS, reading comprehension and vocabulary in urban first grade students. Reading Research Quarterly, 42, 546–567. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stables/20068316
Roehrig, A. D., Petscher, Y., Nettles, S. M., Hudson, R. F., & Torgesen, J. K. (2008). Accuracy of the DIBELS oral reading fluency measure for predicting third grade reading comprehension outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 46(3), 343–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2007.06.006
Rouse, H. L., & Fantuzzo, J. W. (2006). Validity of the DIBELS as an indicator of early literacy for urban kindergarten children. School Psychology Review, 35(3), 341–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2006.12087971
Saini, A. (2000). Literacy and empowerment: An Indian scenario. Childhood Education, 76(6), 381–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2000.10521186
Schagen, I., & Shamsan, Y. (2007). Analysis of Hyderabad Data from” Jolly Phonics” Initiative to Investigate Its Impact on Pupil Progress in Reading and Spelling–India. National Foundation for Educational Research. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED502371.pdf
Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
Shanahan, T. (2007). More ideas not everyone will like. Reading Today, 24(4), 18.
Sharma, R., & Ramachandran, V. (Eds.). (2009). The elementary education system in India: Exploring institutional structures, processes and dynamics. Routledge
Shenoy, S., Wagner, R. K., & Rao, N. M. (2020). Factors that influence reading acquisition in L2 English for students in Bangalore, India. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 33(7), 1809–1838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10047-z
Shenoy, S., Wagner, R. K., Overton, K., & Rao, N. M. (in press). L2 English reading acquisition for students in elementary grades: Growth trajectory and impact of gender, socioeconomic status and curriculum.Languages Special Issue: Second Language Reading Acquisition in Languages with Different Writing Systems.
Sinha, S. (2010). Literacy instruction in Indian schools.Education for sustainable development, 117–128.
Stahl, S. A. (2001). Teaching phonics and phonological awareness. Handbook of early literacy research Vol, 1, 333–347.
Stuart, M. (1999). Getting ready for reading: Early phoneme awareness and phonics teaching improves reading and spelling in inner-city second language learners. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 69(4), 587–605. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709999157914
Stuart, M. (2004). Getting ready for reading: A follow-up study of inner city second language learners at the end of Key Stage 1. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74(1), 15–36. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709904322848806
Tierney, R. F., & Thome, C. (2006). Is DIBELS leading us down the wrong path?. In K. Goodman (Ed.), The truth about DIBELS: What it is, what it does (pp. 50–59). Heinemann
Torgesen, J. K. (2004). Preventing early reading failure–and its devastating downward spiral. American Educator, 28(3), 6–19.
Torgerson, C., Brooks, G., & Hall, J. (2006). A systematic review of the research literature on the use of phonics in the teaching of reading spelling. DfES Publications.
Torgerson, C., Brooks, G., Gascoine, L., & Higgins, S. (2019). Phonics: Reading policy and the evidence of effectiveness from a systematic ‘tertiary’review. Research Papers in Education, 34(2), 208–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2017.1420816
Torgesen, J. K. (2000). Individual differences in response to early interventions in reading: The lingering problem of treatment resisters. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1207/sldrp1501_6
Tunmer, W. E., & Arrow, A. W. (2013). 12 Reading: Phonics Instruction. International guide to student achievement (pp. 325–328). Routledge.
Vanderwood, M. L., Nam, J. E., & Sun, J. W. (2014). Validity of DIBELS early literacy measures with Korean English learners. Contemporary School Psychology, 18(4), 205-213.
Williams, C. (2007). Research methods. Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER), 5(3), 65-72.
Zahedi, S., Iyer, A., Jaffer, R., Shenoy, S., & Shourie, R. (2022). A systems approach to improving foundational reading skills at a preschool in India. [Manuscript submitted for publication]
Funding
There is no funding associated with this project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Shenoy, S., Iyer, A. & Zahedi, S. Phonics-Based Instruction and Improvement in Foundational Reading Skills of Kindergartners in the Indian Schooling Context. Early Childhood Educ J 52, 73–85 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01396-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01396-1