The influence of morphological awareness on reading and writing: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Purpose

this study aimed to perform a systematic review of national and international studies about the relationship between morphological awareness, reading/writing, reading comprehension, and spelling.

Research strategies

a search for national and international literature was carried out using databases Medline (via PubMed) and Portal de Periódicos da Capes (Eric, PsycINFO, LILACS, SciELO) from August to September 2015.

Selection criteria

the inclusion criteria were: studies that answered the guiding question and addressed the subject matter established by the descriptors and keywords. Studies with animals, laboratories, opinion/expert pieces, case series, case reports and review studies were excluded.

Data analysis

the following markers were considered: type and objective of the study, the skills related to morphological awareness (reading, writing, reading comprehension and spelling), tests performed, and their main results.

Results

the search carried out in the pre-established databases with descriptors and free terms resulted in 203 articles. The search in PubMed resulted in 81 studies, and in Portal de Periódicos Capes, 122. Of the total, 154 were excluded according to the title and abstract, whereas 39 were excluded upon reading the full text. This allowed for the analysis of 10 articles.

Conclusion

children with better scores in the morphological awareness test show better results in reading and writing across all school grades.

Keywords
Speech Therapy; Language; Children; Handwriting; Reading Comprehension