Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1981. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2795.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown State College, 1964. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2795. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [87]-89)

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1979. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2794.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1978. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2795.

No description available.

M.A. / The purpose of basal readers is to teach children to read. When a child has the opportunity to learn to read in his native language, his chances on success in learning and reading increase, because the language is known to him. The current policy on education determines that children should receive instruction in their mother-tongue, especially in the first year. Keeping this in view, this study considers the possibility of making translated basal readers available to African languages, and more specifically, to Northern Sotho. Chapter 1 discusses criteria set for proper basal readers and evaluates existing Afrikaans readers accordingly. In Chapter 2, children's literature are discussed in terms of characteristics and background. The development of children's literature in Northern Sotho is briefly discussed as well. Theoretical issues concerning transposition and translation are discussed in Chapter 3 to determine what are involved in transposition and translation and what aspects are transposed and translated. Chapter 4 deals with the empirical application of the theory. Problems transposers and translators are faced with are discussed with the aid of applicable examples.

No description available.

Contemporary Spanish basal readers, published for use in elementary bilingual Spanish/English classrooms in the United States, reflect a technological view of curriculum, a behavioristic view of learning, and a part to whole view of reading. Although teacher's guides and promotional materials for the basal series make reference to recent reading theory and research, the basal materials themselves, when examined from a theoretical perspective, demonstrate little understanding of the reading process. Six basal reading programs, published since 1980, were studied: Addison Wesley's Hagamos Caminos; Scott Foresman's Focus: Leer para triunfar; Houghton Mifflin's Programa de lectura en espanol de Houghton Mifflin; Macmillan's Mil Maravillas; Economy's Economy Spanish Reading Program; and Santillana's Lectura en dos idiomas. Each series was surveyed using the Program Profile Continuum Survey and then analyzed in depth with the Spanish Program Profile Instrument. Both evaluation instruments focus on reading, language, learning, and teaching theory. The results of the study of the six series suggest the programs are more alike than different. These similarities can be summarized as follows: (1) Despite the fact that the series approach print differently, the ultimate goal of skill exercises in all the series is word identification. (2) Recent comprehension theory is discussed in the teacher's guides, but comprehension questions reflect the idea that comprehension is a product rather than a process. (3) Student text is carefully controlled and often repetitious because the assumption is that language is habit. (4) The language of the majority of the student text in all of the series is adapted. (5) The materials reflect the view that the teacher is a technician leading the passive learner. (6) The scope and sequence of the programs sets many students up for failure because each step is dependent upon mastery of the previous steps. The materials of the Spanish basal reading programs studied do not reflect the current state of knowledge about the reading process in Spanish. Alternate programs using a whole language approach to learning would allow Hispanic students to choose their own reading, write their own stories, and become literate in their first language.

This research is a content analysis of six recently published basal reader series, each of which begins with a readiness/priming sequence that starts with letters, words, connected strings of words, and a few pages of activities which might be considered general readiness. While this concept of readiness for reading reflects a word recognition view of reading, marketing promotions include eclectic statements regarding philosophy, materials, and methods which reflect an early childhood view of child development and meaning construction. Publishers imply that reading is a process of constructing meaning, but they supply materials for both students and teachers which neither encourage nor allow for meaningfulness. While descriptions of the series studied promise special and unique approaches to readiness, they are very similar to one another in every aspect of readiness. Each provides an overwhelming proportion of activities and workbook pages with the major instructional focus on letters and words. There are minor differences in connected text among the various series, but those differences are primarily in regard to the specific type of vowel control used. Considerations about the syntactic and semantic language systems follow the same formulae throughout the industry. Publishers of basal readers hire professional educators to quote research and lend credibility to their "scientifically" designed programs, but the published materials often contradict statements made by these professionals. While there is some indication in the manuals and promotional materials that suggest knowledge on the part of editors and authors concerning research in the areas of emergent literacy and psycholinguistic theory, there is little within the materials and methods that reflects this knowledge.

Over the years there have been many criticisms of the contents of basal reading series. This study sought to describe the contents of basal readers by analyzing the student reading materials contained in the books for grades one, three, and five of three current basal readers, published by D. C. Heath, Houghton Mifflin, and Silver, Burdett, and Ginn. It determined the amount of material written for the basals and the amount of material originating in other literature sources. It also described the amount and types of adaptation to the text and visual displays in material that originated elsewhere. Further, it calculated the amount of material that was classified into each of seven literature genres and six writing types using number of selections, pages, and words as units of analysis. While other researchers have each investigated some of the points examined here, none has explored all and none has used all three units of analysis to describe the contents of basal readers. Each of the student reading selections was analyzed as to the number of pages and words and then classified into the following categories: written for the basal or taken from other literature sources, one of seven literature genres or an added reading instruction category, and one of six writing types. Material that had its origins outside the basal reader was located and compared to the basal version with notations for each adaptation to text or visual display. The adaptations were classified into twenty two different types of text adaptation or six different types of visual display adaptation. While less than half of the reading material was created expressly for the basal readers examined, most of the material from other literature sources was adapted in some way. The largest category of adaptation was deletions. Overall, while there were selections in each of the categories for literature genre and writing type, the distribution was uneven. For almost all of the points examined, individual differences were found among the three reading series and the grade levels in all of the means of analysis.