Thesis (D. Phil.)--University of the Western Cape, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 254-276).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--York University, 2002. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-153). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71596.

Syftet med studien är att belysa hur barn i förskolan använder sig utav sina redan vunna literacyfärdigheter. Studien har genomförts med kvalitativ metod där en etnografisk fältstudie legat till grund för de resultat som presenteras. Vi har använt en metodkombination av systematisk observation och dokumentation genom filminspelning.    Vi har följt tio stycken barn och underlaget har samlats in från två förskolor i Linköpings kommun. Resultatet har bearbetats utifrån Vygotskijs sociokulturella perspektiv. Resultatet visar att de unika literacypraktiker barnen är engagerade i är beroende av ett antal olika faktorer. Dessa faktorer är bland annat: förskolans miljö, tillgång till material, barnets intellekt och sociala samspel. Ytterligare en faktor som spelar in vid barnens användande av literacy är förhållningssättet till barnen av de pedagoger som arbetar i förskolan.    Studien påvisar att interaktion mellan individer kan vara främjande vid användande av literacy, men det är ändå inte en förutsättning för att användandet ska uppstå.    Nyckelord: literacy, förskola, förskolebarn, miljö, material

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the ways in which teachers scaffold students’ acquisition of reading comprehension skills. This semester-long study employed ethnographic methods of data collection, including classroom observations, teacher interviews, and video and audio recordings of classroom events. Data was analyzed using the constant comparative method as described by Strauss and Corbin (1990) and discourse analysis, informed by Mercer (1987). Two case studies offer detailed portraits of the nature of comprehension instruction in second grade classrooms. Findings indicate that teacher directed scaffolding of comprehension strategies and a classroom environment that supported engagement and understanding of text afforded young readers opportunities to acquire strategies that assist in making meaning from text. Study findings also suggest that a continuum of support within teacher-led lessons provided the students occasions to observe and to participate in comprehension strategy use in a supportive context. This study offers insight on pedagogical practices that support young readers in acquiring comprehension skills and strategies. / text

The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of Korean bilingual children’s out-of-school literacy practices. Four Korean-English speaking bilingual children and their parents were participants in this qualitative multi-case study. The children were between seven and nine years old and attended public schools. The families lived in and around a large city in the Southwestern of the United States. In the city, there was a well-established Korean community. Data collection was conducted through multiple methods. The duration of the study was approximately four and a half months per child, staggered across eight months of data collection. Parents were interviewed twice regarding literacy activities with their child, the focal child’s experience of schooling, their perspectives of family’s language use, and their expectations for the child. Participant observation was also conducted at each child’s home to examine her/his literacy activities and interactions with family members. The children and parents were also informally interviewed throughout the data collection. Children’s writing, drawing, and crafts were collected. The children and family members were also invited to participate in a video project in which they video-recorded and took pictures of their activities for two months. Data were analyzed through constant comparative approach, activitysetting analyses, and grounded theory approach. The findings suggest that the focal children engaged in parent-guided literacy activities and self-chosen literacy activities. The parents provided extensive support for children’s academic achievement and learning to read and write in Korean. These activities were derived from parents’ experiences, beliefs, parenting practices familiar to Korean parents, and expectations for their children’s future. Children’s self-chosen literacy activities varied widely. The children drew on various resources from their social and cultural worlds to participate in an imaginative world and imagined future. Therefore, Korean bilingual children’s literacy activities situated in the current moment and space were always globally connected to other times and spaces. / text

In this embedded case study, I examined and documented discussions of literature across two literacy contexts within one multiage classroom. Further, I explored the experiences of four focal students within and across the two contexts, highlighting the affordances of each space and considering the implications of tacit rules of participation for individual students. I employed ethnographic data collection methods including field notes, audio and video recordings, semi-structured interviews, and student and teacher created artifacts. Data analysis drew on constant comparative methods as well as traditions of interactive sociolinguistics. Drawing on sociocultural theories of learning and transactional theories of reading response, the study demonstrates the ways in which talk is used as a tool for meaning-making tasks including comprehension, argumentation, and identity construction. The study highlights the purposeful and strategic instructional moves made by the classroom teachers in discussion that facilitated more complete and complex interpretations of texts. The cases of the focal students illustrate the affordances of each context as well as demonstrating the ways in which responses to literature might be leveraged to claim identity positions within the classroom. The study cultivates deeper understanding about the importance of individual contributions within discussion contexts, as well as demonstrating the ways in which children and teachers mediate meaning making in collaborative contexts. The findings suggest implications for the ways in which educators might support and draw on individual approaches to response to facilitate divergent meaning making and expansion of repertoires of response for students. In addition, the study suggests implications for the careful design and development of contexts in which children are granted interpretive authority and encouraged to engage in collaborative meaning-making. / text

This case study of the production and use of books in Yorkshire in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries has two main aims. The first aim is to investigate the relationship between book production and book ownership in Yorkshire during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Unlike the methodology of this thesis, previous studies have usually studied the book trade and the market for books separately. By focusing on both book production and use, this study shows that it is not usually possible to argue from the evidence of one to the other. In order to comprehend both book trade networks and the reading public they served, it is necessary to investigate them together. The second aim of this thesis is to investigate how the book trade was affected by socio-economic and religious changes, in particular, the early years of the Reformation and the new technology of print. Using the evidence of the franchise register of York and guild ordinances and other sources, I show that speculative book production in York became more important after the advent of print. As a result of the self-protecting activities of the London booksellers and printers, however, by the mid-sixteenth century the York book trade was predominantly a service industry. Some previous studies have argued that major changes also took place in levels of literacy and methods of reading during this period. Yet the evidence of Yorkshire wills and inventories indicates that the early religious reforms and the advent of print did not affect the ownership of books to any significant extent. A straight-forward contrast between manuscript culture and print culture is therefore too simplistic and we must consider the variety of ways in which books were acquired and used.

Syftet med aktionsforskningen var att på längre sikt förbättra elevers läsutveckling genom att ta del av hur elever motiverar sina val av texter till läsning. Studien är genomförd i en årskurs 1 med 20 elever och i enårskurs 2 med 26 elever. Tidigare forskning visar på att elevers läsintresse har sjunkit vilket sågs som en problematik då det påverkade elevers läsförmåga. Därför är det viktigt att som lärare få syn på vad som tilltalar elever till läsning för att de ska uppleva en meningsfull läsning i skolan. Likaså att elever har tillgång till lämplig litteratur i sin omgivning som är anpassat efter varje elevs behov. Aktionerna genomfördes genom att eleverna valde texter från biblioteket där deras motiveringar diskuterades i mindre samtalsgrupper som dokumenterades genom videoinspelningar och ljudupptagningar. Elevernas motiveringar i helklass angående hur de väljer texter till läsning utmynnades i en gemensam tankekarta. Resultatet visade att elever använder flera strategier vid sina textval och att de i sammanhanget fick delge sina åsikter. Detta gjorde att de fick ta del av andras synsätt och strategier. Lärarna fick genom elevernas motiveringar syn på hur stöttning kan ske på ett meningsfullt sätt i undervisningen.

Preschool children with Specific Language Impairment are at an increased risk for later reading difficulties (Watson, Layton, & Pierce, 1994; Catts et al., 1999; Johnston et al., 1999; Boudreau & Hedberg, 1999). Current emergent literacy intervention approaches have been discussed regarding typically developing children and children from lower incomes, but they lack efficacy data for preschoolers with SLI. The purpose of this article is to describe the current literature regarding emergent literacy intervention in preschoolers with SLI and reach an evidence-base decision as to the most effective intervention techniques to utilize in order to prevent later reading difficulties. / text

The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) started the South-South Exhange Travelling Workshop for ICT-enabled (Information and Communication Technologies) development practitioners. This report introduces the second workshop held in October-November 2003, including 17 participants from 14 countries. The basic objectives of the workshop include knowledge sharing and interactive learning among the workshop participants, the villagers, and the staff and volunteers of MSSRF. It was designed as a travelling workshop so that the participants have an opportunity to visit various project sites in Pondicherry and Dindugul district to gain a first hand understanding of the impacts of ICT led endeavors and interact with the villagers through focus group discussions and multi-media presentations from various volunteers managing the knowledge centres.