Language and Literacy Strategies for Indigenous Children: A Scoping Review

The purpose of this scoping review was to describe the existent research on language and literacy strategies for Indigenous children and to establish the strength of strategies described. A scoping review was conducted to locate existent studies that described language and literacy interventions used with Indigenous children. The following electronic databases were searched: PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL Complete, Academic Search Premier, Education Source, and ASHAWire. Articles were managed and analyzed using Covidence, a web-based program for review research. Results were charted and a preliminary evidence map was created. Forty sources were identified that described language and literacy strategies for Indigenous children. Strength of strategy coding revealed 5 sources had compelling strength, 5 had promising strength, and 30 had lacking strength. Overall, there remains limited research describing language and literacy strategies for Indigenous children. A preliminary evidence map was created to chart each strategy and sources that included the strategy, and to indicate the highest strategy strength observed across sources. A discussion of compelling strategies as well as strategies that may be culturally responsive is provided.