Uppeldi og menntun - 01.01.2013, Page 52

Uppeldi og menntUn/icelandic JoUrnal of edUcation 22(1) 201352
viÐbrögÐ leiKsKólaKennara viÐ hl Jóm-2
From the result of this study, it is concluded that it is important to investigate pre-
cisely the intervention strategies used within the preschools. It is essential to explore
whether the intervention is effective and beneficial for supporting and promoting the
children’s language knowledge and helping them to cope with their reading profi-
ciencies. It is of central importance to provide preschool teachers with more intensive
training on basic facts and concepts of reading instruction and metalinguistic features,
as well as making available consultations from specialists, such as speech and lan-
guage pathologists. It is necessary to strengthen cooperation between educational lev-
els and with parents and create better continuity in children’s education.
Keywords: Phonological awareness screening tool (HLJÓM-2), early intervention,
reading education, cooperation between educational levels
aBOUt tHE aUtHOrs
Gudrun Thoranna Jonsdottir (gthoranna@vallaskoli.is) is head of special education in
Vallaskóli in Selfoss, Iceland. She received a master’s degree from the University of
Iceland, School of Education in 2010. Gudrun completed her teacher’s degree from the
Teacher Training College of Iceland in 1970 and a special educational certificate from
Lärarhögskolan in Mölndal, Gothenburg, Sweden 1977. She has worked as a primary
school teacher / special education teacher for about 35 years. Her professional inter-
ests include reading research and special education.
Johanna T. Einarsdottir (jeinars@hi.is) is assistant professor at the School of Education
and associate professor at the School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland. She
received a master’s degree, 1986, in speech and language pathology at the University
of Education in Kiel, Germany, and a PhD in Medical Science, 2009, from the Faculty
of Medicine of the University of Iceland. She has worked as a speech and language
pathologist for over 25 years, initially within the special educational department at
the city of Reykjavík and subsequently in private practice, Talþjálfun Reykjavíkur. Her
studies have focused on language acquisition and phonological awareness as well as
research on stuttering in children and adults. She is one of the authors of the phono-
logical awareness test HLJÓM-2.