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Meta-Analysis
. 2015 Aug;58(4):1306-18.
doi: 10.1044/2015_JSLHR-L-14-0311.

Relations Among Children's Use of Dialect and Literacy Skills: A Meta-Analysis

Brandy Gatlin, Jeanne Wanzek
Meta-Analysis

Relations Among Children's Use of Dialect and Literacy Skills: A Meta-Analysis

Brandy Gatlin et al. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2015 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: The current meta-analysis examines recent empirical research studies that have investigated relations among dialect use and the development and achievement of reading, spelling, and writing skills.

Method: Studies published between 1998 and 2014 were selected if they: (a) included participants who were in Grades K-6 and were typically developing native English speakers, (b) examined a concurrent quantitative relationship between dialect use and literacy, including reading, spelling, or writing measures, and (c) contained sufficient information to calculate effect size estimates.

Results: Upon the removal of one study that was found to be an outlier, the full sample included 19 studies consisting of 1,947 participants, of which the majority (70%) were African American. The results showed a negative and moderate relationship between dialect use and overall literacy performance (M effect size = -0.33) and for dialect and reading (M effect size = -0.32). For spelling and writing, the relationship was negative and small (M effect size = -0.22). Moderator analyses revealed that socioeconomic status and grade level were not significant predictors for relations among dialect use and literacy skills.

Conclusions: Implications for practice and future research, including analyzing dialect use in a variety of contexts and examining these relations to literacy outcomes, are discussed.

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