The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on reading achievement for middle school students after participation in a computer-based reading intervention program, READ 180, as well as the relationship of program participation to later dropout rates, compared to students enrolled in a traditional reading remediation program. A nonequivalent control group research design was used to examine data collected from 384 students in Grades 6 through 8 participating in reading interventions spanning a 3-year period from 2003 through 2006. Independent samples t test and chi-square statistics were used to analyze data to determine the yearly reading achievement mean gains, differences between the effects of the two reading interventions, and later dropout frequencies. There were no significant differences between the treatment and comparison groups in reading scores during the first year of READ 180 implementation. Computer software problems affected the implementation of READ 180 during the first semester of implementation. The findings reveal a statistically significant difference between the effects on reading achievement scores for students who participated in READ 180 when implemented with moderate fidelity compared to students in a traditional reading remediation program during the 2nd and 3rd years of implementation. The findings in this study revealed that an intensive reading intervention, READ 180, can significantly improve reading achievement for struggling adolescent readers when implemented with moderate fidelity. Analyses of the data revealed differences between the number of 2003-2004 reading intervention participants and the school division cohort dropout rates. A significant difference was not observed between the 2004-2006 cohort dropout rates when compared to the school division rates. The findings in this study will be beneficial to secondary principals who are held accountable for literacy development, implementation, and evaluation as the school instructional leader. / Ph. D.

I följande studie undersöks upplevelser och förväntningar mellan skola och hem gällande 15-åringars skönlitterära läsning. Med en sociokulturell ansats och utvecklingspsykologiska perspektiv studeras hur en grupp elever, lärare och vårdnadshavare upplever 15-åringars skönlitterära läsning, samt vilka förväntningar de uttrycker gentemot varandra i relation till den skönlitterära läsningen. Studien visar en summerande bild av informanternas upplevelse av ungdomarnas läsning, som till stor del stämmer överens med aktuell forskning, främst när det gäller bristen av läsning på fritiden och den digitala konkurrensen från sociala medier. Informanternas upplevelser av den skönlitterära läsning som sker i skolan är generellt positiv. Studiens vårdnadshavare visar dock ingen tydlig bild av ungdomarnas skönlitterära läsning och efterfrågar det inte heller. De beskriver snarare ett starkt förtroende för både elever och lärare. Informanternas förväntningar gentemot varandra är av olika karaktär och visar en tydlig tendens till frigörelse och självständighet mellan framför allt elever och vårdnadshavare. Förväntningarna mellan vårdnadshavare och lärare tyder på att kommunikationen kan stärkas för att både informera och utbilda vårdnadshavare om deras betydelse för elevernas intresse för läsning. Förväntningarna mellan elever och lärare är av mer konkret didaktisk karaktär och lärarna i sin tur ger snarare uttryck för förhoppningar och visioner när det gäller elevernas skönlitterära läsning. Sammanfattningsvis lyfter studien värdet av att vårdnadshavare blir mer medvetna om sin roll som läsande förebilder samt att kommunikationen mellan skola och hem är fortsatt viktig även i tonåren. Genom att se digitala medier som möjligheter kan kommunikationen mellan hem och skola stärkas även i äldre tonåren, vilket i sin tur kan ha positiv effekt på hemmets engagemang i frågan om tonåringars läsning och läsintresse.

Reading plays a significant role in society and currently there is worldwide pressure for higher literacy results. The focus of this thesis is reading motivation and how it relates to a learner's amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement since these problematic constructs are attracting the interest of researchers internationally. Researchers have investigated the relationships among these constructs with a variety of results. These relationships, however, have not yet been investigated in a South African context with Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers, and the only information available on the reading motivation of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers is information on their reading preferences in regard to literary texts. Hence the following three research aims were determined for this study: the compilation of a reading motivation profile of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers, the analysis of the relationships among Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers' reading motivation and their amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement in an Afrikaans Home Language environment, as well as the development of a reading motivation framework, particularly for use in the school and classroom environment, for these adolescent readers. The study was carried out in the post-positivistic research paradigm by means of a non-experimental quantitative research approach. Three methods of data collection were used, namely a structured questionnaire (based on the eleven reading motivation dimensions of Wigfield and Guthrie's (1997) Motivation for Reading Questionnaire, which for this purpose had been adapted for the South African context), two reading comprehension tests and obtaining the data regarding the academic achievement of the respondents. The 823 respondents that had participated in this study were the grade 9 learners (Afrikaans Home Language) of seven schools from the Dr Kenneth Kaunda district (North West Province, South Africa), selected by means of purposive sampling so that different quintiles and geographic areas were represented. Information obtained from a comprehensive literature study on relevant motivation theories, on reading motivation in practice and on the relationship among their reading motivation, amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement, as well as from the results of an empirical investigation of the reading motivation of specific grade 9 learners, was used to compile a reading motivation profile of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers. The motivation theories on which motivation in this study was based, were the social-cognitive theory, the self-efficacy theory, the ecological system theory of human development and the expectancy-value theory, because these theories emphasise the individual's behaviour within particular social contexts and because constructs such as self-efficacy, task value and mastery, which emanate from these theories, play a cardinal role in determining suitable reading motivation strategies for specific readers. It was essential to compile a reading motivation profile of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers before a reading motivation framework for these adolescent readers could be compiled. The reading motivation framework recommends specific reading motivation strategies various social role-players in the school and classroom environments can implement so as to improve Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers' reading motivation levels. The various social role-players that would influence the Afrikaans-speaking adolescent reader's reading motivation and the reading motivation strategies each of them could use, was systematised (namely the Department of Education, the school principal and management team, teachers and parents). The essence of the contribution made by this study is that a reading motivation profile of a group of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers (grade 9 learners) could be compiled, that clear mutual relationships among the respondents' reading motivation and their amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement came to the fore from this study and that a reading motivation framework could be developed by means of which to improve the reading motivation levels of these adolescent readers. / PhD (Curriculum Development, Innovation and Evaluation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Reading plays a significant role in society and currently there is worldwide pressure for higher literacy results. The focus of this thesis is reading motivation and how it relates to a learner's amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement since these problematic constructs are attracting the interest of researchers internationally. Researchers have investigated the relationships among these constructs with a variety of results. These relationships, however, have not yet been investigated in a South African context with Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers, and the only information available on the reading motivation of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers is information on their reading preferences in regard to literary texts. Hence the following three research aims were determined for this study: the compilation of a reading motivation profile of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers, the analysis of the relationships among Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers' reading motivation and their amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement in an Afrikaans Home Language environment, as well as the development of a reading motivation framework, particularly for use in the school and classroom environment, for these adolescent readers. The study was carried out in the post-positivistic research paradigm by means of a non-experimental quantitative research approach. Three methods of data collection were used, namely a structured questionnaire (based on the eleven reading motivation dimensions of Wigfield and Guthrie's (1997) Motivation for Reading Questionnaire, which for this purpose had been adapted for the South African context), two reading comprehension tests and obtaining the data regarding the academic achievement of the respondents. The 823 respondents that had participated in this study were the grade 9 learners (Afrikaans Home Language) of seven schools from the Dr Kenneth Kaunda district (North West Province, South Africa), selected by means of purposive sampling so that different quintiles and geographic areas were represented. Information obtained from a comprehensive literature study on relevant motivation theories, on reading motivation in practice and on the relationship among their reading motivation, amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement, as well as from the results of an empirical investigation of the reading motivation of specific grade 9 learners, was used to compile a reading motivation profile of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers. The motivation theories on which motivation in this study was based, were the social-cognitive theory, the self-efficacy theory, the ecological system theory of human development and the expectancy-value theory, because these theories emphasise the individual's behaviour within particular social contexts and because constructs such as self-efficacy, task value and mastery, which emanate from these theories, play a cardinal role in determining suitable reading motivation strategies for specific readers. It was essential to compile a reading motivation profile of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers before a reading motivation framework for these adolescent readers could be compiled. The reading motivation framework recommends specific reading motivation strategies various social role-players in the school and classroom environments can implement so as to improve Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers' reading motivation levels. The various social role-players that would influence the Afrikaans-speaking adolescent reader's reading motivation and the reading motivation strategies each of them could use, was systematised (namely the Department of Education, the school principal and management team, teachers and parents). The essence of the contribution made by this study is that a reading motivation profile of a group of Afrikaans-speaking adolescent readers (grade 9 learners) could be compiled, that clear mutual relationships among the respondents' reading motivation and their amount of reading, reading comprehension and academic achievement came to the fore from this study and that a reading motivation framework could be developed by means of which to improve the reading motivation levels of these adolescent readers. / PhD (Curriculum Development, Innovation and Evaluation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014