AILEM Programme: a long-term intervention to promote literacy learning in low-performing primary schools in Chile

• Published in: Early years (London, England) Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 97 - 111
• Main Authors: Villalón Bravo, Malva, Silva, Margarita, Razmilic, Tonia, Swartz, Stanley L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01-07-2005; Routledge
• Subjects: Chile; Disadvantaged; Foreign Countries; Grade 1; Guidelines; Intervention; Kindergarten; Literacy; Low Achievement; Program Implementation; Reading; Reading Instruction; School reform; Teacher Attitudes; Teaching; Theory Practice Relationship; Writing; Chile
• ISSN: 0957-5146; 1472-4421
• DOI: 10.1080/09575140500127857

After one year of implementation, this paper describes a programme designed to support literacy learning in low performing schools from poor sectors in Santiago, Chile. School-based intensive training on theory and practice of a literacy learning framework for classroom instruction and long-term support were used to impact the achievement of students from disadvantaged families in 16 kindergarten classrooms and 16 1st-grade classrooms in nine primary schools. Preliminary results showed an improvement in learning achievement positively related to level of implementation of the literacy instruction framework in the classrooms and teachers' perception of an improvement in their knowledge and classroom practices. Although findings from this study cannot support definite conclusions, because of the lack of experimental conditions, they provide relevant information for future experimental studies on how to meet the literacy learning needs of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.