The effects of morphological awareness training on reading : a systematic review

textThe results of 17 peer-reviewed studies utilizing morphological intervention were evaluated and compared in this meta-analysis. Participants included children from preschool to ninth-grade studying deep alphabetic, shallow alphabetic, or logographic (i.e., Chinese) orthographies. Cohen’s d was calculated to examine the effects of training on reading outcomes. Effects were analyzed according to child factors (ability level and age), intervention factors (agent, duration, frequency, setting, and group size), and orthographic factors. Additionally, effects were analyzed according to linguistic level (morphological, phonological, lexical, and supralexical) as well as group (experimental treatment group versus control group; experimental treatment group versus alternative treatment group) for the ability level, age, and orthography comparisons. Results indicate that (a) morphological training generally benefits students regardless of ability level and age; however, effectiveness varies per linguistic level, (b) with proper training and scaffolding, a variety of instructors can effectively implement morphological intervention, (c) the push-in school setting is generally the most effective setting, although gains were seen across all settings, (d) treatment was most effective when offered to individuals or large groups, (e) morphological intervention yield the greatest gains when lasting longer than one month, (f) it is effective for all types of orthographies.Communication Sciences and Disorder