The Impact of a Therapy Dog Program on Children’s Reading: Follow-up and Extension to ELL Students

Kirnan, Jean P.; Ventresco, Nina E.; Gardner, Thomas J.

doi:10.1007/s10643-017-0844-z

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…These include a lack of quality measures (and/or failure to clearly specify measures), small sample sizes, the absence of control groups, and a failure to specify methods and intervention parameters such as setting, animal type, extent of animal involvement, participant demographics and goal of the AAI, across interventions and studies (Beetz, 2017; Brelsford et al, 2017; Gee et al, 2017; Hall et al, 2016; Rodriguez et al, 2021; Steel, 2022). Except for a few studies that have adopted both large sample sizes and control/comparison groups (Kirnan et al, 2016; Lewis & Nicholas, 2018; Steel, 2023 [all mixed methods]; Connell et al, 2019; Kirnan et al, 2018; Le Roux et al, 2014 [all quantitative methods]), the field lacks robust systematic evaluation. Collectively, the shortage of quality studies, and an overreliance on anecdotal evidence, casts uncertainty over purported benefits (Beetz, 2017; Brelsford et al, 2017; Fine et al, 2019; Gee et al, 2017; Hall et al, 2016; Reilly et al, 2020; Serpell et al, 2017).…”

Section: Rtd Research To Datementioning

confidence: 99%

Reading to Dogs as a form of animal‐assisted education: are positive outcomes supported by quality research?

Steel

2023

Literacy

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Reading to Dogs (RTD) in schools, a form of animal‐assisted education (AAE), is growing in popularity and prevalence. RTD involves children reading to a registered dog with benefits to well‐being and reading outcomes thought to arise because of the unconditional positive regard and non‐critical listening bestowed on the child by the dog. Yet RTD research is underdeveloped, and the practice lacks a substantial evidence base, casting dubiety over RTD's suitability for adoption in schools. This paper examines the research to date, exploring methodological factors and the potential efficacy of RTD for improving children's reading outcomes. Building on Hall et al.'s (2016) systematic review of RTD, related reviews, in addition to individual studies of relevance, are explored, followed by a brief discussion of further pertinent issues in RTD research. Cautious optimism about RTD as an impactful intervention to support reading outcomes is suggested, providing impetus for further research of increased quality.

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Section: Rtd Research To Datementioning

confidence: 99%

Reading to Dogs as a form of animal‐assisted education: are positive outcomes supported by quality research?

Steel

2023

Literacy

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“…For example, assisting a psychologist to provide regular, structured, and tailored intervention for a client with mental health concerns. In AAA, the relationship is more casual and typically designed to achieve broader goals and handled by volunteers who may not have specific professional training to provide interventions ( 6 , 7 ). An example of a therapy dog being involved in AAI is providing general comfort and companionship to patients at a hospital or to students at a university before an examination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapy Dogs in Educational Settings: Guidelines and Recommendations for Implementation

et al. 2021

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Therapy dogs in educational settings have gained increase traction in recent years. Despite its potential benefits and popularity, there remain concerns of perceived risks such as sanitation, allergies, and safety issues, as well as a lack of guidelines, regulations and support resources available to school staff. Research is further lacking into the implementation process of therapy dog programs in educational settings. To construct a set of recommendations for school staff to achieve successful implementation of a therapy dog program, the present study investigated the perceived facilitative and impeding factors when implementing a therapy dog program. A total of 13 school staff and 2 coordinators from therapy dog organisations took part in an open-ended online survey and/or a semi-structured interview over the phone, with the aim of gathering their perspectives of implementing a therapy dog program in schools. The thematic analysis of the data indicated facilitative factors such as program flexibility, whole-school support, the need for communication and training for all staff, as well as dog welfare. Successful implementation of therapy dogs in an education setting appear to revolve around (1) flexibility of the dog therapy program to target school's needs, (2) qualities of program instigator, (3) whole-school support, (4) communication, training and education, (5) considerations for dog's welfare. Key barriers identified included a high workload, lack of guidelines on processes, lack of support from the school community, as well as the need for better understanding of the role of a therapy dog. The results highlighted the importance of a whole-school effort when implementing a therapy dog program, as well as the need for guidelines for assessing school readiness, key factors for consideration, and strategies to overcome challenges associated with program implementation.

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“…Over the past decade, these studies have provided important information on education for ELLs. The main themes of the studies are difficulties in academic achievement and interventions for ELLs, including reading ( Kirnan et al., 2018 ; Liu and Wang, 2015 ; Roth, 2015 ; Shamir et al., 2018 ; Tam and Heng, 2016 ), writing ( Daugherty, 2015 ; Hong, 2018 ; Lin, 2015 ; nullP ) or both reading and math ( Dearing et al., 2016 ; Shamir et al., 2016 ). The influences of teachers on children's guidance ( Kim, 2017 ; Daniel and Pray, 2017 ; Téllez and Manthey, 2015 ; Wasseell, Hawrylak, Scantlebuty, 2017 ) and the influences of family members ( Johnson and Johnson, 2016 ; Walker, Research on 2017 ) are also examined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this respect, several studies have investigated reading for ELLs. These studies explore effective interventions and strategies ( Kirnan et al., 2018 ; Mendoza, 2016 ; Meredith, 2017 ; Reid and Heck, 2017 ) and suggest reading development models or predictors for reading success ( Boyer, 2017 ; Liu and Wang, 2015 ; Rubin, 2016 ). For these individual studies to provide appropriate guidance to field practitioners and desirable suggestions for future research, aggregation of the overall related studies, not only of the individual study, and research reflections based on them are required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence-based reading interventions for English language learners: A multilevel meta-analysis

Cho

Kim

Jeong

2021

Heliyon

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The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) has been growing worldwide. ELLs are at risk for reading disabilities due to dual difficulties with linguistic and cultural factors. This raises the need for finding practical and efficient reading interventions for ELLs to improve their literacy development and English reading skills. The purpose of this study is to examine the evidence-based reading interventions for English Language Learners to identify the components that create the most effective and efficient interventions. This article reviewed literature published between January 2008 and March 2018 that examined the effectiveness of reading interventions for ELLs. We analyzed the effect sizes of reading intervention programs for ELLs and explored the variables that affect reading interventions using a multilevel meta-analysis. We examined moderator variables such as student-related variables (grades, exceptionality, SES), measurement-related variables (standardization, reliability), intervention-related variables (contents of interventions, intervention types), and implementation-related variables (instructor, group size). The results showed medium effect sizes for interventions targeting basic reading skills for ELLs. Medium-size group interventions and strategy-embedded interventions were more important for ELLs who were at risk for reading disabilities. These findings suggested that we should consider the reading problems of ELLs and apply the Tier 2 approach for ELLs with reading problems.

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The Impact of a Therapy Dog Program on Children’s Reading: Follow-up and Extension to ELL Students

Cited by 16 publications

References 15 publications

Reading to Dogs as a form of animal‐assisted education: are positive outcomes supported by quality research?

Reading to Dogs as a form of animal‐assisted education: are positive outcomes supported by quality research?

Therapy Dogs in Educational Settings: Guidelines and Recommendations for Implementation

Evidence-based reading interventions for English language learners: A multilevel meta-analysis

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