Paired Learning methods have been used successfully with various populations with special educational needs or other learning challenges.
There are many reports of the successful use of Paired Reading with children with delayed reading in mainstream schools. However, here we will focus on children with more severe special needs. Paired Reading has been deployed with pupils in special schools for children with moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties physical difficulties and behavioural difficulties.
Topping and McKnight (1984) and McKnight (1985) reported on the very successful use of PR with children in a special school for children with moderate learning difficulties. Parents and other carers acted as tutors at home.
O'Hara (1986) outlined the parameters for the use of PR with children with severe learning difficulties. Dickinson (1986, 1987) reported the use of PR with this population.
O'Hara (1985) reported a PR project in a specials school for children with physical challenges. Substantial gains in reading in comparison to control groups were found, and there were ancillary benefits in other curricular areas and social behaviour.
Topping, et al. (1985) reported the use of PR with surrogate parents (residential child care staff) in a residential school for children with social, emotional and behavioural problems. Young and Tyre (1983) deployed Paired Reading with pupils with specific learning difficulties ("dyslexia"). Over 1 year, the control group advanced 0.8 years on a reading test, while a 'dyslexic' experimental group advanced 1.8 years.
Topping (1989) summarised work with PR involving the parents of children with severe special educational needs.
PR and Cued Spelling have been deployed successfully with adults with literacy difficulties, often through the training of family, friends, neighbours and workmates, who can offer frequent discreet practice in the natural environment on materials of maximum significance to the learner (Scoble, Topping & Wigglesworth, 1988; Scoble, 1989). Jones (1988) took this further and used PR with adults with severe learning difficulties.
Reports on the successful use of Paired Reading with families of South Asian origin, where parental capability in speaking and reading English are often limited, have been provided by Jungnitz (1985), Bush (1985), Welsh and Roffe (1985), Vaughey and MacDonald (1986) and Topping (1992). A training video demonstrating Paired Reading on single and dual-language texts in English, Urdu and Gujerati has been produced (Topping & Shaikh, 1989). Thirkell (1989) reported peer tutoring using Paired Reading in a multicultural setting. Bush (1985) reported relative take-up rates from ethnic groups in a multi-ethnic school. Highest take-up was from Afro-Caribbean families and lowest from white families, with Asian families involving themselves just a little more (proportionately) than whites.
In the Kirklees Paired Reading project, children from families speaking English as an additional language were recorded in 50 projects yielding norm-referenced data, operated in 30 schools. Compared to Paired Readers for whom English was a first language, the EAL children made greater gains in accuracy (but not statistically significantly) and significantly smaller gains in comprehension, although the cultural relevance of the reading tests must be questioned (Topping, 1992). However, pre-post gains of participants of Asian origin were greater than those of non-participant children of any ethnic origin.
Only a few examples are given here. Among the reports of usage of Paired Reading in the United States is one by Ulmer and Green (1988). They trained parents who were migrant summer farm-workers in rural areas of Vermont to use the technique with their children while supported by peripatetic teachers during a (moving) 'summer school.' This population was found challenging in terms of service delivery.
The first published study on Paired Reading from South America (Cupolillo, Silva, Socorro & Topping, 1997) sought to evaluate the PR procedure with children who were repeating first grade, an area of northern Brazil where 55% of the population were illiterate. Tutors included parents, relatives and peers, but all tutoring took place in homes. The project was evaluated in terms of tutee changes in reading fluency, comprehension, confidence and reading habits. Gains were evident for those had participated consistently, especially in confidence and reading habits.
A PR program in a disadvantaged community in South Africa was reported by Overett & Donald (1998). Parents and other family members served as tutors for students in English-medium classes. More than half the children reported there were no books in the home, and of the remainder very few had more than two books in the home. Experimental and control classes received equivalent loans of books, and class teachers encouraged both groups to join the library. Compared to the control group, the PR group made statistically significant improvements in reading accuracy and comprehension, as well as reading attitude. Other children in the families seemed to benefit also.
Bush, A.M. (1985) Paired Reading at Deighton Junior School. In: Topping and Wolfendale (op cit).
Cupolillo, M., Silva, R. S., Socorro, S. & Topping, K. J. (1997) Paired Reading with Brazilian First-Year School Failures. Educational Psychology in Practice, 13, 2, 96-100.
Dickinson, D.B. (1986) Paired Reading with Children with Severe Learning Difficulties. Research Exchange (N.C.S.E.) (September), 6, 2-4.
Dickinson, D. (1987) Paired Reading and Children with Severe Learning Difficulties. Paired Reading Bulletin, 3, 28-30.
Jones, J. (1988) Paired Reading with Mentally Handicapped Adults: the Ty Pennant pilot project. Paired Reading Bulletin, 4, 78-81.
Jungnitz, G. (1985) A Paired Reading Project with Asian Families. In: Topping and Wolfendale (op cit).
McKnight, G. (1985) Paired Reading at Lydgate Special School Rolls On. Paired Reading Bulletin, 1, 65.
O'Hara, M. (1985) Paired Reading in a School for the Physically Handicapped. Paired Reading Bulletin, 1, 16-19.
O'Hara, M. (1986) Paired Reading with the Mentally Handicapped. Paired Reading Bulletin, 2, 16-19.
Overett, J. & Donald, D. (1998) Paired Reading: Effects of a Parent Involvement Programme in a Disadvantaged Community in South Africa. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 347-356.
Scoble, J., Topping, K.J., & Wigglesworth, C.(1988) Training Family and friends as Adult Literacy Tutors. Journal of Reading (I.R.A.), 31, 5, 410-17.
Scoble, J. (1989) Cued Spelling and Paired Reading in Adult Literacy. Paired Learning 5, 57-62.
Thirkell, B. (1989) Peer Tutoring Using Paired Reading in a Multicultural Setting. M.Sc. (Ed. Psych.) Thesis, University of East London.
Topping, K.J. (1989) Parents as Reading Tutors for Children with Special Needs. In: N Jones (ed.) Special Educational Needs Review, volume 1. London : Falmer Press.
Topping, K.J. (1992) The Effectiveness of Paired Reading in Ethnic Minority Homes. Multicultural Teaching 10, 2, 19-23.
Topping, K.J. & McKnight, G. (1984) Paired Reading - Parent Power. Special Education: Forward Trends 11, 3, 12-15.
Topping, K.J. & Shaikh, R. (1989) Paired Reading in Gujerati, Urdu and English. Huddersfield : Kirklees Psychological Service (training video).
Topping, K.J. & Wolfendale, S.W. (eds.) (1985) Parental Involvement in Children's Reading. London : Croom Helm, New York : Nichols.
Topping, K.J., Mallinson, A., Gee, A. & Hughes, R. (1985) Paired Reading: a therapeutic technique for maladjusted children. Maladjustment and Therapeutic Education, 3, 3, 52-5.
Tyre, C. & Young, P. (1985) Parents as Coaches for Dyslexic and Severely Reading-Retarded Pupils. In: Topping and Wolfendale (op cit).
Ulmer, R. & Green, F. (1988) Parent Tutored Paired Reading in a Summer Program for Migrant Children. Paired Reading Bulletin, 4, 33-35.
Vaughey, S. & MacDonald, J. (1986) Paired Reading Projects with Asian Families. Paired Reading Bulletin, 2, 6-9.
Welsh, M. & Roffe, M. (1985) Paired Reading Projects with Asian Families. Paired Reading Bulletin, 1, 34-7.
Young, P. & Tyre, C. (1983) Dyslexia or Illiteracy? Realizing the Right to Read. Milton Keynes : Open University Press.
The Paired Reading Bulletins and Paired Learning are available on loan internationally from the Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC) through any library (microfiche reference numbers: 1985 - ED2285124; 1986 - ED285125; 1987 - ED285126; 1988 - ED298429; 1989 - ED313656).