A sample of 56 students in grades 1 to 6 (aged 6 to 12 years) was randomly selected from a
single primary school in rural Australia to participate in this study. Twenty-nine of the students
had individual interviews and 27 students participated in a group interview with four or five
students of similar age. There were 30 (54%) boys and 26 (46%) girls. Five teachers (one male
and four females) took part in interviews as well as classroom observation. One teacher taught
reading recovery; therefore classroom observation in this case was one-on-one.