Literacy Station Impact on Achievement and Behavior Among Students with Special Needs

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was to determine to what extent, if any, there were differences in ELA achievement and OSS percentages among schools with grades 3, 4, and 5 that used literacy station instruction (LSI) with students who had individualized education plans (IEP) and schools that did not use literacy station instruction with students who had individualized education plans throughout the states of NJ, NM, IL, and MD. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions examined to what extent, if any, there was a statistically significant difference in ELA achievement and OSS percentages among schools with grades 3, 4, and 5 that use LSI with students who have IEPs and schools that do not use LSI with students who have IEPs. The sample for this study consisted of 133 schools that contained grades 3, 4, and 5 from the states of NJ, NM, IL, and MD. The data source comprised a mini survey and archival data from public databases. A Mann-Whitney U test was conducted since the dependent variable for RQ1 and RQ2 was not normally distributed. There was no difference in ELA achievement [U = 1313, z = -.21, p = .83] or OSS percentage [U = 1322, z = -.17, p = .86] based on whether LSI was in place or not. Teachers should be provided with professional development to increase their knowledge of implementing LSI with IEP students.