November 28, 2025 – 1:00 p.m. On-site and online session (Room M204, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy). Language: English.

Monica Melby-Lervåg

University of Oslo

Children from low socio-economic backgrounds and children in poverty run the risk of many undesired outcomes, like learning difficulties, mental health challenges, school dropout, and in turn, also exclusion from society and work life. Also, how schools can contribute to reducing such adverse outcomes is a challenge all over Europe. This issue is complex because it involves disentangling factors like poor reading comprehension from bilingualism and social background.  In this talk, I will look at research focusing on factors in their developmental trajectories that make these children particularly vulnerable, and also how the schools might leverage and ameliorate some of their challenges.

Bio

Professor Melby-Lervåg’s research focuses primarily on language and reading development in children with dyslexia, specific language impairment, and children whose mother tongue is a minority language. Her main areas of interest include psychoeducational guidance and assessment for these groups, as reflected in her research work. She also has a particular interest in quantitative methods, with meta-analyses and experimental studies as her main areas of specialization.