• Madelon de Boer

Dutch primary schools increasingly adhere to the model of Response to Instruction (RtI). According to this model, students are provided with increasing levels of instruction and support within the school, before being referred to specialized care in health centers. For this project the University of Amsterdam collaborates with primary schools in the area with the aim of developing evidence-based interventions for students at-risk for developing deficits in reading, mathematics, on-task behavior or emotional wellbeing.

Previous research provided insight into the development of reading, mathematics, on-task behavior, and emotional wellbeing, and also provided clear guidelines for effective treatment in health care settings. In the current project we aim to clarify the effectiveness of interventions within schools. Little is known with respect to the effectiveness of interventions in the Dutch schoolcontext. Findings result in further development of the existing interventions as well as guidelines for further implementation in regular primary education.

Effectiveness of the interventions is determined by comparing the development of students who participated in the interventions with control groups of students with similar difficulties, who do not (yet) receive specific intervention. In addition, we aim to identify moderators of intervention effectiveness. To this end we study characteristics of the intervention itself (e.g. implementation), of the students (e.g. age), of the intervention providers (e.g. their relationship with the students), and of the level of involvement of teachers and professionals in the schools.

• Period: 2014 - present
• Funding: University of Amsterdam together with several participating schools

• Promovendus: Fae van der Weijden
• Promotors: Peter de Jong, Haytske Zijlstra

Bouw! is an evidence-based online computer program providing individual support to children at risk for reading disabilities, starting in kindergarten and followed for two years. It enables intensive extra practice but costs teachers little time as the children are assisted by non-professional tutors (parents, older children). Previous research has shown that the effectiveness of Bouw! is dependent on treatment integrity (i.e. to what extent the program was implemented as intended).

In this project, I will use a large-scale implementation of Bouw! to investigate the following questions:

• which factors affect the successful implementation of the program Bouw!?
• does implementation of the intervention result in the reduction of RD, reading-related social-emotional problems, grade retention, and diagnoses of dyslexia?

Research findings will be used to design actions and manuals for practitioners to improve the implementation of Bouw!.

The project is funded by the NRO (Netherlands Initiative for Education Research).