Editing Phonics (section)

===Latin America and the Caribbean===

According to the 2019 [[Campbell Collaboration|Campbell Systematic Reviews]] approximately 250 million children across the world are not acquiring basic reading and math skills, even though about 50% of them have spent at least 4 years in school (UNESCO 2014).<ref>{{cite journal|title=What works to improve early grade literacy (EGL) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)? A systematic review and meta-analysis, 30 December 2019, doi.org 10.1002/cl2.1067, Wiley Online Library, 2019|journal=Campbell Systematic Reviews|date=March 2020|volume=16|issue=1|doi=10.1002/cl2.1067|s2cid=213769174|last1=Stone|first1=Rebecca|pages=e1067 |pmid=37131971 |pmc=8356313 |doi-access=free}}</ref> And, more than 60% of third‐grade students in [[Latin America and the Caribbean]] (LAC) have only achieved basic reading skills, in part because of the lack of evidence‐based training, preparation and support for teachers.

The review summarizes the findings of 107 studies of early grade literacy interventions (EGL) in LAC. They conclude that teacher training, nutrition, and technology‐in‐education programs on average do not show positive effects on EGL outcomes in the LAC region. However, some factors have the potential for positive impacts; including combining teacher training with coaching, targeting school feeding and other nutrition programs to low‐income countries with high rates of stunting and wasting, and combining technology‐in‐education programs with ''a strong focus on pedagogical practices''.

They also suggest that "the quantitative nonintervention studies indicate that phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension are associated with reading ability", and that the poor reading levels of children "may be the consequence of not providing them with adequate instructions on meta-phonological strategies and explicit and systematic phonics". However, the available studies are unable to provide conclusive evidence on the effects of teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension on reading ability, suggesting a need for even more high-quality research.

The ''Progress in International Reading Literacy Study'' ([[PIRLS]] 2016) describes the special reading initiatives in [[Trinidad and Tobago]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/encyclopedia/countries/trinidad-tobago/special-reading-initiatives/|title=PIRLS 2016, Special Reading Initiatives, Trinidad & Tobago}}</ref> In 2013, the National Commission for [[UNESCO]] launched the ''Leading for Literacy'' project to develop the literacy skills of grade 1 and 2 students. The project facilitates the training of primary school teachers in the use of a synthetic phonics program.

From 2013 to 2015, the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Education appointed seven reading specialist to help primary and secondary school teachers improve their literacy instruction. From February 2014 to January 2016, literacy coaches were hired in selected primary schools to assist teachers of Infant 1 (kindergarten), Infant 2 (Grade 1), and Standard 1 (Grade 2) with pedagogy and content of early literacy instruction. Primary schools have been provided with literacy resources for instruction, including phonemic awareness, word recognition, vocabulary manipulatives, phonics and comprehension.