Exploring morphological instruction and implementing changes in practice to support spelling in South West primary schools in England

Abstract

Abstract Background: Spelling is an essential skill to learn for primary school pupils. Despite this, many pupils in the United Kingdom are underperforming in this area. One promising approach in addressing this problem is morphological instruction (MI), the explicit teaching of the morphemic structures of words. This two-phase study investigated the role of educational psychologists in supporting teachers to deliver MI. Methods: The first phase was an investigation of how teachers delivered MI pre-training, as well as the factors that were impeding or supporting their teaching practice. I collected data through interviews with teachers and school leadership team members, as well as through observations of literacy lessons. The second phase concerned the development, delivery, and evaluation of a further training programme in MI, which was informed by the insights generated in the first phase of the study. The aims of the second phase were to evaluate how the training programme has affected teaching practice from the perspectives of teachers and children who showed low morphological awareness. I collected data through questionnaires, interviews, focus groups with children, and lesson observations. I analysed the data from both phases using thematic analysis, content analysis, descriptive statistics, and narrative profiling. Findings: Key findings from the first phase showed that teaching staff perceived themselves to lack sufficient knowledge of morphology and that teaching staff had a paucity of pedagogical strategies available to them. Key findings from the second phase showed that the training programme had led to changes in teaching practice, resulting in a greater depth of metalinguistic discussions in class, and a higher level of pupil engagement with spelling lessons. Conclusions: Educational psychologists may develop an important role in supporting teachers to deliver morphological instruction. I discuss my findings with reference to the broader literature on child development and literacy instruction.