Literacy matters! An hour that brings the power to reading related skills

Abstract

Objective; The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the ‘Power Hour’ literacy intervention on children’s’ literacy and social-cognitive skills, in comparison with the natural progression of those who receive whole-class teaching. Method; A brief experimental analysis using a quantitative between-participant design was employed to examine the effects of the intervention conditions across a 10-week period. Fifty third class children, aged 8-9 years, from two Irish primary schools completed measures to assess their level of motivation, self-esteem and attitudes towards reading. Standardised assessments were utilised to compare the children’s’ level of vocabulary, comprehension and spelling. Results; Post-intervention literacy mean values were higher for the experimental group but not significantly so. In relation to the social-cognitive skills, a strong significant difference was found. The strongly significant levels of motivation, self-esteem and attitudes towards reading detected following the ‘Power Hour’ intervention shows promise for the future acquisition of higher order literacy skills. Conclusion; Therefore, a longitudinal study is required in order to analyse the lasting effects of this intervention further.