Academic Studies
Dr Morag Stuart carried out a study in London’s Docklands where almost all the children speak a dialect of Bengali called Sylheti. (The families were recent immigrants from Bangladesh). While the experimental group were taught with Jolly Phonics. the control group were taught with big storybooks, a popular method based on word memorisation. The results are summarised at the base of the page numbered 602. The results show a large average difference from the teaching method used. They also show a major difference in underachievement. And finally they show that this kind of phonics teaching is highly suitable for children with English as a second language.
Dr Rhona Johnston and Joyce Watson carried out an evaluation of the children in Woods Loke School in Suffolk, England. The authors of Jolly Phonics, Sue Lloyd and Sara Wernham taught at the school, and the school used Jolly Phonics. This evaluation was prior to their well known study in Clackmannanshire.
An early study into Jolly Phonics was carried out by Dr Marlynne Grant at St Michael’s School in Stoke Gifford, Bristol. The link below is to the results published at the time. The Second Cohort is the significant one (where the teaching was for a full year). It showed not only a large average gain in reading age but important other findings. Not only did the boys do as well as the girls, but no difference by whether children had free school meals or not (a measure of social class).
A Jolly Phonics case study on the Clackmannanshire research carried out by Dr Rhona Johnston and Joyce Watson.
A later study in Clackmannanshire, after 7 years, answered the question of whether the children retained their gain in literacy. This paper summarises the results on page 8, paragraph 3. As shown, their literacy skills had improved further.
Evidence from global studies highlights the effectiveness of Jolly Phonics in improving literacy and meeting diverse learning needs.
