A meta-analysis of single-subject reading intervention studies for struggling readers: using Improvement Rate Difference (IRD)

Dongil Kim; Yeji An; HyeYun Gladys Shin; Jaeho Lee; Soyoung Park

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05024

A meta-analysis of single-subject reading intervention studies for struggling readers: using Improvement Rate Difference (IRD)

Heliyon. 2020 Nov 3;6(11):e05024. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05024. eCollection 2020 Nov.

Authors

Dongil Kim¹, Yeji An¹, HyeYun Gladys Shin¹, Jaeho Lee², Soyoung Park³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Education, Seoul National University, South Korea.
² Department of Elementary Special Education, Kwangju Women's University, South Korea.
³ Department of Special Education, University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine and identify effective variables related to single-subject reading interventions for the struggling readers. This study conducted meta-analysis of 84 single-subject research articles of which 54 were published in Korean and 30 were published in English. Utilizing the Improvement Rate Difference (IRD), a total of 586 effect sizes were produced with the mean effect size of 0.77. Intervention variables were categorized into two types - participant-related and intervention-related variables. Collected studies were analyzed for each effect size calculation. Variables having large effects within grade levels, disability types, implementer and session duration are discerned along with further discussion and educational implications.

Keywords: Education; Educational development; Evaluation in education; Evidence-based education; Improvement rate differences (IRD); Meta-analysis; Reading intervention; Single subject; Struggling readers.

Publication types

Review