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This project investigated the relationship between children‘s reading ability and their phonological awareness, phonological short term memory and visual short term memory in a diglossic setting. The study was conducted in Kuwait where children grow up speaking a Kuwaiti local form of the Arabic language. This form of Arabic is linguistically distinct from the literate Arabic. The children also deal with another type of words, which are Kuwaiti shared words. The effect of these different types of Arabic words on children‘s reading ability and phonological sensitivity was investigated. Four measures were administered in both studies; single word reading ability, phonological deletion, phonological short term memory and visual short term memory. Two studies were conducted; a cross-sectional study and a longitudinal study using four measures. In the cross-sectional study, forty-nine 6 year-old students participated. Results indicated that all predictor measures, phonological awareness, phonological short term memory and visual short term memory, correlated with reading ability. But regression analysis showed that only children‘s phonological awareness uniquely predicted reading ability when controlling for age and Verbal IQ. Anova showed that there was also a significant effect of word type on children‘s reading ability but not their phonological awareness. So children found it easier to read the modern standard Arabic and shared words than the local dialect words. In the longitudinal study, all tasks were administered to participants three times; 85 children at the beginning of first grade, 81 children at the end of first grade, and 78 children at the start of second grade. All participants‘ reading abilities and both phonological and visual short term memory improved over time. Phonological awareness still uniquely predicted reading ability when controlling for age and Verbal IQ across all the time points. But there was a change in how word types affected phonological awareness. Very few studies have investigated reading ability in Arabic. This project helps further understanding about the unique contribution of the different cognitive skills towards reading ability. Also, it improves the awareness of Arabic children‘s needs and complications in acquiring a successful Arabic reading in a diglossic setting.

This study describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a class reading intervention programme comprising of a non-fiction and a fiction component. In order to attempt to heighten the quality of teaching and learning in the area of reading comprehension, an innovative approach was used to design the programme. This approach combined the principles of comprehension strategy instruction (Richek et al., 2002; Robb, 2000), whole language learning theory techniques (Goodman, 1976; Smith, 1978 and Cambourne, 1988) and Honey and Mumford's (1986,1992) learning style theory. The investigation was conducted from September 2002 to early April 2003 in a primary school in the West of Scotland. A case study approach that involved the use of both qualitative and quantitative data was employed. Although all children in the class and those in a neighbouring class were exposed to the programme only a selected group of 6 boys and 6 girls represented the case. The principal aim of this enquiry was to provide an illuminative account of the case study children's responses to the programme in relation to strategy choice and learning style(s). The individual and corporate nature of the learning process was of much interest. A variety of research instruments was employed to collect the data (one-to-one conversations with children, participative observations, group interviews and a questionnaire), with a time series evaluation technique also being used to enhance the credibility of the findings. The qualitative data was analysed using a form of content analysis that gave consideration to both deductive (predetermined categories) and inductive (emergent categories) research techniques. The quantitative data was analysed numerically. In accordance with the findings of the comprehension element of this study (i. e. the strategies employed), the individual nature of the learning process was reflected. However, in accordance with the findings of the learning style(s) element of this study, a more collective preference for activities consistent with the activist style of learning was shown. The implications of these findings in relation to teaching and learning are acknowledged and addressed. As the findings associated with the case study approach are considered to be 'qualitative estimates' or as Bassey (1999) states 'fuzzy generalisations', the purpose of this small scale study was not to initiate an 'educational overhaul' at either a national or local authority level. The findings of this study are instead concerned with both enhancing the current 'cumulative body' of research on reading comprehension strategies and learning styles and inspiring further research in these two fields.

The study examined whether subtypes could be identified amongst struggling readers in their 3rd year of primary school, and also investigated whether the effect of a small group reading intervention using both a whole-language and phonics approach was different for identified subtypes. 54 participants were identified as struggling readers using a reading screening test (QUEST), and a further group of 34 chronological-age (CA) controls participated to allow subtype identification. The results support a view that istruggling readers have a core difficulty with phonological decoding, but have not found that I surface and phonological subtypes of struggling readers will respond differently to a generic, group reading intervention.

This research was designed to explore the practice of shared storybook reading (SSR) within home and preschool contexts in Kuwait. It is significant in that it sought to provide insight into SSR practices within a specific Arabic-Islamic social and cultural context. Research questions aimed to identify the perceptions and views of parents, teachers and children. Case studies were conducted in two state-funded preschools, each of which represented a different regional and sociocultural context: the first study was based in a tribal area, while the second was carried out in an urban location. Qualitative methods were employed and data on the influence of SSR on the language development of preschool children was generated from interviews with teachers, parents and young learners, and from observations of the interaction between teacher and child during shared storybook reading in the classroom; some document analysis was also undertaken to examine the progress of preschool children's language development during the academic year. The findings from the two case studies provide evidence that there is a difference in the practice of SSR between school and home, and that sociocultural influences, as reflected within the urban and tribal regions, should be taken into consideration.

The assertion of this dissertation is that teachers engage in conversation as a way to construct and reconstruct knowledge in their teaching of reading. In this study I investigate this claim by exploring the experiences of eight elementary/middle school teachers enrolled in my online reading course. Narrative, which is the telling of stories, is the form of inquiry that I use in this dissertation. It is a methodology where the data set consists of stories which are constructed by the participants and the researcher. In this case, stories are created from online discussion threads where teachers engaged in ongoing conversation about reading. In analysing these discussions I attend to two overriding questions posed to participants prior to each discussion: 1) what connections does the reading bring forward with my experiences as a reader or as a teacher of reading? and 2) what new wonders, insights, and possibilities does the reading raise for me as I consider it in relation to my understanding of the reading process? These two components-the stories of teachers' experiences in the teaching of reading, and the analysis of these stories-form a large part ofthe study. Along with narrative inquiry into teachers' stories of practice in reading, I consider a further question: How might the analysis of what is uncovered through this study serve to inform novice teachers as they enter into the teaching profession? I examine teacher knowledge and the role of dialogue to enhance such knowledge in order to contribute to the development of teachers beginning their career.

This study is an evaluation of the effect of a short literacy intervention on the academic self-concept and reading fluency of four Year 7 pupils. The four participants had been identified as 'vulnerable' via local authority criteria formulated to provide a working definition of the concept for the local authority's systemic effort to 'narrow the gap' between pupils at risk of poor educational outcomes and their peers. The literature review discusses the research relevant to the study and concludes with a systematic review of three research papers. The methodology briefly discusses a selection of different research paradigms and describes the methodological considerations of the study. A series of four ABA single case experiments were conducted. The target behaviours identified and measured throughout the study were the participants' perception of their academic self-concept and reading fluency. The repeated measures used to monitor behavioural change were a curriculum based reading fluency measure and the Myself As A Learner Scale (MALS).The target behaviours were monitored during the three phases of the experiment; prior to intervention, during a baseline (A) phase, throughout the intervention (B) phase and after the withdrawal of the intervention, a return to the (A) phase. Three additional pre and postintervention measures, the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (RSCA), subscales from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Tests- Second Edition (WIAT -II)-and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to generate further data that was used to triangulate with the findings of the single case experiments. The results suggest that the holistic process of intervention, rather than the DIIPT intervention specifically, had a positive effect upon the reading fluency and academic self-concept of the participants.

No description available.

Over the course of reading development, children are able to recognise an increasingly large number of words by sight, a process termed orthographic learning, as they move from effortful decoding to fast, efficient word recognition. Phonological decoding has been shown to account for some, but not all variance in orthographic learning. While it is clear that reading experience plays a crucial role, the mechanisms underlying orthographic learning require further investigation. The research presented in this thesis had two overarching objectives: first, to establish a novel, sensitive measure of orthographic learning, using the prime-lexicality effect in lexical decision to index the lexicalisation of novel words, and second, to investigate the effects of specific parameters of reading experience on the learning of novel words. In particular, the experiments focussed on incidental, non-directed learning of unfamiliar English words via story reading. Learning was assessed in terms of knowledge of the novel word spellings and meanings themselves, and their engagement with existing words in the lexicon, indexed by the prime-lexicality effect. Five experiments manipulated directed vs. incidental learning, number of exposures, the availability of semantics, and the variability of the story contexts. Across experiments, children showed good learning of the novel words, and a prime-lexicality effect emerged, validating this novel measure. Number of exposures affected lexicalisation of the novel words, as a prime-lexicality effect was evident after twelve exposures, but not after four. Performance was otherwise unaffected by the experimental manipulations, revealing robust orthographic learning in children aged 9 to 11.

In the current English education context, it is not enough just to be able to read; what young people read is what sets them apart as being more - or less - literate, cultured or educated than someone else. It is often specific texts, their literary value, and whether or not they represent certain groups, which are central to debates played out through education policy, research, and in the media. This focus on the text is responsible for persistent unsuccessful attempts to redistribute cultural capital and level the playing field through education, failing to take into account the different social and cultural resources young people bring to the classroom. It has led to a deficit model of reading in education which places blame on the individual for failing to understand and appreciate these texts and authors in particular ways, rather than on the school for failing to value their reading lives within the education context. In this research, I shift this lens onto readers themselves, the act of reading, and the contexts in which it takes place. It is concerned with young people's development of a ‘reading habitus’; the extent to which they view reading as being ‘for the likes of them’ and their ways of ‘being’ a reader. I explore how young people negotiate the various ways of reading and being a reader they are exposed to as they move between and within fields, in order to develop a sense for themselves of what counts as reading and what it means to be a reader. Although this research is not concerned with academic outcomes, reading for pleasure is a strong predictor of these outcomes. This, in addition to the social and emotional benefits of reading for pleasure, and the important role that identity plays in motivation and engagement, highlights the importance of researching reading identity in cultural and educational contexts which privilege particular types of reader. In order to generate data, 96 young people (aged 13- 14) completed a whole class critical incident charting activity, mapping out their 'reading journeys'. 28 of these then participated in a series of 2 semi-structured interviews. My findings challenge the broader neoliberal agenda in education and its promises of social mobility through access to a culture of which certain young people have been deprived. Placing emphasis on readers and reading rather than on specific texts, acknowledging the role of the social in acts of reading and learning, challenges the dominant model of reading, and the inequalities it maintains. It demonstrates not only the rich reading lives that many of the young people lead outside of school, but how the current deficit model serves to make these lives invisible, not only in education policy and in the classroom, but often to the young people themselves.