Abstract

A cross-age peer tutoring program was implemented in a small rural school in west central Belize, Central America. All students at the school were native Spanish speakers, and all general instruction was conducted in English. The program was devised to supplement existing reading and language arts instruction at all grade levels. Progress of both tutors and tutees was monitored on a weekly basis using DIBELS Next measures. Twenty-nine students started the program, with complete data available for twenty-one students: seven tutee-tutor pairs, and seven matched students who participated as controls. Three main hypotheses were tested with the present study. These hypotheses investigated the following criteria for effectiveness of this program: (a) statistically significant (reliable) results for students within tutoring pairs, (b) socially relevant changes (e.g., perceptions of improvement), and (c) maintenance of skills or transfer of skills. Progress monitoring results were mixed, but socially relevant outcomes were found for tutee progress on benchmark assessments. A survey of teachers at the school highlighted increased interest and motivation for reading and class participation attributed to the program.

Advisor

Carlos J. Panahon

Committee Member

Daniel D. Houlihan

Committee Member

Lisa M. Perez

Committee Member

Teresa L. Wallace

Date of Degree

2014

Language

english

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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