Further Research Potential- EDU 790 Session 8

After completing my action research study, “Parent-Led Literacy Interventions Enhanced by School-to-Home Communication Technology,” several new areas of interest have surfaced.

In my study, one student’s results stood out.  All students but this one made growth that was related to the amount of time their parents spent on letter-sound activities.  This student was identified as receiving special education services for speech. Some of the questions that arise are:
“Why didn’t these activities work for this student?”
“What kinds of activities might work for speech students to improve letter/sound knowledge?”
“How can parents be engaged in helping their students who have speech concerns?”

Another main issue that brought up many new questions for me was the communication problems with families who do not speak English.  Two of the families in my study were Spanish speaking only and their participation was very minimal, as was their children’s growth as demonstrated on the posttest.  One of these students’ scores actually fell by a point. Questions on this topic that surfaced are:
“How can schools strengthen home connections with Spanish speaking only families, even when resources for translation are limited?”
“Why did these families not access the technology on ParentSquare, even when it was offered in Spanish?”
“Are there cultural considerations to be made around parent participation and language barriers for these families?”

Finally, I am still interested in finding ways to improve our lowest primary students’ early literacy skills.  While my study showed some promise, working with parents on a take-home literacy intervention program was very time consuming and not all parents participated much.  My new area of interest might be surrounding what more can be done at school to move these students’ progress forward.