Taking the long view: understanding the precursors and consequences of poor reading comprehension identified in mid-childhood

Basic research and education policy have focused on the challenge of how children learn to read words, and for good reason: being able to read words well is the critical "front end" of reading as it provides the means to access language from print. The ultimate goal of reading, however, is to understand what has been read - to construct meaning from text. Reading comprehension is complex and multi-faceted, drawing on a range of cognitive and linguistic operations. Some children find this disproportionately difficult. Approximately 5-10% of children are poor comprehenders: they read well for their age in terms of word reading, but this apparent success is superficial as they struggle to understand what they have read.

Excellent progress has been made in understanding the nature of poor reading comprehension. We know that poor comprehenders' difficulties are not specific, but tend to occur in the context of language problems more generally. Experiments have revealed that poor comprehenders find it difficult to form a coherent and integrated understanding as they read and listen to language. Pleasingly, the quality of this evidence base has motivated the development of teaching approaches that have led to educationally meaningful improvements in the classroom.

Critically, however, existing studies are small in scale and narrow in focus. The consequence of this is that there are significant gaps in our current scientific knowledge. This constrains our theories, and it also limits the conclusions that can be drawn to guide educational practice.

One limitation is that most research has focused on mid-childhood. It is generally accepted the poor comprehender category is likely to be heterogenous. Yet little is known about the nature or extent of the heterogeneity, or the complex interplay of factors that lead some children to be at risk for poor comprehension by the time they enter school. A greater understanding of these issues is critical for scientific knowledge, and to guide early identification and targeted interventions in the classroom.

Turning to later on in development, little is known about the educational outcomes of poor comprehenders in secondary school. Are their difficulties in primary school transient, or are they associated with under-achievement in secondary school, perhaps extending across the curriculum? What functional outcomes are associated with poor reading comprehension in terms of post-school destinations? Are poor comprehenders over-represented in NEETs - young people not in education, employment or training?

Finally, studies of poor comprehenders have tended to focus on language and literacy, yet language and literacy do not operate in vacuum. Given the centrality of language for well-being, peer relations and life success, it is reasonable to predict that young people with poor comprehension will be at risk for a range of less positive social, emotional and behavioural outcomes. Complex co-occurrences need to be better understood in order to refine theory, and they also have important implications for the classroom and the type of intervention needed to support children's language, literacy and socio-emotional needs.

We aim to fill these critical gaps in scientific knowledge by analysing data collected as part of The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). This study recruited over 14,000 pregnant women and has since followed their children into early adulthood. This extraordinarily rich dataset will allow us to identify the largest sample of UK poor comprehenders at 9 years of age. We will then assess the precursors and associated consequences of comprehension problems at a breadth, scale and time scale unparalleled by previous studies. ALSPAC's broad focus on health and wellbeing enables us to address the real-world correlates of comprehension difficulties as children develop socially, academically and professionally.

This research has the potential to influence a number of groups in society including teachers and education practitioners, practitioners working in mental health and well-being, policy makers, charities that support young people, and young people themselves. Our Advisory Board reflects this breadth.

Findings will be shared with the wider community and relevant stakeholders. From the outset of the project we will provide opportunities for (and will benefit from) interactive discussion between research and practice, and between disciplines that traditionally work separately: those working in language and literacy vs. those working in mental health and well-being.

Please see Pathways to Impact for further details regarding implementation.

1. Teachers and education practitioners
The proposed research will benefit teachers, special educational needs co-ordinators, research leads in schools, teaching assistants and other education professionals. The size of our sample will clarify the incidence of poor comprehenders, and associated profiles. If early risk factors can be identified, these factors could be used to target intervention earlier in school. If our findings show that poor comprehenders perform less well across the curriculum in secondary school, this has implications for how language and literacy need to be supported in Key Stages 3-5.

2. Teachers and mental health practitioners
Our findings will capture the links between poor language and a range of psychosocial factors. Although we cannot determine causality, understanding the complex associations between these factors has clear implications not only for the classroom but also the clinic; our findings will therefore be relevant for those supporting children's mental health and well-being. For example, if it is shown that children with poor comprehension experience adverse peer relations, bullying or social isolation, steps can be taken to support not only a child's language, but also their well-being. Our findings might impact on the means by which mental health support is delivered. Interventions such as cognitive therapy have high language demands, so it might be that they need to be adapted for the very children who need them most.

2. Policy makers and charities supporting children's education and well-being
Much attention has rightly been given to the development of a phonics-based curriculum to support word reading development. Importantly though, the reading curriculum needs to foster the development of reading comprehension too, and to consider the continuing needs of young people entering secondary school with low language and literacy. In terms of mental health and well-being, there is growing consensus that the curriculum and school environment need to provide better support for young people, and also for staff, who are not specifically trained in these areas. Working with key organisations via our networks and Advisory Board, our findings will add to the evidence base that is needed to inform policy decisions.

4. Children, young people and their families
In the longer term, benefits may accrue following improvements in educational and health practice and policy, informed by a stronger evidence base. Co-I James is herself a participant in ASLPAC. This creates a fantastic opportunity for advocacy and public engagement. She is also well-placed to contribute to discussions on how best to communicate and engage with participants, especially regarding difficult issues such as informed consent and linkage with administrative data. Young people and charities that support young people are constituents of our Advisory Board, along with education and health professionals.