Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1980. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Reading Specialist). Includes bibliographical references (37-38 p.).

M. Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Reading is a complex activity which is of the utmost importance for successful progress in mainstream education, but which is seldom fully understood by professionals in the field of education. It is also an ability which is often problematic for children to master. The purpose with this study was to gain a better understanding of the reading process and to explore the reasons why some children fail to learn to read effectively. The research was based upon the following research questions: what constitutes beginning reading; how these problems manifest in the reading behaviour of the child with reading problems; and how the child with reading problems describes his knowledge about reading. The first aim of the study was to establish what the nature of reading is, how it develops in beginning readers (in the junior primary phase) and what the possible causes of reading problems are. This was achieved by an analysis of reviewed literature, emphasising the child as a system whereby his inner world is in interaction with the world around him. The additional aim was to conduct a qualitative analysis was undertaken in which the reading actions of two eight year old readers were presented and analyzed by means of a protocol analysis. The data of the two early readers were compared and the following categories of their reading actions identified: the mechanics of reading. construction of meaning and metareading knowledge. It was argued that these categories are interrelated in the sense that the one influences the other to such an extent that they cannot be separated for purposes of teaching reading skills. The mechanics of reading seems to be the foundation of meaning construction as it was apparent that the readers could not answer the comprehension questions when they were unable to recognise the words. This promotes a "back to basics" approach of teaching reading. On the other hand it also came to light that the readers could read certain words, but did not understand them due to the fact that they did not comprehend the context thereof and clearly had not constructed schema in the domain previously. The levels of functioning of the two readers were explained by using comparative matrices which indicated that they function on pre-conceptual and systematic conceptual levels, that is below the level that could be expected for their reading age group. Arguing from the findings of the research it was evident that teachers, as well as therapists concerned with reading remediation, probably address reading problems without fully understanding what the act of reading entails. Furthermore, school curricula which have the teaching of reading skills as objective could adopt a "back to basics" approach whereby phonics teaching and the accompanying emphasis on word recognition could be the point of departure. Thereafter comprehension and meta-reading aspects could be emphasised. It is, however, extremely important to keep in mind that each of these components of the teaching of reading, namely phonic recognition, word recognition, comprehension and meta-reading are not seen in isolation, but that the interaction of these aspects is understood and taught.

The state of education in South Africa is of nationwide concern and primary school learners are at serious risk of not learning to read. The lack of parental involvement in children's reading development is one of the main barriers to quality education. Mothers are customarily the parent who is most often involved in the reading development of children but there has been an increased interest in asserting more about how fathers are taking on the reading tasks of children. The focus of the study is on the involvement of fathers in the reading development of their children and aims to determine the fathers’ perceptions regarding their roles in the reading development of their children, the barriers that hinder their involvement as well as the benefits of their involvement. The literature review was done using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as theoretical framework. A qualitative research design was employed using phenomenology as a research strategy. The research is underpinned by the interpretive paradigm and involved the fathers of grade 4 learners at a primary school in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Data was collected from these fathers by means of questionnaires, group and semi-structured interviews and narratives. The main findings that emerged from the study revealed that fathers’ lack of support in reading development was embedded in the fact that they perceived their role as provider who underestimated their individual contribution. They acknowledged their participation in uncoordinated reading efforts whilst engagement with teacher and policy document were also findings that emerged from this study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of special training in motor ability skills on the reading ability of grade two pupils who have a specific reading disability. Thirty subjects, all of them grade two pupils at the Sir Richard McBride Elementary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, were selected. All were classed as poor readers on the basis of the Metropolitan Reading Achievement Test. The subjects were given pre-trainlng standardized tests in Mental Ability, Reading Achievement, Visual Perception, and General Motor Capacity. They were then randomly assigned to five sub-groups for Special Training purposes. Group I was the control group. Group II received extra instruction in motor skills and reading. Group III were given special training in motor skills. Group IV received extra reading instruction, and Group V received special training in both reading and visual perception. The thirty subjects were equally distributed, six in each group. The experimental groups received approximately fifty minutes of special training every day for a period of sixty-five days. Case Studies were made of the six subjects in Group III, the Motor Ability Group. At the conclusion of the Special Training Period, all subjects were again tested in general motor capacity, visual perception, and reading ability. Initial and final test scores in motor capacity, perception, and reading were analysed by Fisher's t statistic and the differences between mean improvements of the five groups were discussed. Case Study Reports were written for each of the subjects in Group III. A review of the Case Study Reports revealed that all of the subjects in the Motor Ability Group improved in reading ability, visual perception, and motor skills. The group mean scores, before and after training, indicated that children who received special training in motor skills (Group III) improved in reading ability as measured by the Metropolitan Reading Achievement Test, but no more than children in any of the remaining groups. It appears also that special training in motor ability skills can cause an improvement in the motor ability and visual perception of children at this age level. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

It is the purpose of this experiment to discover and report the effectiveness of applying a standardized diagnosis followed by recommended remedial procedures to a fifth grade reading group.

No description available.

"It is the purpose of this paper to analyze the problems included in a directed reading program, to secure information regarding materials available, and to formulate plans. In order to carry out these plans it will be necessary to explore instructional material, locate information on children (cumulative records), to interview teachers experienced in directed reading, and to examine professional literature in the field of reading"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "December, 1949." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Advisor: Mildred E. Swearingen, Professor Directing paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-48).

An account of the investigation of the remedial reading program in Roanoke City has been recorded in the preceding chapters. The purpose of this chapter is to render judgment as to whether those procedures and methods set forth in the foregoing chapters were adequate to insure an improvement in reading for those children who had been considered disabled in that respect, and to report any weaknesses observed in the program. / M.S.

M.S.

The effects of teacher feedback on the reader's performance during oral reading have not been clearly delineated. This study was designed to investigate how two features of sustaining teacher feedback, type (graphophonemic and semantic) and timing (immediate and delayed) influence word recognition and comprehension for low ability second-grade readers. A sample of 9 low ability second-grade readers were selected and randomly assigned to one of 3 treatment sequence conditions. Each group received graphophonemic immediate prompts (The teacher immediately calls the readers attention to the deviation by pointing to the word and prompting, "Look closely at the letters in the word."); graphophonemic delayed prompts (The teacher prompts as above but after the reader has completed reading the sentence or a complete thought within a complex sentence.); and semantic delayed prompts (The teacher prompts the reader by asking, "Does that make sense?" after the reader has completed reading the sentence). A single—subject format (eg. A B A C A D A) was incorporated by using a Latin Square design for presenting the three treatment conditions to all three groups. On each of the twenty-three days the students orally read a different passage. Each treatment condition was conducted for approximately five fifteen minute reading sessions over a three week period. The four baselines had two sessions each. The dependent measures were literal comprehension and qualitative dimensions of word recognition, graphic similarity, semantic acceptability, and self-corrections. Results indicated that the treatments did not differentially affect the graphic similarity of the readers' responses, although the semantic delayed condition did encourage responses which were higher in semantic acceptability. In addition, the semantic delayed conditions influenced comprehension more positively than did the other conditions. / Ed. D.