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International Reading and Literacy

As a result of the international Millennium Development Goals commitments, there has been a significant increase in school enrollment globally, yet approximately 250 million primary-aged children cannot read, write, or do basic math despite more than half having attended at least four years of school. This global learning crisis has triggered a narrower focus on education access to include enhanced quality of learning. We are focused on improving the quality of learning outcomes by enhancing the science of reading, while developing solutions for the global learning crisis.  

Our Work

Image of young Laotian girl readingOur approach relies on the integrative cycle of research, program design, technical assistance, and capacity building. Main areas of emphasis include multilingual reading, mother tongue-based education, assessments for reading and writing, and community participation.

AIR’s expertise spans all ages and grades, from early childhood to the postsecondary level, including literacy in families and in school and community settings. Our work includes

  • conducting research on key topics to help resolve the global learning crisis, such as structured pedagogy and bilingual/multilingual education;
  • implementing effective community-based social and behavioral change support systems;
  • developing reading and literacy standards tailored for varying languages and writing systems;
  • developing large-scale regional and national assessments as well as simple formative assessments; and
  • designing evidence-based programs and teacher training focusing on daily scripted lessons, teacher guides, and supplemental reading materials.

Latest Work

Image of young family in Africa with root vegetables
14 Dec 2020
In the Field

From East Africa to the Caribbean: Finding Solutions to Research Challenges During COVID-19

Conducting research and providing technical assistance in developing countries has long been challenging and unpredictable. Here, experts from AIR and IMPAQ and local staff in the field share learned lessons this year about creative solutions to research problems that they will carry with them when encountering future challenges.
Image of young woman in headscarf
8 Oct 2020
Spotlight

Educating Girls and Women Throughout the World

Equitable access to education is a global challenge for many, but especially for girls. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that educating girls contributes to the social and economic development of communities, increases household earning potential, and provides a foundation for making informed health and safety decisions. Helping girls access learning opportunities so they can achieve their greatest potential is an important focus of AIR’s work across the globe.
Image of drawing by a child
2 Sep 2020
Spotlight

Literacy Around the World

Founded to actively mobilize the international community and to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities, and societies, International Literacy Day is celebrated around the world. Learn more about the projects, people, research, and in-country technical assistance that are contributing to the effort.
14 Jan 2020
Journal Article

What Works to Improve Early Grade Literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean? A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Educational policies on early grade literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean have long suffered from a disjuncture between school practice and research. This systematic review examines the effectiveness and fidelity of implementation of various programs in the LAC region that aim to improve EGL outcomes, including teacher training, school feeding, computer‐aided instruction, nutrition, and technology‐in‐education.
Image of Tajik teacher reading to class
6 Sep 2018
Infographic

International Literacy Day 2018

While international literacy rates have improved over past decades, challenges remain. AIR literacy experts are currently researching, evaluating, and implementing strategies to improve literacy rates across the country and around the world. As a part of the 2018 International Literacy Day conversation, we collected quotes from our experts and facts on international literacy.
Image of Honduran children's book
24 Aug 2018
Spotlight

Creating and Preserving Stories in Honduran Communities

Achieving universal literacy is one of the international community’s most engaging and admirable aspirations. AIR implemented the USAID-funded Teacher Citizen Participation Project (2011-2018)—known as Proyecto EducAcción.
30 Jul 2018
Journal Article

Language and the Learning Crisis: Evidence of Transfer Threshold Mechanisms in Multilingual Reading in South India

Despite significant progress in school enrollment numbers, improvements in students' learning achievement have lagged behind in low- and middle-income countries. This paper examines when local language-speaking children in South India are ready to begin literacy acquisition in English (a second or later acquired language).
5 Jul 2018
Q & A

Dr. Terry Salinger: Using Research to Improve Literacy

How can research inform and improve literacy in the U.S. and around the world? In honor of International Literacy Day 2018, Terry Salinger, PhD, AIR’s chief scientist for literacy research, answered this question and more.
Image of children in a classroom
14 May 2018
Video

LAC Reads Capacity Program: Improving Early Grade Reading in Latin America and the Caribbean

The LAC Reads Capacity Program, funded by USAID, was created to research early grade reading and increase the size, scale, and sustainability of reading interventions throughout the Latin America and Caribbean region. Rebecca Stone and Josefina Vijil talk about key findings from their work on the region’s first systematic review of the literature on early grade reading.
30 Apr 2018
Report

Baseline Report for the Mixed-Methods Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of Impact Network’s eSchool 360 Model in Rural Zambia

Impact Network’s eSchool 360 program is a multifaceted program comprising an e-learning technology component, ongoing teacher training and professional development, and community ownership among students in community schools in rural Zambia. This report presents the baseline results of the cluster-randomized control trial used to determine the impact of the eSchool 360 model.
15 Mar 2018 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Event

International Results in Reading from PIRLS and ePIRLS 2016

Administered every five years, PIRLS monitors international trends in reading achievement at the fourth grade. This webinar was based on the PIRLS 2016 International Results in Reading report and utilized infographics and exhibits to describe achievement trends over time; performance at the PIRLS International Benchmarks; and achievement in relation to students’ home, school, and classroom educational contexts.
Project

USAID/Latin America and Caribbean Reads Capacity Program (LRCP)

Literacy is a fundamental skill that serves as the foundation for an individual’s future learning and, collectively, for a country’s social and economic development. The USAID/LAC Reads Capacity Program aims to increase the impact, scale, and sustainability of early grade reading interventions in the Latin American and Caribbean region through the development of state-of-the-art knowledge resources.
26 Sep 2017
Report

Inception Report for the Mixed- Methods Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of Impact Network’s eSchool 360 Model in Rural Zambia

Although the use of technology in education shows a lot of promise for improving learning outcomes in low-and middle-income countries, the evidence on its impacts is underwhelming. Its effectiveness could, however, be improved if technology were combined with a strong focus on pedagogical practices. This study focuses on the effects and cost-effectiveness of Impact Network’s eSchool 360 program in producing improvements in learning outcomes among students in community schools in rural Zambia.
1 Jun 2017
Report

Teaching and Learning Materials in Tajikistan: How Do They Align With Reading Research?

The Quality Reading Project works to improve reading skills among primary-grade students in Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic through four main activities: (1) in-service teacher training; (2) increased availability of reading materials; (3) community support; and (4) government support. This report describes a study that reviewed Tajikistan’s teaching and learning materials for Grades 1–4.
15 Jan 2017
Report

Landscape Report on Early Grade Literacy

Millions of children across the world are unable to read a single word even after up to four years of schooling. The goal of this landscape report is to review and summarize available empirical evidence on early grade literacy acquisition and instruction in developing countries.
Project

Vamos Ler! (Let's Read!) Mozambique

Despite a twofold increase in primary school enrollment in Mozambique over the past 15 years, educational outcomes remain largely inadequate. For instance, in 2014, only 6.3% of students achieved basic reading competency by the third grade. To respond to Mozambique’s challenges with literacy teaching and learning, the U.S. Agency for International Development is funding a five-year program, Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!). The program’s goal is to strengthen the Mozambican government’s ability to ensure that Grades 1 to 3 students in Nampula and Zambézia provinces can achieve grade-level fluency and comprehension in local languages.
Project

Child Literacy Development Program - Laos and Guatemala

Developing strong literacy skills early on sets the foundation for all future learning. Students entering primary school in developing countries often struggle when learning to read for various reasons: formal education systems lack resources, teachers are not well prepared, classes are overflowing, children enter school with very little exposure to print, and the language differs from the child’s home language. In partnership with Catholic Relief Services, AIR is creating, implementing, and evaluating a Child Literacy Development program for Grade 1 and 2 children in Laos and for Grade 1 in Guatemala.
Tajik boy reading
6 Jul 2016
In the Field

Stories from the Field: One Teacher's Experiences in Tajikistan

Through AIR's work with the USAID's Quality Reading Project in Tajikistan, local fourth-grade teacher Guljahon Rahmonova received specialized in-service training. Read about her experiences in her own words.
Project

Impact Evaluation of the Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start Programs in the United Kingdom

Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start are phonics-based comprehensive literacy programs. Working in partnership with its assessment partner Queens University, Belfast, AIR is implementing a cluster of randomized controlled trials to determine the impact of the programs on various pertinent reading outcomes in the UK.
5 Jan 2016
Brief

Is Reading Contagious? Examining Parents’ and Children’s Reading Attitudes and Behaviors

When children have positive reading attitudes and behaviors, they generally also demonstrate strong reading skills. Drawing on data from the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, this brief and related webinar recording examine whether parents’ reading attitudes and behaviors are shared by their children.
Teacher and child in India
10 Nov 2015
Video

Language and the Global Learning Crisis: How Best to Teach Multilingual Children

Many students throughout the developing world struggle with reading, and some 250 million children are still unable to read a single word after having been in school for up to four years. In this video, Pooja Reddy Nakamura explains the role that language and multilingualism plays in the global learning crisis.
Egyptian children reading
23 Feb 2015
Video

A Second Chance: Remedial Reading in Egypt

Many Egyptian students are missing out on foundational literacy skills in the early grades while older students are being passed along into the upper grades without having acquired such skills. In this video, AIR literacy specialist Rebecca Stone talks about how AIR developed a remedial reading and writing program and literacy teacher-training program to address the need in Egypt.
Child learning to read in India
12 Feb 2015
Report

Facilitating Reading Acquisition in Multilingual Environments in India (FRAME-India) - Final Report

Most of the world is multilingual—at the national, community, family, and individual levels—and each of these has implications for teaching and learning. This study is one of the first to focus on a theory of change relevant for multilingual learners in the developing world. Pooja Nakamura introduces the report in a brief video.
Elizabeth Spier image
28 Jan 2015
Video

Long Story Short: What Are the Research Frontiers in Global Literacy Interventions?

Many literacy interventions have emerged to help children around the world learn to read outside of school. Elizabeth Spier, an AIR principal researcher, talks about what evidence exists about how effective complementary outside school reading activities are at actually improving overall literacy outcomes.
1 Jan 2015
Service

Reading: Global Focus on Science and Solutions

There has been a significant increase in school enrollment globally, yet millions of children across the world are unable to read a single word even after up to four years of schooling. AIR is focused on improving the quality of learning outcomes by enhancing the science of reading, while developing solutions for the global learning crisis.
22 Jul 2014
Report

Education Support Program: Design, Implementation, and Initial Results of Remedial Reading Activities in Egypt

Since the political revolution in Egypt in 2011, Egyptian schools have witnessed important changes in the country’s human resource support for education. The Education Support Program (ESP) aims to support educational service delivery for Egyptian children during a critical and unique time in Egypt’s history. The ESP remedial reading and writing intervention directly targets reading needs identified by the Egyptian Ministry of Education.
Project

Honduras: Teacher Citizen Participation Project (TCPP/EducAcción)

The Honduran government works to improve educational quality in part by empowering parents and civil society organizations to actively engage in the education system. The USAID-funded Teacher Citizen Participation Project (TCPP, also known in Honduras as EducAcción) supports the Honduran Ministry of Education in this important work.

egypt-school-children.jpg

Project

Education Support Program - Egypt

The Education Support Program builds on the institutional achievements made by ERP 1 in strengthening the local educational structures in Egypt. The Program will support teacher professional development and community involvement in educational decision-making and quality improvement.

students laughing.jpg

Student laughing
Project

Quality Reading Project – Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are bringing about a paradigm shift in what it means to be a reader, and in how education systems must be restructured to support children’s acquisition of comprehension and critical reading skills. AIR is providing the Ministry of Education in each country with a set of measurable, uniform goals that define what is expected of students, teachers, school directors, district and regional education officials, and teacher mentors.
7 Feb 2014
Report

Linking the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading to the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This linking study shows that NAEP Grade 4 reading achievement levels are higher than the PIRLS international benchmarks, providing one piece of validity evidence that NAEP results are internationally competitive.

bangladesh-project_400x222.jpg

Mother with baby in Bangladesh
Project

Building Parental Capacity to Improve Child Development in Bangladesh

Twenty-two percent of infants in Bangladesh have low birth weight, and 41% of children under age five have stunted growth; the majority of these children lack appropriate stimulation and early learning opportunities. This project evaluates the Save the Children Early Childhood Stimulation Program, which targets very poor, rural families with young children in Bangladesh.
2 Mar 2012
Report

Literacy Policy and Practice in Ethiopia: Building on the TELL Program and EGRA Results

The purpose of this study on early grade reading and English language learning in primary education in Ethiopia was to explore current policies and practice and make evidence-based recommendations to improve early grade reading and English language learning in Ethiopia.

1 Nov 2007
Report

The Reading Literacy of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in an International Context Results From the 2001 and 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This report uses data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessment and summarizes the performance of U.S. students.

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Rebecca Stone

Principal Researcher

Pooja Reddy Nakamura

Principal Researcher

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