This study investigates the use of a new literacy software ABRACADABRA with pre-reading kindergarten students. The participants ( n=27) from one school were assigned randomly to one intervention group (rime or phoneme) and (n=17) school two served as a control. Ten hours of either a rime or phoneme ABRACADABRA intervention were employed to compare overall effectiveness of the software with regular classroom instruction. All participants were pre-tested at the onset of the study and post-tested following the intervention using eight highly sensitive measures to detect change in word reading strategies and phonemic skills specific to the two delivery methods. Measures were developed from previous studies and included blending and segmenting of matched CV (consonant-vowel), VC (vowel-consonant) words, high and low rime nonsense word reading, rime and coda articulation tasks. The results showed improvement in both interventions over the control on Letter-Sound knowledge and a combined reading task with a large advantage to the phoneme intervention in blending of VC words.

Over the past decade, the theoretical basis for composition research and pedagogy has expanded. A social perspective on writing has been added to the cognitive view which dominated composition studies throughout the 1970s and early 80s. This social perspective has radically altered conceptions of the writing process. Whereas cognitive theory placed a creative and isolated individual at the centre of the writing act, social theory locates the writer in community, and shifts much of the control of discourse from the individual to the group. / This research takes the form of a case study of social workers attached to Quebec's Youth Court system. The specific focus within that setting is the preparation of reports about adolescents in trouble with the law. Data were collected through "think-aloud" protocols and interviews, including discourse-based interviews. The study offers a detailed description of the complex and dynamic relationship between the individual writer and the community, and provides a new perspective on the concept of "audience" and the notion of genre as social action.

This thesis presents an overview of imitation of models as a literacy pedagogy. Through comprehensive analysis of various perspectives both past and present, this thesis argues that imitation has been an effective literacy pedagogy throughout the history of rhetoric and composition and further, that it remains a feasible pedagogy for modern writing classrooms. The study finds that, by imitating models of excellence, students can not only learn a range of essential writing components, which include subject matter, style, genre, detail, creativity, and writing process, but also they can learn some nontechnical aspects, such as morality, from the model. The thesis also discusses how imitation pedagogy should be implemented. Key issues, including major steps involved in an imitation exercise, caution and judgment in model selection, and the conflict between imitation and plagiarism, are discussed in considerable detail. / Department of English

The purpose of this study was to describe a tenth grade English program for reluctant learners and to determine the benefits of the program in achieving improvement in reading, writing, and self-concept. In addition, a general perception of the possible success of the program as ascertained by students and administrators was sought. The population consisted of 43 reluctant learners identified by low achievement scores, poor report cards, teacher recommendation, counselor recommendation, and personal interview.A pretest/posttest comparison of scores on six standardized tests for vocabulary, reading comprehension, spelling, language mechanics, language expression, and self-concept was utilized to determine improvement. Researcher-created surveys were used to determine perceptions of students and administrators regarding the success of the program.1. Seventy-eight percent of the students improved in vocabulary.2. Sixty-nine percent of the students improved in reading comprehension.3. Sixty-three percent of the students improved inspelling.4. Seventy-eight percent of the students improved in language mechanics.5. Ninety-two percent of the students improved in language expression.6. Fifty-eight percent of the students improved in self-concept.7. Both students and administrators considered the program a success.Conclusions1. Grouping reluctant learners for part of the school day is beneficial to improving reading,' writing, and self-concept in tenth grade English classes.2. A personalizing and individualizing approach to teaching reluctant tenth graders is essential.3. A reluctant learner program is considered valuable by students and administrators in the Menasha Public School System.4. Test scores indicate improvement in reading, writing, and self-concept for students included in the program for reluctant learners.5. Understanding the personal lives of reluctant learners enhances communication, cooperation, and the ability to create individualized instruction.6. Communicating and working with counselors, parents, and administrators is effective in meeting the needs of reluctant learners at the tenth grade level.7. Seeking assistance from special education per nurses, and work experience personnel is necessary in meeting the needs of reluctant learners at the tenth grade level.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-214). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xvi, 214 leaves, bound 29 cm

This multiple case study investigated children's literacy development in the context of current pedagogical practices of their preschools in three selected communities in India. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009.

This multiple case study investigated children's literacy development in the context of current pedagogical practices of their preschools in three selected communities in India. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009.

As a practising classroom teacher with an academic interest in literacy acquisition, I was aware of the complex nature of literacy and the controversial debates around the teaching and learning of literacy. Having frequently witnessed and been intrigued by the idiosyncratic intricacies of literacy learning in my teaching and parenting, I was drawn towards theorists and educators who recognise literacy as a complex social practice. As classroom teacher and researcher, I set out with the broad aim of exploring sociocultural factors influencing the literacy development of students in the class I was teaching at the time. Using a qualitative research paradigm, data collection began at the beginning of the school year and proceeded until the end of the final term. Data collection techniques included participant observation, field notes, video and audio recordings, questionnaires, structured and unstructured interviews and artefact collection. Initial analysis examined the data to identify factors that appeared to influence literacy development. As analysis proceeded, I became aware of intertextual incidents in the data. Intertextuality was first defined by Kristeva (1967) and describes the process of interpreting one text by means of a previously composed text. The presence of intertextual events in this study and the implications they have for literacy teaching and learning, precipitated the eventual focus for the study, namely, intertextuality. An exploration of the theory of intertextuality, its significance to literacy, analysis of intertextuality in this classroom data and the implications for literacy teaching in the kindergarten classroom became the central focus of the study. The study involved transcribing the intertextual incidents from the data and categorising them across three domains. The research has led to significant theoretical progress in understanding intertextuality and amongst other things has suggested a framework for describing intertextual incidents The final stage of the study also involved drawing together four themes from the literature on intertextuality with transcript examples from the kindergarten study. This conclusive paper indicates the application of independent critical ability in synthesising the new data with the complex body of literature surrounding intertextuality. / Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 27, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on February 15, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.