Evidence-Based Best Practices for Effective Reading Programs and Curricula in the Context of Leadership and Reading Disabilities

Evidence-Based Best Practices for Effective Reading Programs and Curricula in the Context of Leadership and Reading Disabilities

Research on reading and reading difficulty is often inconsistent and the leaders in the field of special education find it difficult to make decisions based on evidence. As a result, the decision-making process must be done through the use of evidence to support these decisions. This research paper intends to provide an overview of evidence-based practices that make reading programs and curricula effective in the relationship between reading disabilities and leadership. First, this paper will discuss Chapter 11 of the text by Swanson, Harris, and Graham. The paper will also focus on three scholarly journal articles that explore the correlation between leadership and reading disabilities. The essay will also cover the practical, theoretical, and religious facets to give a holistic perception of successful reading programs and curricula. It will be structured on a synthesis of information from these sources and will offer a critical analysis of the literature, highlighting evidence-based practices that are directly relevant to leadership and reading difficulties.

Overview of Reading Disabilities and Leadership’s Role

Reading disabilities, also known as dyslexia, is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which people find it difficult to read. These disabilities are characterized as long-term and include issues such as inaccurate word recognition, fluent reading, spelling, decoding, phonological processing, reading comprehension, and vocabulary development. Reading disabilities do not imply that the individual is not intelligent or working hard but rather that the person has some specific difficulties in the domain of reading skills. Efficient leadership is a key success factor in overcoming reading disabilities and providing support and interventions to students with these problems. Leaders in the domain of special education, among them administrators, principals, and curriculum coordinators, can mold policies, practices, and resource allocation that are beneficial to the reading success of students with dyslexia.

Leadership’s main role is to stand for reading disabilities’ recognition and comprehension. Such leaders show their leadership qualities by developing and implementing policies and programs that bring about awareness among the members of the educational system, thereby creating a culture of support in the educational system. This way, the stigma around dyslexia can be avoided and the students with this disability can be recognized early and given the required assistance. Besides that, leaders are engaged in resource allocation, which is key to success. Through the implementation of these resources, the leaders make available to education professionals the most appropriate tools to implement evidence-based practices. These resources allow educators to design efficient reading curricula that take into account individual students’ learning needs.

Notable leadership calls for the provision of recurrent professional development channels for educators. Training and workshops for teachers on reading disabilities and evidence-based instructional approaches are essential investments in teachers’ knowledge base and competence. Collaboration and partnerships are also the two core features of leadership in the area of facing reading disabilities. Leaders establish collaborative mechanisms that maintain functional interactions, joint decision-making, and the sharing of resources and competence among teachers, parents, and all stakeholders. This collaborative effort leads to a wholesome and collaborative way of dealing with reading disabilities for successful academic performance. The leaders also have the third role of developing evaluation systems to monitor whether the reading programs or interventions are effective.

Leaders can also utilize data collection and analysis methods to make informed decisions on how to improve the programs and which adjustments need to be made. This process puts pressure on organizations and directs them to employ efficient methods through which the impact on students with reading difficulties is measured through evidence-based practices. Through campaigns for awareness, resource allocation, professional development, cooperation, and evaluation systems, leadership helps build an environment in which evidence-based practices are applied and reading success is achieved for students with disabilities.

Evidence-Based Best Practices for Effective Reading Programs and Curricula

Practical Component

Presenting the reading programs and curricula that contain evidence-based best practices is a key element in the reading development of students with disabilities. They include individualized instructions, multisensory approaches, ongoing assessment and progress monitoring, and structured literacy instruction.

Individualized Instruction

One of the main components of a good reading program for students with reading disabilities is personalized instruction that addresses each child’s particular learning needs. It is vital to acknowledge that these students need targeted assistance and intervention. Hence, the content should be modified according to their needs.

Multisensory Approaches

Multisensory teaching strategies are found to be the most effective in helping students with reading disorders learn to read. These techniques appeal to many senses, including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile modalities, at the same time, which strengthens reading and increases learning. For example, educators can blend visual aids, manipulatives, and auditory cues to help children develop the skills of phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, and decoding.

Structured Literacy Instruction

Structured literacy instruction is a systematic and explicit approach to reading skill teaching, which is designed specifically for students with reading difficulties. This methodology includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluent reading, vocabulary building, and comprehension strategies, and it is taught in a step-by-step and systematic way.

Ongoing Assessment and Progress Monitoring

Quite often, assessment and progress tracking are central to successful reading and instruction programs. Continuous assessment offers the instructors the tool to evaluate students’ progress and identify learning shortcomings. It may involve delivering curriculum-based tests, informal reading inventories, and diagnostic tests. Progress monitoring empowers educators to conduct research-based decisions, change or modify instruction based on the needs of learners, and monitor students’ reactions to interventions.

Theoretical Component

Cognitive-Constructivist Theories

The cognitive-constructivist theory offers a very profound theoretical approach to a cognitive perspective in reading disabilities. These theories have a cognitive basis and focus on the processes of reading which include phonological processing, working memory, attention, and metacognition. Through the comprehension of cognitive challenges experienced by students with reading disabilities, the teachers can come up with programs specifically targeted at these areas. For example, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics skills can help develop children’s foundation needed for accurate word recognition (Saunders & Wong, 2020). Instructional methods that improve metacognitive awareness, including self-monitoring and self-regulation, bring about students’ comprehension-monitoring and strategic-reading-decision-making skills.

Social Constructivism Theory

Social constructivism theory emphasizes the highly cultural and social aspects of reading development. They stress the fact that educators must acknowledge and appreciate students’ multiple origins and encounters. This would entail using divergent reading material, applying students’ home languages, and using their prior knowledge and experiences in instruction (Saunders & Wong, 2020). Through the application of social constructivist theories, educators can effectively build an inclusive learning environment that fosters the progress and success of students with disabilities in reading.

Employing cognitive-constructivist and social constructivism theories in reading programs and curricula helps to create comprehensive instructional programs to work with students with reading difficulties. The ability to grasp the cognitive processes of reading and to look into how the social-cultural setting of students can help educators create lessons that address both the cognitive and social-cultural aspects of reading.

Spiritual Component

Cultivating a Supportive Environment

Nurturing a conducive and unbiased learning setting is a manifestation of the spiritual ideals found in the Bible. In Matthew 22:39, Jesus taught the following, “love your neighbor as yourself” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001). God sets the stage emphasizing the necessity to avoid favoring some against others. By developing the classroom with a suitable climate where students with reading difficulties are appreciated and their unique strengths and abilities are celebrated, teachers provide the teaching and create a conducive environment for these students to thrive. This environment promises students a sense of belonging, a feeling of being cared for, and a strengthening of their resolve to overcome reading issues.

Collaborative Partnerships

The Bible is a testimony of the value of the cooperative effort and the collaborative relationship. In Proverbs 15:22, it says, “A wise man will take heed of many counsels; therefore, he will succeed” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001). Providing parents, teachers, and other stakeholders with a say in the process in line with the biblical understanding of community. Sharing the responsibility enforces the development of a united front that students with reading disabilities will enjoy. The stakeholders can achieve this collectively by drawing on their knowledge, skills, and resources so as to give students holistic support that is meant to increase students’ reading success, and this reflects the biblical truth of unity and cooperation.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations of reading programs that are in accordance with biblical standards which embody honesty, justice, and mercy. In Micah 6:8, the bible says, “And the Lord asks you, what is desired of you? That you should do justice, loving acts of mercy and walk humbly with your God” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001). It is this biblical commandment to exercise justice and mercy that the maintenance of ethical standards in appraisal, instruction, and intervention for individuals with reading disabilities connotes. By making these ethical principles a part of their instruction, educators establish that they stand for justice and care for these students with reading disabilities.

Critical Analysis of the Literature

Synthesis of Chapter 11: Basic Cognitive Processes and Reading Disabilities

The chapter stresses that the three basic cognitive processes: phonological processing, syntactic awareness, and working memory, are the foundation of reading disabilities. They undergo considerable advancement during this time when the child is learning to read quickly. The children who have reading problems experience disruptions in these processes which in turn leads to reading difficulties. Further, the chapter also shows that phonological processing is the core factor in reading disabilities. Children struggling with reading are frequently characterized by phonological awareness deficits, which implies the skill of breaking words into phonemes and working with these sounds (Swanson et al., 2014). Phonological processing difficulties may prevent accurate decoding and word identification, which are essential reading skills.

Syntactic awareness is the other cognitive process. It is about knowing and using grammar. Problems in mastering the syntax make it difficult for the person to understand the meaning and relationships between the words and sentences. It causes problems in grasping the whole context of a text. Working memory, the third cognitive process to be highlighted, is defined as the capability to keep and transform the information in the mind for a short interval. Working memory deficits may limit reading abilities as individuals find it difficult to remember and integrate multiple pieces of information while reading (Swanson et al., 2014). This can help with things like understanding sentences, adhering to directions, and recalling the key ideas in the text.

Consistently, the literature found that semantic processes, which are related to meaning and vocabulary knowledge, are less damaged in people with reading disabilities rather than phonological and syntactic processes (Swanson et al., 2014). It is significant to maintain a balance between these processes so that one can achieve the reading prowess. The chapter highlights the importance of properly identifying learning disabilities and, in that sense, distinguishes three key cognitive processes mentioned.

The analysis of the complex series of processes that affect the ability to read and their impact on reading abilities can inform the development of more tailored and effective interventions and support strategies (Swanson. L. et al., 2014). It is essential to utilize evidence-based approaches to implement systemic assessments of phonological processing, syntactic awareness, and working memory in order to tackle reading disorders more effectively. Therefore, it is not surprising that this chapter emphasizes the contribution of phonological processing, syntactic awareness, and working memory in reading disabilities. These are the very cognitive skills responsible for acquiring reading skills and can be impaired in children with difficulties with reading disabilities.

Integration of Findings from Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Research by Foorman et al., (2021) in the chapter titled “Early Interventions for Children with Reading Disabilities” touches on different interventions and approaches to help children with reading difficulties. The chapter deals with the evidence-based methods and the strategies that have been shown to be effective in helping children who are having problems with reading. The chapter is devoted to the notion that early interventions for reading disabilities are of paramount significance and considers how different intervention approaches, assessments or teaching techniques can be employed to help readers who are experiencing difficulties in reading.

The article titled “Are Students with disabilities accessing the Curriculum? A Meta-analysis of the Reading Achievement Gap between Students with and without Disabilities,” authored by Gilmour et al. (2019), takes into consideration the reading level proficiency gap that exists between students with disabilities and their peers without disabilities. The authors took a new direction by employing a meta-analysis technique by combining the results of different studies, to determine whether the students with disabilities have equal access to reading instruction and reading achievement. The article conducts a detailed review and examination of prior studies that have been conducted to test and compare the reading performances of students with disabilities against those without disabilities. One of the key findings from the data that the authors gathered was the vast size of the reading achievement gap between students with and without disabilities.

The third article is titled “The critical role of instructional response for identifying dyslexia and other learning disabilities” by Miciak and Fletcher, (2020). The study considers the nature of dyslexia and recommends the implementation of procedures of identification and treatment as part of multitier systems of support (MTSS). The authors reviewed some definitions of dyslexia to highlight similarities and also distinct features they had. They further examined it by looking at the empirical evidence that supports the proposed characteristics of dyslexia, especially in controversial topics like the role of IQ in the problem, instructional response, the cause, and the immutability.

According to the authors, after they had examined the evidence, they concluded a dyslexia classification that focused on reading and spelling deficiencies and poor response to evidence-based instruction. The authors suggest a “hybrid” identification system for dyslexia, which collects data to match the indicators of dyslexia (Miciak & Fletcher, 2020). Firstly, they state that this process of assessment should be taken within an MTSS infrastructure, which, in fact, utilizes the available data that is routinely gathered in a well-implemented MTSS model, such as student progress and the degree of implementation faithfulness (Miciak & Fletcher, 2020). In contrast to other approaches for the identification of learning disabilities (LD), the study’s authors assert that the ‘hybrid’ approach they suggest convinces for validity and directly informs interventions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this paper has explored the practices that prove to be the most effective in building and shaping a reading program and curriculum that works well with leadership and reading disability. According to a critical reading of the literature, there is a good instructional program for reading and contains three essential components: early intervention, targeted support, and evidence-based instruction. Providing equitable access to the student curriculum, sustaining progress monitoring, and implementing multi-tier systems of support (MTSS) should be the consideration points of leaders working towards the promotion of inclusive education for students with reading disabilities. The concepts and spirituality aspects emphasize the significance of creating a student-centered and inclusive learning environment that addresses the various requirements of the learners. By implementing practices that are proven effective and making the right choices, the leaders in the sphere of special education create the conditions for special children to have the skills for lifelong successful literacy.

References

English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/

Foorman, B. R., Francis, D. J., Winikates, D., Mehta, P., Schatschneider, C., & Fletcher, J. M. (2021). Early interventions for children with reading disabilities. In Components of Effective Reading Intervention (pp. 255-276). Routledge.

Gilmour, A. F., Fuchs, D., & Wehby, J. H. (2019). Are students with disabilities accessing the curriculum? A meta-analysis of the reading achievement gap between students with and without disabilities. Exceptional Children, 85(3), 329-346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402918795830

Miciak, J., & Fletcher, J. M. (2020). The critical role of instructional response for identifying dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Journal of learning disabilities, 53(5), 343-353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420906801

Saunders, L., & Wong, M. A. (2020). Learning theories: Understanding how people learn. Instruction in Libraries and Information Centers.

Swanson, H. L., Harris, K. R., & Graham, S. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of learning disabilities. Guilford Publications. https://www.liberty.edu/library/

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A great deal of inconsistency and controversy exists in the research on reading and reading disabilities. As a leader in the field of special education, you will be tasked to make many important decisions that have the potential to impact a child for his or her entire life; therefore, the decision-making process is critical and should be approached by using evidence to support your decisions.

For this assignment, you will read Chapter 11: Basic Cognitive Processes and Reading Disabilities in the Swanson, Harris, and Graham text. After reading the text, you will then locate 3 peer-reviewed journal articles from the Jerry Falwell Library on the topic of leadership and reading disability to read and analyze. You will write a 5-7-page paper, detailing the evidence-based best practices that define/characterize an effective reading program and curriculum. This assignment may be customized to K–6, 6–12, or remedial English in post-secondary education. Your paper must include a practical, theoretical, and spiritual component. Do not simply summarize each journal article. This paper should be a critical analysis of the literature as you elaborate on and synthesize the content of the evidence-based practices about leadership and reading disability.

The paper must be in current APA format, including a title page, abstract, and reference page. A minimum of 5 references must be included (the text, 3 journal articles, and the Bible). Include content-appropriate headings to organize your paper.