Adolescent literacy presents a significant educational challenge, with many students entering secondary schooling with persistent reading difficulties and low academic self-efficacy. This paper presents the experience and findings of a literacy intervention specialist, Katrina Sutton, who has developed structured literacy intervention designed to address both skill acquisition and learner engagement. The program is informed by the Science of Reading (Castles et al., 2018), Multisensory structured language instruction (Birsh, 2018), and findings on engagement(Hattie, 2023). A key pedagogical feature is the deliberate emphasis on what is described within the program as an “identity of success,” whereby instruction is structured to ensure students experience frequent, visible success, and errors are reframed as part of learning. This relational teaching approach is intended to reduce anxiety and support engagement. This paper reports practitioner-collected data from 101 students over a ten-year period. Of these, 91.5% achieved reading mastery and 84% achieved combined reading and spelling mastery, with most requiring approximately 40+ hours of instruction. The cohort included a high proportion of students with diagnosed learning differences, including SLD, ADHD, and ASD. Ongoing longitudinal follow-up shows students have achieved success in a range of post-school pathways including tertiary study, vocational training, and employment. Structured literacy approaches, relational pedagogy and consistent success experiences, improve engagement and literacy outcomes for adolescent learners. These changes represent a significant shift in confidence, agency, and life direction. Ultimately, teaching is not only about what is taught, but how it is experienced—and who the learner becomes as a result.

Authors:
Katrina Sutton, Katrina Sutton Education, Australia

About the Presenter(s)
Katrina Sutton is an Australian literacy specialist and educator, founder of Katrina Sutton Education, author of the KSE Adolescent Literacy Program, with 30+ years’ experience supporting adolescents with learning differences and inclusive education.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-sutton-779877b8/

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