Relton, SK; (2017) Reciprocal Teaching: An Exploration of its Effectiveness in Improving the Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension of Key Stage Two Pupils with and without English as an Additional Language. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Background: The English National Curriculum identifies the acquisition of vocabulary as key to learning (DfE, 2015). Rich contexts provided by text produce robust vocabulary learning (National Reading Panel, 2000). Considering this, as well as evidence that teaching metacognition and reading comprehension are low cost and high impact approaches (Higgins, Katsipataki, Kokotsaki, Coleman, Major, & Coe, 2014), a Reciprocal Teaching intervention (Palincsar & Brown, 1984) was selected for a group of children with known vocabulary and reading comprehension difficulties. A systematic literature search indicated that little research has focused on the effectiveness of Reciprocal Teaching on vocabulary development. The current study aimed to address this gap and to explore the impact of Reciprocal Teaching on the vocabulary development and reading comprehension of monolingual pupils and children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in the context of the English education system. Method: A purposive sample of 22 participants (aged 8-11) from two mainstream primary schools were selected by teachers according to vocabulary and reading comprehension needs. Nine pupils were monolingual and 13 spoke English as an additional language. All took part in a Reciprocal Teaching intervention, based on approaches devised by Palincsar and Brown. A convergent mixed methods design was employed; whereby quantitative data were collected pre- and post-intervention to measure vocabulary and reading comprehension. Qualitative measures were conducted post-intervention to gain participants’ perspectives. Results: Educationally significant gains were observed in vocabulary for participants who received the greatest number of Reciprocal Teaching sessions and for monolingual children overall. No improvement was observed for reading comprehension. Thematic analysis produced themes related to child engagement and Reciprocal Teaching implementation. Implications: This study contributes to the developing evidence-base regarding the effectiveness of Reciprocal Teaching in England. Implications for Educational Psychologists in facilitating implementation of interventions in schools are discussed.

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