Abstract:
This study examined the effects that a training program
in phonological awareness had on the early writing skills of
children in a Grade One class in the Lincoln County Separate
school system.
The intent of the training program was to provide
consistent and systematic practice in the manipulation of
the phonological structure of language. The games and
activities of the training program were related to a
framework of developmental phonological skills and practised
in a group setting during an unstructured period of the
regular classroom schedule. The training program operated
three days in a six-day cycle for approximately twenty
minutes a day, from November until mid-March.
All children were tested at the outset and conclusion
of the study to determine level of functioning in letter
identification, word recognition, verbal intelligence,
phonological awareness and spelling.
Results of the pre-tests and post-tests were compared
to determine differences between the experimental and
control groups over time. In addition, a systematic
analysis of the children's writing looked at the development
of the spelling of regular and irregular words.
The results of this study provided strong support for
the hypothesis that the treatment group would progress
through the stages of early writing development more quickly
than children without such training. On the basis of
differences between the groups over time, it was evident
that training in phonological awareness had a direct
positive effect on the spelling of regular words for
children during the early stages of writing. The training
program did not have a significant effect on the spelling of
irregular words.
Test results evaluating phonological awareness
indicated a significant difference within each group over
time but no significance between the groups during the
experimental period. It would appear that the results of
these tests reflect maturational changes in the child rather
than causal effects of the training program. Nor did the
effects of the training program transfer significantly to
other aspects of language.
Although some of the hypotheses considered were not
supported by the study, the results do indicate that
children during the early stages of writing development can
benefit from a training program in phonological awareness.
The theoretical direction for effective programming as
a result of this study is discussed. The educational
implications of training phonological awareness concurrent
to beginning efforts in writing are considered.
