The purpose of this study was to examine the impact on the academic performance of Hispanic pre-kindergarten students after participating in a three year structured literacy program compared to the academic performance of Hispanic prekindergarten students not in a structured literacy program in selected elementary schools in the Laredo Independent School District in Texas. This study’s objective was to determine if participation in a structured literacy program is beneficial. This study will provide information and direction for district educators and school leaders contemplating the benefits of a three year old pre-kindergarten program at all district campuses. The researcher’s hypothesis that young Hispanic children, given the opportunity to attend a three year old structured literacy program, will acquire literacy skills and perform academically above what is normally is expected for this age group, is supported by literature and studies reviewed. Key to the purpose of this study is the understanding that as children grow and develop in today’s competitive society, literacy is important because it provides a foundation for life-long learning. For that reason it becomes necessary to educate all children at an early age. Given that in today’s volatile educational system, a comprehensive early childhood program has not been adopted much less one that focuses on pre-literacy and literacy skills; it is vital to examine the possible benefits. Currently, school districts and private institutions allow children to enter a kindergarten at different levels of literacy development and reading readiness; this is even truer for today’s divergent and burgeoning Hispanic population. Based on research, students tend to fare better, both short-term and long-term when allowed to enter an early educational setting. While no specific program is identified as key to this success, it only stands to reason that one that is structured and that has a well defined curriculum would fare better. Conclusions from this study provide data reflecting a need to provide an early pre-literacy program, improvement of teacher training, and greater parental involvement. It is this researcher’s contention that schools benefit from further research regarding the implementation of like programs in other geographic regions and with other participants.

This thesis uses the framework of a program evaluation to highlight the human experience of participants in a community-based family literacy program in the context of a “New Destination” for Latino immigrants. There is first an extensive discussion of how Latino immigrant communities have changed over time in Oregon and specifically in Lane County, followed by description of the nonprofit organizations that cater to these communities in Lane County, with specific focus on Downtown Languages and their Pilas Family Literacy Program. A selection of literature is reviewed surrounding the themes of the efficacy of program evaluation as a tool, “New Destinations,” the relationship between bilingualism and family in ESL programs, and finally a brief discussion of cultural competency in ESL practices and literacy as human capital. The conclusion of this research contains recommendations for the Pilas Family Literacy Program, as well as other family literacy programs operating in “New Destinations” communities.

This qualitative study had two goals. The first goal was to understand how a critical, non-formal, adult literacy program addresses the challenges and successes, which the students and volunteers identify at Amanecer Adult School. The second goal was to explore the perception of the student Spanish-speaking immigrants on the extent to which this program contributes to their second language acquisition and critical citizenship. These goals were examined through studying a local nonprofit organization, Amanecer Adult School, (AAS) that espouses critical literacy as its main goal. Using qualitative methodology and an inductive analysis approach to the data, the findings of the study were disheartening. At best, functional language learning was being both taught and learned in class, focusing on basic verbs and vocabulary. There was no critical work being done in the classroom. The challenges of the program far outweighed the positives found in the data. The students, while respecting their teachers, were rarely assessed; there was no established curriculum nor means to discuss the students’ lived realities. Additionally, the lack of resources, including money, time, space and classroom materials, at AAS was almost overwhelming for the volunteers. The lack of training in, and no understanding of, popular education by the volunteers at AAS stood out as a major issue.

nÃo hà / Esta pesquisa objetivou, de modo geral, verificar como as aÃÃes desenvolvidas pelo eixo de avaliaÃÃo do Programa AlfabetizaÃÃo na Idade Certa (PAIC) tÃm contribuÃdo para a melhoria da qualidade da educaÃÃo nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental. Especificamente intencionou-se analisar como se deu o processo de implantaÃÃo do PAIC nas escolas municipais; identificar o nÃvel de conhecimento que os professores tinham sobre a concepÃÃo de avaliaÃÃo promovida pelo PAIC; levantar junto aos professores qual a formaÃÃo recebida para atuar junto ao programa; verificar como os professores utilizam o material didÃtico em sala de aula; identificar as mudanÃas na prÃtica do professor alfabetizador proporcionada pela divulgaÃÃo os resultados da avaliaÃÃo por aluno; e buscar informaÃÃes quanto ao acompanhamento da Secretaria de EducaÃÃo nas aÃÃes desenvolvidas nas escolas junto ao PAIC. A alfabetizaÃÃo à uma etapa da escolaridade na qual as crianÃas precisam adquirir as competÃncias bÃsicas de leitura e escrita. De acordo com os resultados do Estado do Cearà nas avaliaÃÃes realizadas pelo MinistÃrio da EducaÃÃo e Cultura, os alunos matriculados nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental apresentavam um estado crÃtico e muito crÃtico na leitura e na escrita. Assim, criou-se o Programa AlfabetizaÃÃo na Idade Certa, cuja meta à alfabetizar todas as crianÃas atà 7 anos de idade, trazendo para as escolas uma nova metodologia de ensino e avaliaÃÃo, buscando assim, auxiliar a prÃtica do professor alfabetizador, e elevar a qualidade da educaÃÃo no Estado. Nesse sentido, apÃs 3 anos de implantaÃÃo do programa, procedeu-se uma investigaÃÃo de natureza qualitativa, com uma amostra composta de dez professores de um municÃpio, cujos alunos participam do PAIC desde a sua implantaÃÃo no Estado, e que apresentaram mudanÃas significativas nesses 3 anos. Foi utilizado como instrumento de pesquisa a entrevista semiestruturada. Ademais, foram consultados trabalhos na Ãrea de alfabetizaÃÃo e avaliaÃÃo, os ParÃmetros Curriculares Nacionais e documentos referentes ao Programa AlfabetizaÃÃo na Idade Certa e ao Programa de FormaÃÃo Continuada de Professores dos anos/sÃries iniciais do ensino fundamental. A anÃlise dos dados revelou uma significativa mudanÃa na prÃtica avaliativa do professor e no desempenho apresentado pelos alunos na avaliaÃÃo realizada pelo PAIC, demonstrando que este programa veio para melhorar a qualidade da educaÃÃo nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental. / This research was, in general, see how the actions taken by the axis of evaluation of the Literacy in the Middle One (PAIC) have contributed to improving the quality of education in the early years of elementary school. Specifically intended to look as it did the process of the PAIC in public schools, to identify the level of knowledge that teachers had on the design of assessment promoted by PAIC; raise with which the teachers received training to work with the program; see how teachers use the teaching materials in the classroom, identifying the changes in the practice of literacy teachers provided by the disclosure of the evaluation results by student, seeking information about monitoring the Education Department in the activities developed in schools with the PAIC. Literacy is a stage of schooling in which children need to acquire the basic skills of reading and writing. According to the data with the results of the state of Ceara in the evaluations conducted by the Ministry of Education and Culture, students enrolled in the early years of elementary school had a critical and very critical reading and writing. Thus was created the Literacy Program at Age One, whose goal is to alphabetize all children by age 7, bringing the schools a new teaching methodology and assessment, by thus facilitate the task of teacher literacy and raise the quality education in the state. Accordingly, after 3 years of program implementation, carried out a qualitative research with a sample of ten teachers from a city whose students participate in PAIC since its implementation in the state and with significant changes in these three years . Were used as research tools: a semistructured interview and a bibliographic authors in the field of literacy assessment, the National Curriculum Guidelines, the Literacy Program at Age One and Continuing Training Program for Teachers of years / grades of elementary school. Data analysis revealed a significant change in the teacher evaluation practices and performance of the students that the evaluation by the program, demonstrating that the PAIC came to improve the quality of education in the early years of elementary school.

The thesis comprehends the topic of reading literacy development using methods of Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking (RWCT) at the first stage of primary education. The background of RWCT program is described in the first part of the thesis, along with defining the field of reading literacy. Several methods of the program are more thorougly analyzed, including their positive impact on development of the individual aspects of reading literacy. The research part examines the possibility of various constituents of reading literacy to be developed using RWCT methods, and the circumstances that have to be met in order to achieve it. The main focus of analysis lies in the benefits of reading workshop technique, and its application in overall development of reading literary and reading itself.

No description available.

Partners in Print, a family literacy program, was brought to the urban elementary school in this study to educate and empower kindergarten and first grade parents to promote literacy development at home. This research aimed to explore the impact of participation in this program after consistent participation by utilizing a one-group pre-test, post-test research design. The Parent Empowerment and Home Literacy Environment Survey, which included both structured and unstructured questions, was administered before and after participation in the program to elicit notions of parent empowerment and growth in the home literacy environment. Parent participants also completed a document review of program handouts to triangulate the data. The data suggested that parents feel more empowered after consistently participating in Partners in Print. There was also evidence that the home literacy environment was of higher quality after participation. This study validated the practice of implementing family literacy programs as a strategy for empowering parents and enriching the home literacy environments of children.

The thesis reports on the evaluation of a digital information literacy program (DILP) to determine the program’s effectiveness in enhancing students’ digital information literacy skills. The program was originally designed and developed for the South African student, as member of Generation Y, but was adapted to suit the demographics and characteristics of Generation Z. New learning technologies were incorporated to enhance students’ learning experience. One of the characteristics of information literacy programs that illustrate best practice is the evaluation of the program itself to judge it’s effectiveness and validate the program as a learning tool. A review of the literature confirmed the paucity of the evaluation of such programs using assessment of student learning through outcomes assessment instruments, based on information literacy competency standards, designed with proven validity and reliability. The literature review found no evidence of the evaluation of the effectiveness of such programs through meaningful assessment of student learning using outcomes assessment in South Africa. For these reasons, the evaluation of the DILP was undertaken. To evaluate the effectiveness of the DILP, a non-randomised quasi-experimental research design, focusing on a single-group pre-test/post-test design which incorporated a combined quantitative and qualitative research approach was used. The primary research instrument was a pre- and post-test. A group of students, belonging to Generation Y and Z, completed a pre-test, worked through the DILP and completed a post-test. Telephonic and e-mail interviews were used to collect further data. The statistical analysis is presented by using descriptive statistics (stacked bar charts for the quantitative data and pie charts for the qualitative data). Inferential statistics were used to reach conclusions beyond the immediate data presented in the charts. The final step was to judge the overall effectiveness of the DILP. The difference between the means was statistically significant, indicating that the DILP was effective in enhancing the digital information literacy skills of students. Based on this research, additional research could be the evaluation of a DILP designed specifically for “digital natives”; the development of online outcomes assessment instruments for web-based tutorials with proven validity and reliability and research in the area of integrating emerging learning technologies with such programs, evaluating their effectiveness. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Esta pesquisa tem como objeto de estudo uma política – o Programa Alfabetização Solidária e, em particular, a sua implementação pelas Instituições de Ensino Superior. Os objetivos foram: A) explicar as características das políticas sociais decorrentes do contexto de reformas e mudanças no papel dos Estados latino-americanos, particularmente o brasileiro, políticas influenciadas pelo neoliberalismo pela via da descentralização, da privatização e da focalização para, assim, explicar o caráter social-assistencial do Programa; B) analisar as políticas educacionais da década, especialmente a municipalização, a implantação do Fundo de Manutenção e Desenvolvimento do Ensino Fundamental e Valorização do Magistério (FUNDEF), que excluiu a Educação de Jovens e Adultos do financiamento, e a expansão da educação superior, para compreender o surgimento deste Programa; C) explicar, analisar e interpretar a política na ação, mostrando como as Instituições de Ensino Superior, as quais passavam por um processo de expansão com novas regras de avaliação, credenciamento e reconhecimento, implementaram esse Programa, percebido, nesse novo contexto, como um saldo positivo. O referencial teórico escolhido teve como base o estudo das políticas sociais latinoamericanas e das políticas educacionais na década de 1990, especialmente no Brasil. Os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados foram o levantamento de bibliografia e de documentos produzidos sobre e pelo Programa, entrevistas com diferentes participantes do Programa (pró-reitores de extensão, coordenadores, alfabetizadores, professores etc) e observações de aulas. Os resultados mostram que o Programa foi, realmente, uma política governamental de alfabetização de jovens e adultos, apesar de se postular como não governamental. Seu formato difundiu um modelo de implementação de políticas sociais que aplicou idéias neoliberais adaptadas ao Brasil, tais como: financiamento público e privado, utilização de mão de obra barata e temporária, filantropização das problemáticas sociais e terceirização na implementação por meio de Instituições de Ensino Superior. A essas, o Programa proporcionou o desenvolvimento de atividades como extensão e estágios, e valiosas experiências de pesquisa, produção de materiais e envolvimento com a problemática da Educação de Jovens e Adultos. / The object of this research is a policy – the Solidarity in Literacy Program –and, particularly, its execution by Higher Education Institutions. The aims were: A) to explain the characteristics of the social policies deriving from the context of reform and changes in the role of the Latin-American States, specially the Brazilian, policies that were influenced by neoliberalism that, through decentralization, privatization and targeting, acquire new forms to, therefore, explain the social-assistant character of the Program; B) analyze the educational policies of the decade, specially the municipalization, the introduction of the Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and Teachers Valorization (FUNDEF), that excluded the youth and adult education of the finance, and the expansion of higher education, to understand the arising of this Program; C) to explain, analyze and interpret the politics in action, showing how the Higher Education Institutions that went through a process of expansion with new rules for evaluation, accreditation and recognition, implanted this Program, known, in this new context, as a positive balance. The chosen theoretical reference was based on the study of the Latin-American social policies and educational policies from the nineties, especially in Brazil. The methodological procedure used were the gathering of bibliography and documents produced on and for the Program, interviews with different participants of the Program (extension rectors, coordinators, teachers of reading and writing, etc) and class observation. The results show that the Program was, indeed, a governmental policy of literacy for youth and adults, though it claims to be non-governmental. Its shape spread a model of execution of social policies that used neo-liberal ideas adapted to Brazil such as: public and private finance, use of cheap and temporary labor force, the philantropization of social problematic and outsourcing in the execution through Higher Education Institutions. The Program gave opportunity to those institutions to develop activities such as extension and training, and valuable experiences of research, material production and involvement with the problematic of Youth and Adult Education.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka effekterna av en läs- och språksatsning. Fokus ligger på att identifiera faktorer som påverkar skolor att delta, huruvida dessa har förbättrade elevresultat samt läs- och språkutveck-larnas upplevelser av förändringar i undervisning, lärarkompetens och elevernas måluppfyllelse. Undersök-ningen omfattar två extremgrupper; dels åtta skolor som deltagit, dels åtta skolor som ej deltagit. Data kommer från Skolverkets databaser samt från en enkät ställd till skolornas läs- och språkutvecklare. Den teoretiska ramen utgörs av en pedagogisk samspelsmodell. Studien visar att deltagande skolor är större och har fler elever, utgör flerspråkiga miljöer samt rekryterar elever vars föräldrar har kortare utbildning. Resultat för betyg i svenska i årskurs 9 fluktuerar och är svårtolkade. För de skolor som deltagit finns en ökning av det genomsnittliga meritvärdet och andel behöriga till gymnasiernas nationella program ökade. / This study aims to investigate the effects of a literacy program. Focus lies on studying factors affecting school participation, examine whether participating schools have different results and explore the expe-riences of literacy developers regarding changes in teaching, teacher competence and student achievement. The survey is based on two groups: eight schools that participated and eight schools that did not. Data come from the National Agency databases and from a questionnaire addressed to the school literacy developers. An educational interaction model provides the theoretical framework. The study shows that participating schools have more students, are multilingual environments and recruit students whose parents have shorter education than non-participating schools. Results for grades in Swedish in grade 9 fluctuate and are difficult to interpret. The schools that participated have an increase in average merit rating and the proportion eligi-ble for upper secondary schools national programs.