Title Registration for a Systematic Review: Tutoring Programs to Improve Educational Outcomes in Children Aged Four to Eleven Lead Reviewer: Dr. Sarah Miller Title: Lecturer Email: s.j.miller@qub.ac.uk. Co-authors: Dr. Gary Ritter Title: Professor of Education and Public Policy Department of Education Reform, University of Arkansas 207 Graduate Education Building, College of Education and Health Professions Fayetteville, AR 72701 United States Email: garyr@uark.edu Mrs. Pauline Connolly Title: Doctoral Candidate Email: mconnolly22@qub.ac.uk Miss Nicole Craig Title: Doctoral Candidate Email: ncraig07@qub.ac.uk Miss Naoimh Fox Title: Doctoral Candidate Email: nfox08@qub.ac.uk 1 The Campbell Collaboration www.campbellcollaboration.org
First Submission: April 2, 2011 Latest Revision: April 12, 2011 Date Accepted: April 24, 2011 Submitted to the Coordinating Group of: Crime and Justice Education Disability Social Welfare Other: Plans to co-register: No Yes Cochrane Other Maybe 2 The Campbell Collaboration www.campbellcollaboration.org
BACKGROUND There is a wide range of literacy tutoring programs, and a growing number of numeracy tutoring programs, for children aged four to eleven designed to facilitate learning for those struggling in the first years of formal education. Furthermore, with increased social mobility between countries, the need for literacy support for children learning English as an additional language is growing. Consequently, schools are becoming more diverse with more children not speaking English natively and this is affecting their reading comprehension and ability to decode a passage when reading (Calhoon, Otaiba, Cihak, King & Avalos, 2007; Fuchs, Fuchs, Matthes & Simmons, 1997; Sáenz; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005). A vast amount of literature exists on the effects of tutoring on literacy outcomes for both native English speakers and children learning English as an additional language as well as the effect of tutoring on numerical outcomes (e.g. Topping, Campbell, Douglas, & Smith, 2003; Wasik, 1998). In more recent years, research has been carried out on volunteer tutoring programs to improve educational outcomes in children. Gary Ritter and colleagues acknowledged this growing trend (Ritter, Barnett, Denny and Albin, 2009). They carried out a review of volunteer tutoring programs in elementary and middle school children in the United States and concluded that there is reason to believe that volunteer tutoring programs are effective in increasing educational outcomes for elementary school children. Ritter et al. (2009) focused only on literature in the United States and only included programmes that used community volunteers and students to mentor the children. Given the growing body of literature on tutoring programs in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, this review seeks to extend Ritter et al. s review by: - Including studies conducted outside the United States - Including studies that have employed volunteer and paid tutors to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes - Including studies that aim to improve literacy outcomes for children who are learning English as an additional language Given the existing range and scope of tutoring programs that aim to benefit children struggling with literacy and numeracy outcomes, this review is necessary to extend previous reviews and add to the current evidence base for effective interventions. Briefly describe and define the population The participants included in the review will be children between the ages of four and eleven. They will be struggling with literacy and numeracy outcomes. In addition, as there are some tutoring programs aimed at children with average reading and numerical ability, these programs will also be eligible. Children who are learning English as an additional language (in an English speaking country) will also be included. 3 The Campbell Collaboration www.campbellcollaboration.org
Briefly describe and define the intervention There are various types of tutoring programs aimed at improving the educational outcomes of children and all types of tutoring programs will be included in the review. These will include volunteer tutoring programs where a college student or community volunteer administers the program and peer tutoring programs where children are the mentors. In peer tutoring, children work in groups in the classroom. The children do not have to be the same age but must work as a group. Parent tutoring programs and programs where the teacher is the mentor will also be included in this review. Evaluations will be included if they have used an appropriate comparison group. The children in the control group will not receive the intervention but will receive the standard education provided. Studies without a standard care control group but instead compare two different types of intervention will be excluded from the review. There will no upper time limit on the length of time the child receives the intervention. However, interventions that are delivered for less than twelve weeks will be excluded. There will be no restrictions on how frequently the intervention is delivered, e.g. weekly, daily etc. Outcomes: What are the intended effects of the intervention? Primary outcomes will include: improvement in literacy and numeracy outcomes. Literacy outcomes will include: overall reading ability as well as reading fluency, phonological awareness, reading comprehension and decoding ability. Numeracy outcomes will include: overall math ability as well as mathematical fluency, verbal counting, spatial awareness, mathematical language, problem solving and the use of mathematical concepts (e.g. cardinality and ordinality concepts) Secondary outcomes will include: improvement in attitudes towards reading and math and a reduction in math anxiety. OBJECTIVES The objective of this review is to review the literature and evaluate the effectiveness of tutoring programmes designed to enhance the academic outcomes of children aged 4 to 11 years of age. 4 The Campbell Collaboration www.campbellcollaboration.org
METHODOLOGY Inclusion criteria: Studies will be included in this review if: - They are randomised controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies with an appropriately selected control group, i.e., equivalence at baseline is demonstrated and appropriate statistical adjustments are used in the analysis. - They use measures that are reliable and valid (the minimum standard being that a full description of the scale and its scoring is available) - They evaluate tutoring programmes which have used adult professional, non-professional, cross-age or peer mentors - They aim to improve children s literacy and numeracy development. Studies will also be included (if available) which provide additional support for children with English as an additional language - They include participants aged between 4 and 11 years Studies will not be excluded by year of publication. Exclusion criteria: Studies will be excluded if: - They do not have a no intervention control group - They are qualitative evaluations - The intervention is delivered for less than 12 weeks - The study report is written in a language other than English Method of synthesis: The standardised mean difference effect size will be used for studies reporting continuous data. When two measures are used to assess the same outcome, the authors will chose the measure that most accurately reflects the outcome of interest in order to preserve statistical independence between effect sizes. Results will be synthesised into a meta-analysis if interventions are sufficiently similar in terms of focus, intensity, frequency and duration of tutoring. A randomeffects model will be used for all analyses. Estimates of Cochrane s Q, I 2, and 2 will be used to assess variability in the effect sizes. Moderator analysis will be performed as multivariate (meta-regression) analysis if data permit. 5 The Campbell Collaboration www.campbellcollaboration.org
SOURCES OF SUPPORT This review is being conducted as part of the PhD process of three of the co-authors (Pauline Connolly, Nicole Craig and Naoimh Fox). The PhD students are in receipt of funding from the Department of Education and Learning in Northern Ireland. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Sarah Miller was the Principal Investigator of two randomised controlled trial evaluations of a volunteer tutoring programme (called Time to Read and run by Business in the Community Northern Ireland) aimed at improving literacy outcomes for children aged 7 to 9 years. The PhD topics of Pauline Connolly, Nicole Craig and Naoimh Fox consist of volunteer tutoring intervention programmes for primary school children which include three different interventions. One intervention is aimed at improving numerical outcomes in primary school children. Another intervention aims to improve the development of literacy skills in primary school children and the final intervention focuses on the development of literacy and language acquisition in children learning English as an additional language. REQUEST SUPPORT Do you need support in any of these areas (methodology, statistics, systematic searches, field expertise, review manager etc?) All of the authors have some knowledge of systematic reviews. However, some support may be required in the future. ROLES AND RESPONSIBLIITIES Content: Sarah Miller, Gary Ritter, Pauline Connolly, Nicole Craig, Naoimh Fox Systematic review methods: Sarah Miller, Gary Ritter, Pauline Connolly, Nicole Craig, Naoimh Fox Statistical analysis: Sarah Miller, Gary Ritter, Pauline Connolly, Nicole Craig, Naoimh Fox Information retrieval: Sarah Miller, Pauline Connolly, Nicole Craig, Naoimh Fox 6 The Campbell Collaboration www.campbellcollaboration.org
PRELIMINARY TIMEFRAME The submission date for the protocol will be the beginning of May 2011. REFERENCES Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., Mathes, P. G., & Simmons, D. C. (1997). Peer-assisted learning strategies: Making classrooms more responsive to diversity. American Educational Research Journal, 34(1), 174-206. Calhoon, B.M., Al Otaiba, S., Cihak, D., King, A., & Avalos, A., (2007). Effects of a peer-mediated program on reading skill acquisition for two-way bilingual first grade classrooms. Journal of Learning Disability, 30 (3), 169 184. Ritter, G. W., Barnett, J. H., Denny, G. S., & Albin, G. R. (2009). The effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs for elementary and middle school students: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 3-31. Saenz, L. M. (2005). Peer-assisted learning strategies for English language learners with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 71(3), 231-247. Topping, K., Campbell, J., Douglas, W., & Smith, A. (2003). Cross-age peer tutoring in mathematics with seven- and 11-year-olds: Influence on mathematical vocabulary, strategic dialogue and self-concept. Educational Research 45(3), 287-308. Wasik, B. A. (1998). Volunteer tutoring programs in reading: A review. Reading Research Quarterly, 33(3), 266-291. 7 The Campbell Collaboration www.campbellcollaboration.org