In this study, we randomly assigned struggling readers in special needs education (n = 23; 8-12 years of age) to a dog-assisted reading intervention or a similar intervention without a dog present. Students participated in 30-minute reading sessions twice a week for a total of six weeks. Using two standardised tests we measured reading skills…

In this study, we were interested in the effectiveness of a dynamic reading and writing test for children diagnosed with dyslexia (N = 42) aged seven to eleven. Most of all, we were interested in whether the results of a dynamic reading and writing test could predict receptiveness to clinical dyslexia intervention. This study employed a…

Success for All (SfA) is a comprehensive school reform program designed to support schools serving many students of disadvantaged backgrounds to increase students' achievement. SfA includes daily 90-min reading lessons with extensive use of cooperative learning, tutoring for struggling readers, and an emphasis on parental involvement. School teams…

Research Findings: In this study, we examined the short- and long-term effects of Reading Express, a home-visiting intervention in which volunteers encourage low socio-economic status and ethnic minority parents to engage in interactive shared reading with their child. Outcomes of a quasi-experiment involving 176 children in the Netherlands (mean…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a program that offered sustained strategic reading instruction on reading abilities of third and fourth graders. The study was conducted among 1,469 children from 40 schools in the Netherlands. Schools were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Multilevel…

The goal of this study was to examine the post-treatment development of word and pseudoword accuracy and fluency and its cognitive and linguistic predictors in Dutch children with dyslexia compared with typical readers in the upper primary grades. Word and pseudoword reading accuracy and fluency were assessed at the start and end of grade 5 and at…

The educational achievement of children from non-Western migrant families in the Netherlands and other Western countries lags behind that of natives, especially when it comes to language proficiency and reading ability. This literature review pinpoints what is known and what is as yet unknown about reducing learning disadvantages through school…

In this paper, we investigated whether student reading comprehension could be improved with help of a teacher Professional Development (PD) program targeting goals, data use, and instruction. The effect of this PD program on 2nd- and 3rd-grade student achievement was examined using a pretest-posttest control group design. Applying propensity score…

In this study, we investigate if a digital coach for low-literate learners that provides cognitive learning support based on scaffolding can be improved by adding affective learning support based on motivational interviewing, and social learning support based on small talk. Several knowledge gaps are identified: motivational interviewing and small…

Increasing class size is one of the key variables that policy makers can use to control spending on education. But the consensus among many education researchers is that smaller classes are effective in improving student achievement. This view has led to a policy of class size reductions in a number of US states, the UK, and the Netherlands. This…

The learning gains in reading of students in 57 classrooms in special primary education doubled as a result of implementing the Reading Impulse in Special Education (RISE) programme. Raising the scheduled reading time with 1.5 hr in all classrooms and implementing standards-based teaching characterised by "monitoring of pupil progress",…

In The Netherlands, the percentage of struggling readers in the 1st year of formal reading instruction is about 25%. This problem inspired us to develop the Reading Acceleration Programme. To evaluate the effectiveness of this programme, a quasi-experiment is carried out. The teachers in the experimental group have been trained to improve their…

This meta-analysis examines the effects of family literacy programs on children's literacy development. It analyzes the results of 30 recent effect studies (1990-2010), covering 47 samples, and distinguishes between effects in two domains: comprehension-related skills and code-related skills. A small but significant mean effect emerged (d = 0.18).…

Studies of interventions for dyslexia have focused entirely on outcomes related to literacy. In this study, we considered a broader picture assessing improved quality of life compared with costs. A model served as a tool to compare costs and effects of treatment according to a new protocol and care as usual. Quality of life was measured and valued…

In this study, longitudinal cohort-sequential latent growth modeling was used to determine the effects of (a) socioeconomically mixed preschool and kindergarten classrooms, (b) the implementation of an education program aiming to accelerate socioeconomically disadvantaged children's emergent academic skills, and (c) the amount of teacher-managed…