Thesis (M.Ed.)--Bowling Green State University, 2005. / Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 71 p. 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 (September 26, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Texas Christian University, 2007. / Title from dissertation title page (viewed Jul. 27, 2007). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boise State University, 2005. / Includes abstract. In appendices, sample participation questionnaires are in both English and Spanish. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-89). Also available online via the ProQuest Digital Dissertations database.

M.Phil. (Adult and Community Education) / The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996: 13) stipulates that everyone has the right to Basic Education and Training and to Further Education and Training, which the state through reasonable measures must make progressively available and accessible to all citizens. It has often been acknowledged that a well-developed Adult Basic Education and Training sector in the country could make a major contribution to South Africa's economic growth and general social development. The Adult Basic Education and Training Sector is meant to address the transformation of "night schools" into meaningful Adult Basic Education and Training centres. In 1997 the Department of Education adopted a framework for the implementation of Adult Basic Education and Training. This multi-year plan, informed the development of Adult Basic Education and Training plans at provincial level. Therefore, the Gauteng Department of Education's Adult Basic Education and Training plan set out a multi-level programme of action for four years, (1997-2000), which plan has now been strengthened by the promulgation of Adult Basic Education and Training Act No. 52 of 2000. The plan strategy as stipulated by the Department of Education (1997:4) sought to provide strategic direction for the transformation of Adult Basic Education and Training Centres in order to respond to the Education and Training needs of the citizens of this country. The plan also identified priorities, including timeframes that guide the restructuring of the sector. The policy framework as stated above, is quite clear in terms of what needs to be done to restructure and transform Adult Basic Education and Training centres. However these centres remain untouched by the envisaged developments. The pace at which change is happening is very slow. Therefore, this study sought to establish what are the stumbling blocks to the reorganisation of these Adult Basic Education and Training centres.

M.A. (Language Teaching) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

Magister Educationis - MEd / This research study attempted to highlight an in-depth exploration of my own classroom practice as a teacher at a high school in the Western Cape. A key goal of this research study was the quest for professional development and the development of an HIV/AIDS literacy programme for curriculum development. / South Africa

Provincial and federal government surveys and commissions have consistently reported that English literacy training for adults with no or limited English is urgently needed and that access to training is limited. The effectiveness of existing literacy training programs and instructional strategies at the adult level has not been well researched. However, at the classroom level literacy training can be easily compromised by instructional strategies that limit the concept of full-literacy by focusing ESL literacy instruction on survival, functional and skill-building reading experiences. English and second language reading research suggests that student self-selection of reading materials and a high exposure to text are effective means of increasing vocabulary knowledge and reading proficiency. This study examined the effect of an Extensive Reading program on reading proficiency and vocabulary knowledge for 2 classes (N=33) of adult low intermediate ESL learners enrolled in a 15 week English language training program at a large Canadian community college. This quasi-experimental treatment group participated in a reading program supplemental to their regular classroom reading instruction. Subjects met weekly with the researcher and self-selected reading material from a collection of graded readers. Data on the frequency of the students' reading, their preferences in reading topics and materials and self-evaluations of their first and second language reading abilities were tallied for subjects in both groups. No statistical significant differences were found for the treatment in the analysis of assessments of reading and vocabulary. However, the experimental group posted higher gains in the group mean score on reading proficiency than the control group. Analysis of the Reading Behavior Survey suggests subjects in both groups were low frequency readers (less than 5 hours of reading time in English per week) who generally evaluated themselves fair to good readers in L2 but good to excellent readers in LI. The inconclusive results for the effect of the treatment on reading proficiency and vocabulary acquisition implies the need for future studies on the effectiveness of extensive reading programs on literacy training in ESL programs where literacy in English is a concern for students and educators. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

Buddy Reading, a literacy event that pairs two students as they share the reading of a book, was investigated from cultural, textual and social stances. Using a sample of 10 pairs of students from grades one and three, this study explored 1) the influences of school culture and classroom conventions that effected Buddy Reading, 2) the interaction between Grade 1 early readers as they read with more proficient Grade 3 buddies, and 3) student and teacher perceptions of Buddy Reading. Data collection involved four phases and included classroom observation, video recording students as they read together, photographic interviews of students and standard interviews of teachers. Findings indicated that student and teacher perceptions paralleled classroom practice, with the exception of students' perception of the type of decoding skills used. Although half of the proficient readers reported that they encouraged their younger partners to 'sound out words', they usually corrected oral reading errors by 'telling' or 'pronouncing' the word for their buddy. Students did not use scaffolding dialogue as they read with their buddies, and it was concluded that Buddy Reading could not be used as an alternative for reading practice with an adult. Social interaction between students was observed and discussed. School culture, tradition and rituals had a significant effect on the organization of the Buddy Reading Program and classroom practice. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

With federal gender equity mandates in place, some may assume that schools are now havens were children are protected from discrimination based on failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity. Yet, research suggests that the school literacy curriculum serves as a site that privileges gender performances consistent with the binary gender order. This pattern has been observed such that school literacy practices reproduce the binary gender order through text, talk, and disciplining of the body. Informed by post structural feminist perspectives on discourse, power, and performativity, this qualitative case study employed feminist methodology to explore how power flowed through performances of gender within the context of one second grade literacy classroom. Data sources included participant observation field notes, informal student and teacher interviews, video and audio recordings, and the collection of literacy related objects/documents. Results of the analysis suggest that there were two distinct literacy spaces within the classroom: the teacher-controlled official literacy space and the student-governed unofficial literacy space. Within the official literacy space, particular teaching moves made at the intersection of gender and literacy could later be linked to particular students’ gender performances. In the unofficial literacy space of the classroom, some students’ gender performances diverged greatly from those they performed in the official literacy space thus making visible how power operates within embodied acts. Lastly, in looking across the two distinct literacy spaces of the classroom, it was revealed how the flow of power through performances of gender and thus, the discursive practices that hold existing gendered structures in place, were more visible in unofficial literacy spaces than in official literacy spaces. Therefore, results of the analysis suggest that looking to unofficial literacy spaces will provide invaluable guidance when reconceptualizing how official literacy spaces might better support gender equity within the early elementary literacy classroom.