Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-157).

This research project involved the creation of a viable, interdisciplinary language-learning curriculum for the middle-school child who is experiencing his/ her initial contact with a language other than the native tongue. The course is exploratory in nature, lasting only nine weeks of the school year and was developed from a humanistic point of View, taking into account the special academic, emotional, and social needs of the preadolescent. Course content focuses on the development of students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills and the importance of cultivating awareness and respect for the culture of the world’s peoples who communicate in the foreign language on a daily basis. Although French is the target language, student performance objectives and the enabling activities can easily be adapted to meet the needs of learners in other foreign- language classes.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Washington, 1991. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [116]-127).

Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 2003. / Thesis advisor: Helen Abadiano. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Reading." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-85).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 1999. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-126). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p9947974.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1980. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2795.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-90). Also available in print.

Thesis (PH.D.)--Syracuse University, 2003. / "Publication number AAT 3099720."

The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons, as perceived by elementary school teachers at the target Title I school, for low student achievement in reading. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the ecological theory that postulates that students' academic achievement is influenced by several subsystems that affect human growth and development: microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems. Four research questions guided this study. The questions investigated teachers' perceptions of how effective classroom practices, differentiated instruction, professional development, and parental involvement influence student achievement in reading. Participants included 9 elementary school ELA teachers. Data collection included audiotaped interviews, classroom observations, and the examination of teacher lesson plans. Data were manually coded and organized into 7 themes. The themes were: back to basics, reading practice, classroom environment, meeting students' needs, professional development, communication, and home environment. The data indicated that the teacher participants believed that there is a need for increased parental involvement in reading. Parental involvement and the home environment were listed as two of the most important factors in student achievement in reading. Based on the research findings, a 3-day teacher facilitated family literacy program was developed. The goal of the program is to equip parents with resources and strategies to facilitate the reading achievement of their children at home. Increased parental involvement has the potential to positively affect student achievement in reading, which can bring about positive social change for families and teachers.

The gap in reading achievement continues to be consistent, despite No Child Left Behind goals to narrow these gaps among minority and other subgroup populations. This gap is especially profound for students with disabilities, and any evidence to support progress monitoring of oral reading fluency (ORF) and comprehension will inform educational policy and practice. The theory of automaticity explains that a reader can focus more attention on the meaning of a reading passage when less attention is needed for word and sound recognition. The literature has suggested that reading comprehension can be improved through efforts to improve ORF. The central purpose of this quantitative, correlation study was to determine the relationship between gains in ORF and gains in reading comprehension of both informational and literary texts among 46 students in Grades 3 through 6 with reading difficulties and specific learning disabilities in a rural southern U.S. school district. A second purpose was to determine whether repeated readings or cold reads is the better predictor of reading comprehension. Gains in ORF rates over a 10-week period, determined by the difference in pre- and postmeasurements on two curriculum-based measures of ORF, were regressed on reading comprehension scores on the Measures of Academic Procedures test. There was not a statistically significant relationship between ORF and reading comprehension gains, and neither repeated readings nor cold reads was statistically a better predictor of reading gains. The findings offer several suggestions for the continuation of support for students who struggle with the reading process. Implications for social change included improved reading levels for those with reading and other specific learning disabilities.