A/ Prof Pam Snow |
Research in
the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) highlights the long-term
social, behavioural and educational implications of poor language skills among disadvantaged
children and the benefits of teacher professional development (PD).
Recently
published in the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,
Department of Psychiatry’s Associate Professor Pamela Snow collaborated on a
cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) that examined the impact of teacher
PD aimed at improving children’s oral language skills and early literacy
success.
“Reduced oral
language competence in the early years compromises psychosocial development and
has been shown in overseas research to predispose to mental health problems,”
said Associate Professor Snow.
“Language
difficulties in childhood and adolescence are also linked with externalising
behaviour disorders.”
In the RCT conducted
in 14 disadvantaged Victorian primary schools, Associate Professor Snow
examined the effectiveness of an intervention to improve teacher knowledge and
skills pertaining to the oral language skills (listening and speaking) in
children from low socio-economic status (SES) families, in the critical first
two years of school.
“Our pilot
intervention was a successful ‘proof of concept’, demonstrating that teacher PD
leads to improved oral language competence in at-risk children,” said Associate
Professor Snow.
This work is
now being taken to scale across 87 disadvantaged schools in the Catholic and
state education sectors in Victoria, in a project funded by an ARC Linkage
grant.
Importantly, Associate
Professor Snow and her colleagues have identified that unless oral language
competency is acquired early in life, interpersonal, academic and vocational
goals may not be achieved, resulting in a higher risk of educational
disengagement and social marginalisation in adolescence.
Associate
Professor Snow has recently returned from the US where she delivered a keynote
presentation about her research on the oral language skills of young male
offenders at the US National Juvenile Defenders' Summit in Louisville,
Kentucky.
“While
addressing 400 attorneys representing juvenile offenders across the US, I drew out some of the implications for forensic
interviewing, restorative conferencing and therapeutic and literacy
interventions for young people in the youth justice system,” said
Associate Professor Snow.
“Although we
now have the evidence showing that greater language support is needed for
vulnerable young people, this must be translated into policy and everyday
practice.”
“From an
economic perspective, the cost of language intervention services is modest
compared with the cost of supporting a young person who might require state
benefits, prison placement, public housing and mental health services.”
Professor
Snow’s research was funded by an ARC Discovery and Linkage schemes and the Criminology
Research Council, as well as by NSW Juvenile Justice.
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