A portraiture study was conducted with four children enrolled in various grades of a rural Virginia elementary school. . Purposeful sampling was used as a selection tool, and all students were participants of the Title I program, unsuccessfully discontinued from the Reading Recovery program, and were tested as field dependent, a cognitive characteristic, using the Children's Embedded Figures Test created by Witkin, et al (1971). These participants were observed within a classroom setting, a small group setting, and in a one-on-one setting. Interviews offered the opportunity to investigate the students' feelings and attitudes towards using the overlays. Field notes, unaided observations, participant observations were gathered, and interviews were conducted with the students, as well as with the reading specialist, the teachers, and the administrator of the school. Further data was gained from historical records from the school and evaluative tools used within the classroom, on a periodic basis. Outcomes of this study focus on the process of using colored overlays with these participants, their self-efficacy their feelings about using the tool, how the faculty perceives this tool, and additional implications with regards to field dependence and colored overlays within the classroom. / Ph. D.

This study is an attempt to show the extent of and the probable causes for reading difficulties, to give remedial procedure, and to record results for twenty second-grade pupils of the Elementary School, Plano, Texas. An intensive study of the twenty children was made with emphasis upon the improvement of reading ability. This study deals primarily with the investigate of factors in the creation of reading disabilities.

Phonological awareness (PA) can be defined as the ability to recognize that orthographic patterns represent specific phonemic elements of speech (Nitrouer, 1999). Alternatively, some view PA as a purely linguistic skill that involves the ability to recognize and manipulate specific speech sounds (e.g., Catts, 1991). A large body of research indicates the primary problem for children who do not learn to read is a deficit in PA (e.g., Morris et al., 1998; Stanovich, 1988). Far less work has examined what drives the development of PA (Metsala & Walley, 1998). Recently, it has been suggested that oral language skills influence the acquisition of PA (e.g., Dickinson, McCabe, Anastasopoulos, Peisner-Feinberg, & Poe, 2003; Olofsson & Niedersoe 1999). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the development of PA skills in children classified with a reading disability who evidenced either typical or below-average oral language skills based on measures of receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and listening comprehensions skills. In addition, this study examined whether differing conceptualizations of PA resulted in differential findings concerning the relationship between oral language skills and PA. Finally, this study examined the relationships that exist between different domains of language and different aspects of reading achievement. Elementary school age students participated in the study with 211 students receiving 70 hours of small group reading intervention. Sixty-eight students served as a control group. Children’s PA was assessed at three time points throughout the school year. Repeated measures ANCOVA and HLM analyses were conducted with letter sound knowledge and phonological processing skills as dependent variables. Students with below-average oral language skills evidenced significantly (p < .05) lower scores on both measures compared to students with typical oral language skills. Children with below-average oral language skills did not acquire PA skills at a significantly slower rate than children with typical oral language skills. Analyses also indicated that the relationship between oral language skills and PA skills remains consistent across different conceptualizations of PA. SEM analyses showed that receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary knowledge independently contributed to PA skills. Only expressive vocabulary knowledge entered into a relationship with word identification skills.

Denna litteraturstudie avser att sammanställa och redovisa vetenskapligt granskade artiklar som behandlar skillnader hos elever i matematiksvårigheter och elever i matematik- och lässvårigheter. Studiens resultat visar att matematiksvårigheter och lässvårigheter är beroende av varandra. Resultatet påvisade skillnader hos elever i matematiksvårigheter jämfört med elever i läs- och matematiksvårigheter i deras arbetsminne, fonologiska medvetenhet och problemlösningsförmåga. Det finns även stöd från forskningen att elever i matematik- och lässvårigheter har signifikant sämre resultat i arbetsminne, fonologisk medvetenhet och problemlösningsförmåga. / This literature study intends to compile and narrate peer-reviewed articles about mathematics teaching. These articles that is compiled to cultivate the differences there is between students with mathematics disabilities and students with mathematic disabilities and reading disabilities. The result of this study demonstrates differences in working memory, phonological awareness, and problem solving in students with mathematic disabilities compared to students with both mathematics disabilities and reading disabilities. The most significant factor in the literature is that students who have both mathematical disabilities and reading disabilities have significantly lower results in working memory, phonological awareness, and problem solving.

The present study investigated variability in the remedial outcomes of 105 adolescents with reading disabilities who participated in PHAST PACES, a research-based reading intervention with a strong attributional retraining focus. The study focussed on the impact of three conative functions—intrinsic motivation, attributions, and effortful control—and their relationships with reading skill and reading growth. It was hypothesized that, following PHAST PACES, students would demonstrate improvement on reading outcomes, increased intrinsic motivation for reading, a shift from maladaptive to adaptive attributions, and improved effortful control. Students demonstrated significant gains on reading and effortful control measures following PHAST PACES intervention. The intrinsic motivation and attributional profiles of students did not improve. Students who performed best on reading measures at pre- and post-test made attributions of success to ability and avoided attributions of failure to ability, while reporting high perceived competence for reading, and demonstrating good effortful control.

The present study investigated variability in the remedial outcomes of 105 adolescents with reading disabilities who participated in PHAST PACES, a research-based reading intervention with a strong attributional retraining focus. The study focussed on the impact of three conative functions—intrinsic motivation, attributions, and effortful control—and their relationships with reading skill and reading growth. It was hypothesized that, following PHAST PACES, students would demonstrate improvement on reading outcomes, increased intrinsic motivation for reading, a shift from maladaptive to adaptive attributions, and improved effortful control. Students demonstrated significant gains on reading and effortful control measures following PHAST PACES intervention. The intrinsic motivation and attributional profiles of students did not improve. Students who performed best on reading measures at pre- and post-test made attributions of success to ability and avoided attributions of failure to ability, while reporting high perceived competence for reading, and demonstrating good effortful control.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how active teachers in grades k–3 can work actively to prevent reading difficulties. The purpose is also to investigate what early signs teachers can be observant of in terms of early reading learning associated with reading difficulties. My theoretical point of departure is based on the socio-cultural perspective in which learning takes place in a community with others based on the individual's conditions. I have also assumed the concept of literacy, which means that individuals can read, write, understand and draw conclusions in such an acceptable way that everyday situations work. The informants are active teachers in grades k–3. The study shows what signs the teachers are observant of, for example that students do not hear syllables, cannot rhyme, nor see word pictures. They write letters backwards, pronounce the sounds wrong and change or remove endings. Furthermore, the study shows how the respondents identify students with difficulties in early years by personalizing the teaching according to the student`s needs. Additional findings include the importance of having a good background knowledge of different reading difficulties and the importance of preventive work. The results also show other factors that counteract reading difficulties such as the classroom climate, the importance of getting the right information at handover from the teacher in preschool class and the importance of reading aloud. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur verksamma lärare i årskurs f–3 kan arbeta aktivt med att förebygga lässvårigheter. Syftet är även att undersöka vilka tidiga tecken som lärare kan vara observanta på när det gäller den tidiga läsinlärningen kopplat till lässvårigheter. Mina teoretiska utgångspunkter grundar sig i det sociokulturella perspektivet där lärande sker i gemenskap med andra utifrån individernas förutsättningar. Jag har även utgått ifrån begreppet literacy vilket innebär att individer ska kunna, läsa, skriva, förstå och dra slutsatser på ett så pass godtagbart sätt att vardagssituationer fungerar. Urvalsgruppen är verksamma lärare i årskurs f–3. Studiens resultat visar vilka tecken respondenterna är observanta på, så som att eleverna inte hör stavelser, inte kan rimma eller se ordbilder, att de vänder på bokstäver, säger fel ljud och ändrar eller utelämnar ändelser. Vidare visar resultatet hur respondenterna fångar upp elever med lässvårigheter i tidig ålder genom att individanpassa undervisningen utefter elevens behov. Studien visar även på vikten av att ha en bra bakgrundskunskap till olika lässvårigheter och hur viktigt det förebyggande läsinlärningsarbetet är. Resultatet visar även andra faktorer som motverkar lässvårigheter så som klassrumsklimat och vikten av att få rätt information vid överlämningen från förskoleklassen samt högläsningens betydelse.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur lärare beskriver sitt arbete med elever i lässvårigheter i svenskämnet samt hur de ser på sambandet mellan lässvårigheter och bristande motivation. Syftet besvaras med hjälp av forskningsfrågorna: Vad anser lärare att begreppet lässvårigheter innebär? Vilka arbetssätt använder lärare för att stödja elever i lässvårigheter i undervisningen? Hur bedömer lärare att elevers motivation i skolan påverkas av elevens lässvårigheter? Studien har ett sociokulturellt perspektiv samt att det relationella perspektivet inom det specialpedagogiska perspektivet finns med då eleven inte ses som problembäraren i studien.  Undersökningen utgörs av kvalitativa intervjuer där fem lärares arbete med elever i lässvårigheter har undersökts. För att analysera intervjuerna har ett fenomenografiskt angreppssätt antagits för att analysera lärarnas olika uppfattningar i förhållande till forskningsfrågorna och därmed få ett resultat. Det framkom i resultatet att lässvårigheter enligt lärarna innefattar brister i avkodning, fonologisk medvetenhet, läsförståelse, läsflyt, läshastighet och läslust. Detta är ett resultat av vad alla lärare sagt. Ingen lärare har alltså nämnt alla dessa faktorer som bidragande faktorer till lässvårigheter. Lärarna använder både beprövade metoder som Bornholmsmodellen och mindre beprövade metoder som Att skriva sig till läsning (ASL) samt olika pedagogiska material för att stötta elever i lässvårigheter Enligt lärarna kan lässvårigheter leda till att eleverna får bristande motivation i skolan. Bristande motivation är något som även kan påverka elevens självkänsla och därmed påverka elevens prestationer i alla ämnen i skolan.

Denna studie handlar om läsinlärning, läsutveckling, och lässvårigheter med fokus på de svagare eleverna. Syftet är att undersöka och beskriva hur lärare arbetar med läsningens olika delar i skolan. Syftet berör även läsinlärning- och läsutvecklingens olika steg och hur lärare arbetar praktiskt med läsningen i skolan och lässvårigheter för elever, samt hur lärare arbetar med de nämnda eleverna. Mitt val av metod är intervjuer och jag har intervjuat tre lärare som är verksamma i årskurserna F–3 med fokus på de ovan nämnda inriktningarna kring läsning. Även en specialpedagog intervjuades för att få en bredare syn på och kunskap inom just lässvårigheter. Resultatet visade sig att vid läsinlärning, läsutveckling och lässvårigheter stämmer det väldigt bra överens med vad tidigare forskning och litteraturen anser kring läsning hos elever. Till exempel att elevers inlärning utvecklas väldigt bra om lärare lär ut på ett lekfullt och lustfyllt sätt. / This study is about learning to read, reading development, and reading disabilities with focus on the weaker students. The purpose is to investigate and describe how teachers work with the various parts of reading development in school. The purpose also concerns different steps in the learning procedure of reading and how teachers practice this in the classroom, with the main focus on pupils with reading disabilities. My choice of method are interviews and I have interviewed three teachers who work in grades F–3 focusing on the above-mentioned reading directions. A special educator was also interviewed to gain a broader view and knowledge about reading disabilities. After analyzing the data one conclusion is that the result is very consistent with earlier studies and research regarding learning to read, reading development and reading disabilities. For example, pupils’ learning develops very well if the teachers learn in a playful and pleasing way.

Studies of preschool children have shown early speech and language deficits in children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP). For some children, the deficits during kindergarten diminish as they begin school while some children continue to show delays. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between speech and language skills and early reading skills of phonological awareness, letter identification, and rapid naming in children with and without CLP. The subjects, four kindergarten children with and four without CLP, were administered a battery of speech, language, early reading skills, and nonverbal cognition measures. Two-way analysis of variance for groups and matched pairs and correlational analyses were performed. The results revealed that the cleft group performed poorer than the noncleft group on most of the speech, language, and early reading measures. Significant correlations were found between the speech and grammatical language measures and the early reading measures.