An examination of parents' and teachers' perceptions of Reading Recovery (tm) following its use as an early intervention strategy

Many parents become overjoyed when their child reads their first book. However, there are children who may reach this stage later than many of their peers. Early intervention programs, such as Reading Recovery™, are sometimes used to assist such students in their early literacy development. This study has attempted to gain an understanding of the perceptions of key players (parents, classroom teachers, and Reading Recovery™ teachers) and their roles, as well as the nature of interactions among them in a Reading Recovery™ program. The findings, following in-depth interviewing, indicated key players' satisfaction with student progress, their own role performance, and the framework of the program. However, there was some dissatisfaction with role clarity and expectations and with interactions and communication patterns. In some instances, not in all, the findings corresponded with the literature.