Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / The study set out to investigate the relationship between parental literacy levels and the literacy abilities of their children who were Grade 3 learners at a primary school in an impoverished area. The study initially hypothesized that there is a correlation beteen the literacy level of parents and the literacy abilities of their children. More specifically, it assumed that the higher the lieracy leevls of the parents, the stronger the literacy abilities of their Grade 3 child would be. / South Africa

Magister Artium - MA / This study investigated language literacy practices of Grade 3 teachers and learners in the Foundation Phase where isiXhosa was used as a medium of instruction. It explored the extent to which the instructional practices enhanced or hindered literacy development in the Grade 3 classroom in one school located in a disadvantaged area in the Western Cape. This study followed a qualitative ethnographic case study design. Qualitative data collection techniques, namely, classroom observations, interviews and document analysis were used to collect data for this study. The findings of this study indicate that there are many pedagogical or instructional challenges that tend to impede learners’ literacy development. The use of resources is also a concern with regard literacy instruction. The study concludes that literacy instruction or pedagogy determines literacy practices, regardless of the language used for learning and teaching.

The purpose of this ethnographic study is to uncover relationships between the development of masculinities, the acquisition of early literacy and classroom processes. These processes include the early stages of the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy. The focus of the study is to examine literacy experiences in the early years classroom with reference to current anxieties about the progress and achievements of boys. The setting is a medium-sized primary school in the North of England. Data are drawn from participant and non-participant observation of adults and children, informal interviews and conversations with adults and the use of a questionnaire as the basis for informal interviews with children. Evidence is presented which suggests that boys in the class are already beginning to develop negative attitudes to literacy; possible factors to account for this are considered. These include administrative organisation, differential teacher expectations of boys and girls, the development of masculine subjectivities into resistance and boys' avoidance of literacy experiences through coping strategies. The impact of the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy on the gendered acquisition of early literacy is given detailed consideration. Findings indicate that all these factors do have considerable influence on differences in children's confidence in their approach to literacy attainment. The paper concludes that, with regard to future school policies, there is scope for greater co-operation between teachers in exploring the connections between gender, literacy attainment and classroom processes. It proposes that such explorations should be focused on both girls and boys. It explores ways in which such discussions might be begun. It proposes some ways in which practice might be modified. Suggestions for further classroom research are also made.

This study addresses the problem of a lack of culturally responsive literacy instruction in poorand marginalized communities, in developing countries. Relatedly, the study addresses factors that affect the implementation of this instruction, specifically the training of teachers to provide culturally responsive literacy instruction. This research provides a grounded description of how teachers in a Bolivian Fe y Alegria school use culturally responsive literacy instruction in the classroom and what factors affect their ability to do so. This case study was based on qualitative data collected from participant interviews, classroom and community observations and analysis of school and government documents. This study concludes that in this setting, despite the Fe y Alegria school's philosophy that reflects the aspects of culturally responsive instruction, few instances of this type of pedagogy in practice were observed. The data revealed rich and varied literacy practices within the community context. However, the data also suggested gaps between the home literacy practices and the literacy practices students were exposed to at school. As well, during the course of teacher interviews regarding formal and informal training, the data supports previous findings in other research that teacher training programs in the developing world were theory laden and for the most part impractical. This study contributes to a small but, hopefully, growing base of research on culturally responsive schools, give educators much needed information on how to consider and utilize the communities' cultural contexts when planning and teaching their students and highlight some of the factors, such as teacher training, that hinder or help the implementation of this type of instruction. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This project considers the role of place in the writing process of Canadian author Monique Polak. Drawing from ideas of literary geography, place-based literacy, and an ecological framework for viewing writing as a social process, this research specifically considers how places are represented in three of her novels written for young adults. This work draws from a representative case study approach, which included conversations with Polak about place, writing, and the intersection of these ideas. By inquiring into the pedagogical possibilities of place as experienced and demonstrated by Polak, educators and researchers can reflect on the role of place in their own work, and consider how teachers and students may benefit from these ideas in their writing as well.

Automation and machines are replacing unskilled manpower at a rapid rate; these unskilled, untrained people are today's unemployed. They must be given the opportunity to secure the educational tools necessary to take advantage of vocational retraining programs. Both economic and social upgrading are necessary for realization of the potential of these undereducated adults. Provision of Adult Basic Education (A.B.E.) programs is the first step in preparing the functionally illiterate to become a participant in today's society and to become strengthened and extended as an individual. This descriptive study has focused on the functionally illiterate adult and certain elements of an instructional program designed to meet his needs. The learning abilities of the undereducated adult are influenced by certain social-psychological characteristics which develop out of his restricted environment. These characteristics influence student recruitment and necessitate a flexible, informal learning climate. Careful selection of teachers who understand the students' background and needs is emphasized. The objectives of an A.B.E. program, based upon the communication needs of the functionally illiterate, are met through utilization of a variety of teaching techniques. Examples of techniques which may be used with any published reading system are suggested. This study reviewed eleven selected reading systems, concentrating in each case on approach, content, format and evaluation and appraisal where available. The following systems were reviewed: 1. Mott Basic Language Skills Program 2. American Incentive to Read materials 3. Reading in High Gear 4. System for Success 5. Behavioral Research Laboratories 6. The Streamlined English Series 7. ABC-EDL Basic Adult Education System 8. Holt Adult Basic Education Series 9. The Steck Publishing Co. 10. Words in Color 11. Operation Alphabet TV Home Study Book. A similarity of content appeared to exist in most reading systems reviewed. A need exists for more content related to the student's environment and his social and vocational problems. More stimulating, enriching and meaningful content would contribute to student interest and motivation. The elements of drama and humor which are appealing to students are lacking in most materials. Where published materials are unavailable or inadequate, the creative, innovative teacher can produce valuable materials based on topics of local needs and interests. An urgent need exists for more empirical research on the evaluation^ of materials for effectiveness and student retention. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

It is now well known that linguistically interactive experiences with stories during the preschool years develop the child's knowledge about written language, along with abilities to construct meaning from literary forms of language. Storytime as a literacy activity in school is just beginning to be explored. It appears that there are ways of eliciting and interpreting children's implicit responses to stories which positively affect their thinking, understanding, and sensitivity about literature. In turn, these responses strengthen the foundation of the kind of critical reading abilities necessary for the continuation of literacy development. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a teacher reading selected books and practicing specific teacher interaction behaviors during group storytime would increase the critical responses about literature from a group of children. A pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design was used. Subjects were two intact groups of upper middle class kindergarten children who attended either morning or afternoon sessions in the same school with the same teacher. The researcher read the treatment group ten different stories, one per day, over the period of ten days. During this time, the researcher practiced specific teacher interaction behaviors with the group. For the same period of time, the researcher read random books to the nontreatment group and did not practice specific teacher interaction behaviors. The comments and questions arising from three pretest storytimes and three posttest storytimes for each group were coded according to an author-adapted matrix instrument composed of ten literary elements and four levels of knowledge. The children in the treatment group gave significantly more critical responses than the children in the nontreatment group. Qualitative observations during the study indicated the need to develop means of identifying and evaluating behaviors of both teachers and children related to literature and literacy learning. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

M.Tech. / My research investigates the relationship between context and the interpretation of signs within ‘scripto/visual’ communication processes. I focus on the belief that no interpretation is context free. I have experienced that context is not consistent as it is based on the cultural, social and personal backgrounds of each individual. As there is always a context that serves to anchor the sign to our experiences, we construct a specific meaning when we interpret a sign. This specific meaning is, however, not necessarily the one originally intended by the sender. Central to my project is the argument that the choices made which affect the interpretation of signs when encoding and decoding them are influenced by the context of both the sender and the receiver, as well as the specific context within which the exchange takes place. I have chosen, amongst many other modes of sign interpretation, the operational processes of similarity and association. I investigate why both of these processes, in relation to the unfixed nature of context, are problematic and result in miscommunication. I have chosen to include discussions on specific artworks by two South African artists: Joni Brenner and Willem Boshoff as I feel that both artists make work in response to the fact that interpretation does not produce a ‘fixed truth’.

The purpose of the study was to describe the process through which young adult students selected their own books and responded to the reading material in a literature classroom. I studied the factors that contribute to understanding adolescents' self-selection methods. I investigated what they chose to read and why. This study serves to inform further instructional research in the young adult selection of literary texts as a way of personalizing reading by tailoring it to their own tastes and interests as young adults. The adolescents in the yearlong study were students in a middle school set in a rural New England town. The sample included 19 seventh grade students and 25 eighth grade students who participated in one 50 minute class each week in which students chose books, read and responded to books, gave talks about books and authors, read aloud from books, discussed book preferences and dislikes and presented literary projects. In order to understand these students' book selection processes, the following aspects were investigated in the study: (1) What these young adults told us about their book selection. That is, how they felt about choosing their books in contrast to being assigned literary material to read. (2) How these adolescents selected books. How they discovered what books appealed to them as well as what made them continue to read a book. (3) What effect these students' interests in reading books had on the selections they made and the responses they made to their reading. (4) How family, peers and teachers influenced these adolescents in the types of books they chose to read. Qualitative research methods were used to collect and analyze data. My role was participant observer each week during the class period and daily in the school halls and library. I kept field notes describing the young people's interaction with books. Data collection consisted of recording what students said and did as they chose and discussed books with their peers and teachers. Dialogue journals were kept to indicate students' responses to the books they were reading. I examined beginning and end-of-the-year questionnaires as well as analyzed the mid-year interview. I looked at a survey given to parents of students in order to investigate the parents' observations and knowledge of their children's involvement with books. Data were also collected from the seventh and the eighth grade teachers and media specialist who kept their own journals, took part in interviews and met regularly with me to discuss students' book selections. Results indicated that more than half the students preferred selecting their own books rather than have teachers choose for them. The adolescents became cognizant of the ways that they selected books from a diverse collection that the teachers had available for them. We heard the testimony of the adolescents voicing their tastes in books as well as the reasons why these texts interested them. The teenagers revealed that they shared books and interests with a variety of people including parents, siblings, extended family, peers, and friends. An integral part of the self-selection program was the student/teacher interaction around books in response journals and conversation about literature that was personally appealing and satisfying.

The primary goals of this dissertation is to examine some of the effects of a read aloud program on the attitudes toward reading and the English reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking children in the primary grades. The first chapter provides the historical background of teaching methods in English as a second language. The chapter describes the unsteady relationship between the techniques developed for foreign and/or first language teaching and second language learning. This study poses the question of whether reading aloud, a technique widely used in English monolingual classrooms, can be transferred to the second language classroom where the conceptual, experiential, and linguistic background of the English as a second language learner is so profoundly different from that of the English monolingual learner. The effects of this transference on the second language learner's reading ability and the attitudes toward reading constitute the focus of the study. The second chapter reviews the literature in the areas of reading and bilingualism, reading aloud, and reading attitudes. The review points out two significant findings. First, it reveals that there is very little cogent research available on the topic of reading and bilingualism. Second, the literature available on reading aloud and the measurement of reading attitudes was found to focus almost exclusively on English monolingual learners rather than on second language learners. The third chapter describes the research plan, which follows an experimental design using a control group, pre- and post-testing, and t-test analysis of the responses of fifty-three Spanish-speaking students enrolled in a bilingual elementary program. The tests used were the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, a standardized measure, and an attitude measure adapted by the researcher. A teacher's observation checklist was also used to record students' responses to the readings. The findings of the study presented in Chapter IV a briefly summarized as follows: (1) A positive trend supporting the use of reading aloud in the ESL classroom was observed, although the findings were not statistically significant. (2) Teacher observations indicate that individual reading selections stimulated increased verbal and nonverbal student interaction during the read aloud sessions. Chapter V offers a summary of the study, the conclusions, and the recommendations for applications of the findings, improvement of the study, and possible further research.