UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1217

Overall Research Project Description This research seeks to examine how outside classroom factors such as family traits, home literacy environment (HLE), socio-economic status (SES), and individual characteristics impact the education outcomes of children at risk of reading difficulties in Kenya. Specifically, the research examines how these environmental factors and a child's characteristics influence how children respond to targeted remedial intervention or resist treatment. The research will further examine how differences in the aforementioned factors affect the response to targeted interventions. Another primary objective of the research is to examine the causes of reading difficulties among multilingual learners from low-middle-income contexts To understand the sources of reading difficulties among multilingual children, the research will develop and pilot test a screening tool for developmental dyslexia in Kiswahili. The tool will be tested for validity and reliability and used to screen for developmental dyslexia from the sample learners in Kenya. We will also further examine variability in HLE, SES, and family risk among children with reading difficulties. Ultimately, this research will provide education stakeholders with an understanding of individual differences among poor readers and will consequently inform interventions that cater to whole child development. The screening tool for developmental dyslexia will provide direction for stakeholders to develop targeted interventions to support these learners, hence helping many children learn how to read that may have been overlooked or misunderstood before.

The research team has made progress toward the targeted project milestones since its inception in January 2025. The following activities have been completed: preparation of data collection tools and obtaining ethical approval from FSU and the National Commission of Science and Technology and Innovation Kenya. Obtaining the Ministry of Education Kenya permit to access schools in the following counties: Tharaka Nithi, Kilifi, Nakuru, Kiambu, and Kitui. The team has so far collected data from 778 children and 778 parents and caregivers. The research team is currently engaged in data cleaning and analysis.