Implementing a scientifically based educational intervention in mainstream primary schools before and during COVID-19 era: Evidence from Greek-speaking children

BACKGROUND: While morphological awareness has been recognized as a fundamental skill in students’ literacy acquisition, experimental evidence is still scarce, especially regarding studies during pandemic. AIM: The aim of the study was to present a scientifically based educational intervention of morphological awareness which was implemented in two mainstream primary schools in Greece during COVID-19 era (2020-2021). METHODS: Participants were 72 primary school student (3rd/4th Grades) who were divided into an intervention and a control group per class. All students were assessed via tests of intelligence, literacy and language before pandemic. The intervention took place during pandemic in the school classroom of the experimental groups and included a pre-test, a training program and a post-test. The experimental material comprised of compounds which pose particular difficulties to children in terms of spelling and meaning. RESULTS: The results showed that the systematic exercise of the morphological structure of words increased significantly students’ spelling and semantic performance, including those with low literacy performance. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underline the importance and feasibility of implementing scientifically based educational interventions in mainstream education during COVID-19 era. Theoretical and practical issues concerning the implementation of hybrid models of educational interventions and scientific research in education are discussed.