Models of reading comprehension using the working memory paradigm have been formulated from studies using adult readers. Although there appear to be differences in working memory skills between beginner and mature readers, and normal and reading disabled children, the exact role of working memory in reading is still unclear. This study examined the role of working memory in the development of reading in children. A study ~v Baddeley, Logie, Nimmo-Smith, and Brereton (1985) was modified for this purpose to accommodate factors relevant to reading development in children

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

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This study is an exploration of teaching methods used by Grade One educators whilst developing reading skills at a school in Durban. The researcher has positioned herself within an Interpretivist paradigm in order to approach this study. It is a case study which has been conducted specifically at one primary school in Durban with three Grade One educators as participants. The researcher targeted this group in the full knowledge that it does not represent the wider population and there is no attempt to generalise the findings (Cohen, Manion & Morrison 2000). Purposive sampling has been used because it focusses on participants who are information-rich, based on the purpose of the study (Maree, 2007). Cohen et al (2000) argues that purposive sampling is mostly suitable for small scale research and it is less complicated to set up and is considerably less expensive. This study aims to gain an in-depth knowlegde and greater understanding of teaching methods used by Grade One educators to develop reading skills. It has been conducted within the qualitative framework (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) with interviews, observations and document analysis as research instruments for data collection. This study attempts to understand the activities, actions and operations performed by participants and to reveal their motives, goals and instrumental conditions respectively on teaching methods of developing reading skills (Mwanza & Engestrom, 2003). The study has employed an Activity Theory as a theoretical frame work. The main issues which are discussed are the teaching methods used by Grade One educators in developing reading skills as well as the manner in which these methods are used in developing the reading skills. The findings of this study could be used to guide the school management team, school governing body and the educators to compile a set of guidelines on the effective methods of teaching to develop reading skills within the context of this study. It is a case study which has been conducted specifically at one primary school in Durban with three Grade One educators as participants. The researcher targeted this group in the full knowledge that it does not represent the wider population and there is no attempt to generalise the findings (Cohen, Manion & Morrison 2000). Purposive sampling has been used because it focusses on participants who are information-rich, based on the purpose of the study (Maree, 2007). Cohen et al (2000) argues that purposive sampling is mostly suitable for small scale research and it is less complicated to set up and is considerably less expensive. This study aims to gain an in-depth knowlegde and greater understanding of teaching methods used by Grade One educators to develop reading skills. It has been conducted within the qualitative framework (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) with interviews, observations and document analysis as research instruments for data collection. This study attempts to understand the activities, actions and operations performed by participants and to reveal their motives, goals and instrumental conditions respectively on teaching methods of developing reading skills (Mwanza & Engestrom, 2003). The study has employed an Activity Theory as a theoretical frame work. The main issues which are discussed are the teaching methods used by Grade One educators in developing reading skills as well as the manner in which these methods are used in developing the reading skills. The findings of this study could be used to guide the school management team, school governing body and the educators to compile a set of guidelines on the effective methods of teaching to develop reading skills within the context of this study. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2512. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-174).

Thesis (D.Ed.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Rachel A. Karchmer-Klein, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Primo V. Toccafondi, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p.168-183) and index.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The high failure rate of especially first year students at tertiary institutions with its financial and manpower implications poses a problem. A report of the work committee of the Committee of University Principals Identified the lack of research on the learning needs of students as well as the need for a student learning profile and ways in which learning style research results can be utilised in the tertiary instruction programme. The implications of learning styles on the reading development of university students are still in doubt. Reading demands a vast amount of a student's study hours and reading ability underachievement occurs to a great extent. Consequently reading development programmes were introduced at tertiary Institutions to offer students the opportunity of developing and improving their reading skills. At the Rand Afrikaans University three different reading courses are offered, but during the past years it has become evident that not all students benefit equally from a specific course. These three courses accentuate the two main components of the reading act. namely the optical-mechanical (in course A), or the cognitive linguistic (in course B) as against the integration of both these components (in course C). The problem is which factors determine to which specific course a student should be assigned to optimise his reading ability. One probability is that a student's learning style could be such a factor. Hypotheses were posed to examine this. The aim of this study is to determine whether a student's learning style has any implications for the different reading courses which are conducted at the Student Counseling Bureau at RAU. An attempt was made to determine the preferred learning style of students in order to ascertain whether 8 student with 8 specific learning style would benefit more from a specific reading course (or courses).

Literacy does not develop in a vacuum. Reading is taught and learnt within a social context. The school and teachers are a central part of this context, Pretorius and Machet (2003). The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies to improve reading in an Eastern Cape community. To realise this aim, I first looked for strategies that are currently used by teachers. Then I focussed on additional strategies that could be of use in improving reading levels. This study observed the practices and accessed perceptions of teachers in two primary schools regarding literacy accomplishments in order to come up with relevant strategies to improve reading levels. My study is a qualitative case study focussed on Foundation and Intermediate Phase literacy. The two schools used in this study have different language policies. The one uses English as the language of learning and teaching and the other school uses isiXhosa. The home language of most of the learners in both schools is isiXhosa. I observed and interviewed teachers to get deeper understanding of the problem in the two schools. The Four Resources Model of Freebody and Luke (1990) proved to be a strategy that could be used to support the development of reading from the early years and on into the high school years. This model was found to articulate well with the official school literacy curriculum. In-school reading strategies could be well supplemented by assisting learners to engage with the four roles of Code Breaker, Text Participant, Text User and Text Analyst. In my investigation I found out that there is a problem in our schools in both home and additional language contexts. There is a great need for both in-school and out-of-school strategies to improve the situation. An Asset Mapping strategy revealed the range of existing and potential strategies available to a particular Eastern Cape community to raise reading levels and thereby improve learning.