Studiens syfte är att undersöka pojkars attityder och intressen till läsning. Den baseras på intervjuer med nio pojkar i årskurs fem utifrån följande frågeställningar: vilka faktorer upplever pojkar påverkar deras intresse för läsning, hur anser pojkar att läraren påverkar deras läsintresse samt vilken typ av texter väljer pojkar att läsa? Arbetet är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer med pojkar från två olika klasser. Studien utgår från teorin literacy, vilket betyder läs- och skrivkunnighet. Analysen av intervjuerna genomfördes med hjälp av fenomenografi som är en sjustegsmodell för dataanalys. Vårt resultat visar att alla pojkar i studien läser. Pojkarna anser att de faktorer som påverkar deras läsning är: lärare, familj och kamrater. Många pojkar tycker att läraren är betydelsefull då det är läraren som säger till dem att läsa, förklarar ord och lär ut hur orden ska uttalas. Den vanligaste genre som pojkar läser är fantasy. Vårt resultat visar att bokens utseende spelar en stor roll i pojkarnas val av böcker. Bokens layout ska snabbt väcka deras intresse med hjälp av en spännande bild på framsidan och en intressant text på baksidan. Fler pojkar än förväntat väljer att läsa vilket är intressant då tidigare forskning pekar på motsatsen.

Digital storytelling, the practice of combining personal narrative with multimedia to produce a short autobiographical movie, continues to expand its creative uses in classrooms around the world. However, teaching the actual story process within digital storytelling presents several challenges for teachers as it demands a combination of creative writing, basic film conventions, visual and media literacy, as well as the technical facility with the technology. Digital storytelling presents a unique opportunity for students to acquire much more than new technology skills. It enables them to represent their voices in a manner rarely addressed by state and district curriculum while practicing the digital literacy skills that will be important to their 21st century futures. Storytelling and multimedia production have rarely been taught, if at all, while the development of students narrative skills has rested on the shoulders of English teachers. This pedagogical disconnect between story literacy and technology literacy is at the heart of the multiliteracies debate. Elliot W. Eisner writes in The Kind of Schools We Need, What we ought to be developing in our schools is not simply a narrow array of literacy skills limited to a restrictive range of meaning systems, but a spectrum of literacies...We need a conception of multiple literacies to serve as a vision of what our schools should seek to achieve (2002). An effective implementation of digital storytelling in schools is a model of the metaliteracy Eisner suggests.

The purpose of this study was to identify, examine, and validate the various components and systems in agriculture while investigating three objectives related to Careers, Industries, and Systems using the Delphi technique over three rounds. Three similar but different instruments were used to gather information from the expert panel. The following questions were considered: 1) What are the different Careers associated with agriculture? 2) What are the Industries that play an important role in the input segment of agriculture? and 3) What are the System components needed to depict the industry of agriculture? Twenty-one expert panelists from nine states with varied backgrounds such as Church/Religion, Education, Government, Insurance, Manufacturing, Natural Resources, Pharmaceutical, and Public Policy participated in this study. The expert’s years of service total 370 years in their respected occupations with a mean of 17.6 years of experience. Raw data submitted by the expert panelists in round one identified 477 Career items, 157 Industry items, and 130 System items, totaling 764 pieces of initial information. Over the course of the subsequent two rounds, duplicates were eliminated, items were categorized, and consensus was reached for 317 Careers associated with agriculture. There were 30 Industries recognized and validated to play an important role in the input segment of agriculture and 21 System components depicted in agriculture. In all, 368 items reached consensus and were confirmed in the study. Findings indicated: 1) It is difficult to find a comprehensive diagram that visually conveys the different Careers, Industries, and Systems to assist in recruiting efforts by colleges and universities; 2) Not all websites found in the literature convey an accurate distinctiveness of what agriculture is today; 3) More research is needed regarding the impact of agriculture on career education used in agricultural literacy initiatives; and 4) The information found in this study can be used to begin further development of models to aid in the visualization of how Careers, Industries, and Systems are interconnected in order to help the public better understand the complex and diverse agricultural sector and challenges facing the agricultural industry in all its dimensions.

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 investigation examined the extent to which teacher implemented systematic, explicit instruction affected the literacy achievement of kindergarten and first grade students. Two cohorts of students in a southwestern United States school district were utilized for this study. Cohort 1 (n=94) received classroom literacy instruction from the state adopted basal reading series. Cohort 2 (n=96) received literacy instruction from the basal series and an additional reading program designed to systematically and explicitly teach phonological awareness, letter name identification, and the alphabetic principle. Each cohort was followed from the middle of kindergarten through the end of first grade. Kindergarten measures included the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) tests of phonological awareness, letter naming, letter sound knowledge, and listening comprehension, and were administered at the middle and end of kindergarten. At the beginning of first grade, TPRI phonological awareness, word reading, reading comprehension, and fluency were measured. Middle of year first grade variables were TPRI reading comprehension and fluency. End of the year first grade measures were TPRI word reading, fluency, reading comprehension, and Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) word analysis, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling. A MANCOVA was conducted at each interval using English language learner status as the covariate. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to determine which variables best predicted end of first grade reading comprehension, word reading, and fluency. Results from the MANCOVA indicated that Cohort 2 outperformed Cohort 1 on kindergarten TPRI measures of phonological awareness, letter naming, and letter sound correspondences. Cohort 2 also performed better than Cohort 1 on first grade TPRI reading comprehension, fluency, and end of year word reading, however, there were no statistically significant differences on the ITBS measures. Conclusions and recommendations for further research and for practice are also discussed.

Limited studies have focused on using popular culture environmental print in the literacy curriculum to teach early literacy skills to prekindergarten students. This study examined whether using popular culture environmental print to explicitly teach alphabet knowledge and print concepts increased the achievement of these skills. After a nine week intervention was implemented, data were collected from 56 urban prekindergarten children in a control and experimental group. The use of popular culture environmental print appeared to increase the achievement of print concepts and alphabet knowledge in prekindergarten children from one urban high-poverty school district. Data revealed an increase in the mean rank of the experimental group on the post-test of alphabet knowledge. Additionally, English as a second language learners expanded their knowledge of alphabet letters after the popular culture environmental print intervention. Also, a statistically significant difference appeared to exist between the control and experimental groups’ means on the knowledge of print concepts. Descriptive statistics revealed increases in print concept means of the control and experimental groups from the time of the pre-test to the posttest as tested by the Preschool Word and Print Awareness Assessment (PWPA). A statistical significant difference between the groups the children were in and the early literacy skills of alphabet knowledge and print concepts were determined at the end of the popular culture environmental print intervention. The increase in print concepts and alphabet knowledge appeared to be due to utilizing popular culture characters children observed at home. The popular culture characters garnered the attention of the children and became a source of motivation for increasing emergent literacy skills. Also, through explicit teaching of print concepts and alphabet knowledge with the popular culture environmental print, the children expanded their knowledge of these emergent literacy skills.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) - Simon Fraser University, 2006. / Theses (Dept. of Psychology) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (EdD)--Open University. BLDSC no. DXN080743.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boise State University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-119). Also available online via the ProQuest Digital Dissertations database.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.