Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2005. / "Publication number AAT 3205586."

Thesis (M.S.)--Rowan University, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Bowling Green State University, 2006. / Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 136 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2006 / "Publication number AAT 3242508."

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 2005.

<p>This study examined the engagements with and the impacts from the intersection of students and texts. Stemming from ethnographic methodology, I implemented a 10-month case study based in a sixth-grade classroom in an urban school with 24 participants. I approached this work with a sociocultural perspective on literacy, which stands in contrast to the deficit ideology often employed in discussion of the literacy of adolescent from low-income, urban areas. Data sources included fieldnotes, recordings, transcripts, and documents. The need for this work came from a lack of research on adolescent literacies broadly, and more specifically on young adolescent experiences with texts that they select. This research offers insight into students&rsquo; experiences with texts and how they see themselves as literate individuals. All of the students had complex reading identities that warranted examination in terms of their experiences with texts, their history with school-based literacy practices, and their own perceptions about reading. There were important concepts that this research found. First, the role of familiarity with texts is important for students as readers. Second, it is important for educators to ask students directly about their experiences with texts and literacy broadly. Third, not only are certain literacy practices such as selecting books and comprehending texts conceptualized differently by teachers and students, but these different perspectives have consequences for students in school. This research examines and reimagines the ways in which adolescent literacy is conceptualized in schools as a way to end practices that marginalize certain readers. </p>

This dissertation studies the acquisition of wh-movement and the development of the empty category system in children's grammar. It contains empirical studies on issues on the acquisition of wh-movement in English and Spanish. The following topics are the object of investigation: long distance movement and the role of barriers, structure of relative clauses in child grammar, and the interpretation and production of resumptive elements by children. Child Grammar is hypothesized to contain a default chain composed of a null operator linking a null constant. Null arguments and relative clause and question formation in early grammars are argued to be derived from this default chain. The evidence considered in this dissertation supports the view that null constants and not null pronouns are the primitive empty category in child grammar. In the initial stage, before clausal nodes are projected, and subordination is acquired, the chain is derived by short movement with adjunction to the maximal projection. Once a full syntactic tree develops, the null operator-null constant chain is eventually replaced by a set of fully developed A-bar dependencies. The acquisition process is hypothesized to be dependent on changes on the phrase structure representation and the acquisition of syntactic features of the nominal system: $\pm$anaphoric, $\pm$pronominal and $\pm$variable.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) would enhance the teaching of handwriting skills. There is only one commercially available courseware for handwriting instruction and very little research in this area has been conducted. In view of the paucity of research, this investigator explored the effects of the use of CAI on the handwriting skills of Spanish-speaking children between the ages of 4 and 7 years. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups: Group 1 received traditional handwriting instruction, Group 2 participated in CAI, and Group 3 participated in CAI but also was given reinforcement. Pretests were administered to establish an initial baseline for each subject. Progress was measured weekly in order to determine the impact of the interventions. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare mean number of letters correctly written by each group each week. A significant difference in mean number of letters correctly written existed among the three groups of subjects at Week 5 (p =.04) and Week 6 (p =.019). Scheffe procedures revealed CAI with reinforcement resulted in significantly (p $<$.05) greater improvement in handwriting skills than did traditional instruction. It may be concluded from these results that CAI with reinforcement can greatly enhance the learning of handwriting skills.