This field study is concerned with the development and implementation of a formative evaluation of an innovative aspect of program development in the Language/Reading Centre at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. In 1983 a parent training dimension was added as part of a developing concern to assist school pupils who are experiencing difficulties in language and reading. The Language/Reading Centre programs are designed to provide this assistance within an 'integrated systems' approach. The group of people who participated in one of these parent training programs within the Language/Reading Centre in semester 2, 1983, were the focus for this evaluation. The program is called the Parent Training Evening Group Seminar Program in the evaluation. This study was set up in response to a request from the Director of the Language/Reading Centre for an external evaluation of this parent training component. The eva1uation developed within the framework of naturalistic inquiry and the design has been based on the work of Robert Stake. The evaluator undertook a responsive evaluation plan with an adaption of the briefing panel component, to gather and organise the perceptions and judgments of the people concerned with the program. The information collected in this process was focused on a number of Issues for consideration. This case study format was intended to gain some measure of program effectiveness as formative information for the client to use in the ongoing development of the program.

<p>Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur lärare ser på sambandet mellan läsförmåga och matematiksvårigheter. Aktuella rapporter visar att elevers läsförmåga har försämrats samtidigt som matematiksvårigheterna har ökat. Viss forskning pekar på ett samband mellan dessa två ämnesområden. En halvstrukturerad intervjumetod med fenomenologisk ansats användes och totalt intervjuades fyra erfarna lärare. De intervjuade hade alla mångårig erfarenhet av elevers läs- skriv- och matematikinlärning i ett brett register från förskoleklass till högskolenivå. Resultatet visade att det finns många faktorer som samverkar när eleven får svårigheter. Det är viktigt att rikligt med tid och övning ges när elever ska befästa grundläggande kunskap. En automatiserad ordavkodning är en avgörande faktor för god läsförmåga, likväl som automatiserad taluppfattning krävs för en gynnsam utveckling i matematik. Elever som är lässvaga får ofta problem vid de benämnda talen. Det är viktigt att allt lärande tar avstamp utifrån elevens förutsättningar. En kartläggning av eleven bör genomföras så att anpassning kan ske i förhållande till elevens proximala nivå. Vidare påvisade resultatet att självbild och självförtroende påverkar elevens lärande i hög grad.</p>

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur lärare ser på sambandet mellan läsförmåga och matematiksvårigheter. Aktuella rapporter visar att elevers läsförmåga har försämrats samtidigt som matematiksvårigheterna har ökat. Viss forskning pekar på ett samband mellan dessa två ämnesområden. En halvstrukturerad intervjumetod med fenomenologisk ansats användes och totalt intervjuades fyra erfarna lärare. De intervjuade hade alla mångårig erfarenhet av elevers läs- skriv- och matematikinlärning i ett brett register från förskoleklass till högskolenivå. Resultatet visade att det finns många faktorer som samverkar när eleven får svårigheter. Det är viktigt att rikligt med tid och övning ges när elever ska befästa grundläggande kunskap. En automatiserad ordavkodning är en avgörande faktor för god läsförmåga, likväl som automatiserad taluppfattning krävs för en gynnsam utveckling i matematik. Elever som är lässvaga får ofta problem vid de benämnda talen. Det är viktigt att allt lärande tar avstamp utifrån elevens förutsättningar. En kartläggning av eleven bör genomföras så att anpassning kan ske i förhållande till elevens proximala nivå. Vidare påvisade resultatet att självbild och självförtroende påverkar elevens lärande i hög grad.

Since reading difficulties is a growing problem in Society and a problem that hinders Children to take an active part in every day life, I wanted to investigate how the School Library can be an educational resource for students with reading difficulties. Using qualitative interviews, I have gained insight into how three school librarians and two teachers work with Students with reading difficulties at two different Schools.The Respondents feel that they have the Knowledge necessary to work with students with reading difficulties, but Wish they had more Resources in terms of Time and Staff to help Students achieve School Goals even better. There are always new assistive technology for Students with Reading Difficulties, and an important part of the Educational work of the School Library, is to be informed of the Facilities available and how they work. I show, in my Research the importance of cooperation between school libraries and teachers to provide the students with reading difficulties the love of reading and work to promote reading. It is important that the School Librarian is an integral part of the School's Team to take full advantage of every opportunity to help the Reading Impaired Students with Information and finding the right Reading Level. Other important aspects that I see as very important to help the Reading Impaired Students in their Reading Development, is that they are given a lot of time and a Peaceful and Stimulating Environment to read and learn in.

The Double Deficit Hypothesis of dyslexia posits that students can be grouped into four distinct groups: (a) average readers, (b) students with phonological deficits, (c) students with naming speed deficits, and (d) students with double deficits: those having both (b) and (c). The present study examines the stability of the Double Deficit groups from Kindergarten to Grade 2. 214 children were assessed in Kindergarten and subsequently tested in early Grade 1, late Grade 1, and Grade 2. Tests administered at each time included measures of naming speed, phonological awareness, and a variety of reading measures. Discriminant analyses indicated that approximately 70% of Grade 2 children were successfully classified by Kindergarten measures. Contingency analyses indicated moderate stability from Kindergarten to Grade 2 and more movement between groups between Kindergarten and Grade 1. The Double Deficit groups differed in reading achievement at each testing time, with the Double Deficit group obtaining the lowest scores. Implications for early assessment and intervention are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-01-06 12:54:02.063

Children have difficulty with reading for a number of reasons. One of these reasons may be temporary conductive hearing loss (TCHL) in preschool, which can be caused by otitis media (persistent fluid build-up in the middle ear), one of the most frequent medical issues in preschool children (Burt & Schappert, 2004). While otitis media can be treated medically, the duration of hearing loss and the age at which the hearing loss occurred may contribute to future reading difficulties (Easterbrooks, Lederberg, Miller, Bergeron & Connor, 2008). The literature surrounding the connection between otitis media, TCHL, and reading development is inconclusive. In addition, the nature of interdisciplinary communication to discuss the potential future challenges for children who have had TCHL is unclear. Little is known about how professionals communicate with parents about these challenges, and about how parents can best support their children. This research focused on providing detailed descriptions of how medical and educational professionals reported they communicated with each other and with parents about the potential reading risks associated with TCHL. This study followed standard qualitative research methods to conduct in-depth interviews with six medical and educational professionals and with two parents of children with TCHL. Results from this study have revealed important aspects that characterize what, when, and how professionals inform parents of children with TCHL about potential future reading problems. The knowledge gained through this research can guide future research and have practical implications for medical and educational professionals and provides recommendations for how parents are informed about potential future reading difficulties. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-27 11:48:59.805

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the reading difficulties (problems) of Freshman EFL students attending the Department of Foreign Language Education at Middle East Technical University. The study attempted to integrate notions of strategic, linguistic, discourse and sociolinguistic competence into the construct of reading: a first approximation at integrating and applying a model of reading ability to a model of communicative language ability. To examine the reading difficulties and factors related to EFL reading, the researcher investigated the sub-competencies of reading comprehension in the following areas of Communicative Competence: linguistic, strategic, socio-linguistic and discourse competence. For this purpose, 6 reading quizzes were administered to 29 EFL readers and the results were analyzed by three different reading instructors to explore, from a Communicative Competence perspective, where the difficulties in L2 reading were experienced. The results showed that students&amp / #8217 / difficulties frequently originated from discourse competence, followed by sociolinguistic, strategic and linguistic competences, respectively.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:43:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1070224 bytes, checksum: e7e84e5d2f009d8046da130cbd61127c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This study investigates the processing of derivational morphology in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) by children with and without reading difficulties. The literature has suggested a difficulty of children with reading disorders in processing morphologically complex words, which refers to how derived words are represented in the mental lexicon of the carriers of this disorder and they processed. Another possible explanation could be that such a child has problems in acknowledgment passage graphically sublexical word for lexical corresponding phonic form. In both of these cases, this disorder is reflected on the reading competence as well as on the acquisition of rules underlying the derivational processes of word formation in BP. In order to gain more evidences about this question, an experimental task was conducted, using the Morphosemantical Decision Paradigm (BESSE; VIDIGAL DE PAULA; GOMBERT, 2005), an adaptation of which was used by Mota (2008). It were tested 25 children without reading difficulties, divided into two age groups, children aged 7-8 years and 9-10 years, the which served as controls, and 16 children with reading difficulties, also divided into two age groups and also aged 7-8 years and 9-10 years. The results indicate that children with reading disorder that acquire BP have greater difficulty reading and processing morphologically complex words, compared to children without this difficulty acquiring this language. / Este estudo investiga o processamento da morfologia derivacional do Português Brasileiro (PB) por crianças com e sem dificuldades de leitura. A literatura tem sugerido uma dificuldade das crianças com transtornos de leitura em processar palavras morfologicamente complexas, o que remete ao modo como palavras derivadas são representadas no léxico mental dos portadores desse transtorno e por eles processadas. Outra explicação cabível seria a de que esse tipo de criança apresenta problemas na passagem do reconhecimento da forma gráfica sublexical da palavra para a forma fônica lexical correspondente. Em qualquer dos casos, esse transtorno se reflete tanto nas habilidades de leitura de palavras morfologicamente complexas quanto na aquisição das regras subjacentes aos processos derivacionais de formação de palavras em PB. A fim de prover mais evidências sobre essa questão, realizou-se um experimento, valendo-se da Técnica de Decisão Morfossemântica (BESSE; VIDIGAL DE PAULA; GOMBERT, 2005), numa adaptação da que foi usada por Mota (2008). Foram testadas 25 crianças sem dificuldade de leitura, divididas em dois grupos etários, crianças com idade de 7 a 8 anos e 9 a 10 anos as quais serviram como controle, e 16 crianças com dificuldades de leitura, também divididas em dois grupos etários e também, com idade de 7 a 8 anos e 9 a 10 anos. Os resultados indicam que as crianças com transtorno de leitura que adquirem PB têm maior dificuldade em ler e processar as palavras morfologicamente complexas, em relação às crianças sem essa dificuldade que adquirem essa mesma língua.

Flertalet elever i behov av stöd i läsning upplever svårigheter i matematik. Speciallärare vet att alla elever ska nå målen, men läroplanen och skollagen ger inga direktiv om hur detta ska genomföras.   Syftet med studien är att undersöka speciallärares kunskaper och kompetens kring relationen mellan lässvårigheter och matematiksvårigheter hos elever. Syftet är även att få en inblick i hur speciallärare beskriver sitt arbete med elever som har denna kombination av svårigheter samt undersöka vad som ligger till grund för deras arbetssätt.   Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med fem speciallärare verksamma på grundskolenivå. Intervjuerna bearbetades med en analysmodell framtagen utifrån Grounded Theory. Studien har det sociokulturella perspektivet som utgångspunkt.   I resultatet framgår att speciallärarna hade svårt att redogöra för hur relationen mellan läs- och matematiksvårigheter beskrivs i forskning eller hur den kan visa sig hos eleverna. Flera av lärarna ser ingen tydlig koppling hos sina elever. Resultatet visar också att speciallärarna arbetar med svenska och matematik som två skilda ämnen. Alla lärarna ansåg att specialundervisning ger bäst resultat utanför klassens ram. Samtliga uttryckte vikten av det sociokulturella lärandet med språket som grund.   För att arbetet med elever i lässvårigheter och matematiksvårigheter ska vara effektivt och leda till bättre måluppfyllelse behöver lärare kompetensutveckling kring relationen mellan läs- och matematiksvårigheter. / Most pupils with special needs in reading also experience difficulties in mathematics. Special education teachers know that all pupils should achieve the educational goals. However, the curriculum and the Swedish School Law do not describe how.   The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge and the competence of special education teachers about the relationship between reading difficulties and mathematical difficulties in pupils. Also, the aim is to get insight into the way special education teachers describe their work with pupils in this kind of difficulties, and look into the basis for their working methods.   Semi-structured interviews have been done with five special education teachers active in elementary school. The interviews were processed with an analysis model constructed on Grounded Theory. This study is based on the socio-cultural perspective.   The result of the study shows that special education teachers found it hard to describe how the relationship between reading and mathematical difficulties is presented in research, or in what way it can be seen in pupils. Several of the teachers do not find a distinct connection in pupils. Also noticeable is the fact that the special education teachers treat Swedish and Mathematics as two different subjects. All teachers thought that special education gives best results beyond the class. All of them expressed the importance of socio-cultural learning based on language.   In order to get an effective work with pupils in reading and mathematical difficulties that leads to fulfilling educational goals the teachers need more knowledge of the relationship between reading and mathematical difficulties.

We are living in a world in which bi/multilingualism has become commonplace within everyday life for a great number of people. Research has shown that bilingualism produces various cognitive consequences. These effects are generally seen as positive and contributing to an enhanced level of cognitive processing. Bilingualism functions selectively to produce outcome performances depending on the areas that are the subject of investigation. Furthermore, the patterns of results may vary if second-language reading occurs in a dyslexic context. Thus, many children may struggle with this situation, suggesting the need for the provision of a special education agenda in schools. The intention of this dissertation is to address the abovementioned topics. In study I, the effect of bilingualism on lexical vs. non-lexical reading tasks is examined. This study finds that the pattern of the effect might vary based on the type of reading task (e.g., semantic or phonological origins for information processing). In studies II and III, the combined effect of bilingualism and reading difficulties on executive functions (working memory, inhibitory control and flexibility) and on longterm memory (episodic and semantic) is examined. These studies find that, in line with primary expectations, bilingualism in typically developed reading is associated with enhanced overall cognitive performance in either executive functioning or episodic and semantic memory. Interestingly, the combination of second-language reading and reading difficulties is associated with lower performance (longer processing time) for executive functioning and long-term memory (specifically episodic memory). It is suggested that this pattern of performance is produced by a general delayed processing profile in the context of bilingualism and reading difficulties. The findings are discussed in light of the notion of inefficient and difficult learning of new input in terms of dyslexic problems. Study IV explores special education teachers’ assumptions with respect to the type of special education services in Swedish schools with a high proportion of (bilingual) pupils with reading difficulties. The findings of this study underscore the importance of the provision of special bi-literacy education for bilingual dyslexic children in schools and the current shortcomings regarding time and knowledge resources in this regard.