Funded by Queen Raina Foundation (QRF) and supported by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in partnership with the BHP Foundation, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is working with Integrated International on pilot cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT). Catch-up (C/U) model provides targeted support for selected pupils who are identified as falling behind their classmates in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) literacy.
About the study
A strong foundation in literacy is crucial for children’s later academic development (Zakaria et al., 2021). Learners of Arabic face challenges with formal literacy learning because it differs from the colloquial form of language used at home (Abadzi, 2017). Data from the use of the EGRA tool in 2018 suggests that only around 19% of Grade 2 and Grade 3 pupils meet, or exceed, the lowest levels of reading fluency benchmarks. These early literacy difficulties can persist, limiting children’s ability to go on to achieve their potential (Brombacher et al., 2012).
The LRF! C/U model was developed by cognitive psychologist Dr Helen Abadzi and the Al Qasimi Foundation in the UAE. The LRF! C/U approach is designed for the lowest achieving 20% of students in terms of Arabic literacy. This approach is considered appropriate for those students who are less likely to progress in a larger classroom size and need tailored support to advance their learning.
A previous pilot study of LRF! in Jordan was carried out in 2021-22 by NatCen, in collaboration with Integrated International, School-to-School International and Oxford MeasurEd. The pilot did not find evidence of promise for the C/U approach (Dimova et al., 2023).
The purpose of this recommissioned pilot of the LRF! C/U model is to understand whether a revised delivery approach, addressing the limitations of the previous pilot, can now show evidence of promise.
Methodology
To assess the feasibility of the LRF C/U model and its readiness for a future efficacy trial, the evaluation was designed to:
Be an experimental study, where schools were allocated to the pilot intervention arm or to usual practice arm (C/U or control)
Be an Intervention and Process evaluation (IPE) conducting focus group discussions carried out with coaches, groups of intervention resource room teachers, and groups of usual practice teachers including both resource room and classroom teachers and surveys of resource room teachers implementing the LRF! C/U sessions.
Authors:
Enes Duysak, Hayley Leonard, Abbi Rennick, Charlotte Bessant, Anjhana Damodaran
Publishing date:
19 July 2024
Findings
The findings will be available in Winter 2024.
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Further information about "Let's Read Fluently" can be found on the main page of the program.
The Protocol of the Catch Model (2nd Study) PDF