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.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 46-47). Also available in print.

Sweden's changing demographics, due to recent migrations in the last fifty years, have affected the Swedish educational system and Sweden's language policy. Funding for special education in Sweden regarding its minority populations is on the decline. Previous forced linguistic assimilation has occurred in Sweden among the Finnish population to the proven detriment of Finnish children. Today, Sweden faces similar value assessments regarding its immigrant language programs, bilingual education, and immigrant rights. The theoretical framework behind a "new" form of preschool education being implemented within Sweden will be explored. As the children in the Botkyrka sprakforskola undergo an immersion foreign language program, they are denied access to bilingual education. The sprakforskola's strategy, to assimilate the children into Swedish society through language training, is met with resistance among individual children, stemming from certain cultural groups, who actively determine their own language shift or language maintenance. Final recommendations in the conclusion stress the valuing of individual and cultural choice. / Graduation date: 2001

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (Faculty of Education) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (EdD)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX220429.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 17, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Todd VanPool. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Advisers: Erica McClure; Wayne Dickerson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-183) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> Each year hundreds of foreign-born and other non-native English speakers (NNS) enroll in U.S. public community colleges. More than 40% of these applicants do not pass the entrance exams and are then directed to take a series of noncredit courses before entering the mainstream freshmen composition. The word mainstream refers to the regularly credited courses that one takes to earn credits towards one&rsquo;s certificate or degree program. There are studies comparing the non-native speakers (NNS) to native English speakers (NNS) in the freshmen composition class. Other studies examine the mainstream writing class from the NNS student writer&rsquo;s point of view. However, there is no literature that discusses the placement of the NNS student in the developmental course from the perspectives of the NNS student, the developmental writing instructor, and the administrator. By interviewing NNS students in the developmental writing class, community college staff, faculty, and administrators who interact with these students, we gain multiple perspectives about the placement of this population in the developmental writing class. The results of this study inform community college educators that some NNS students in developmental writing courses may have detoured from the mainstream path with little regard for some of their cognitive, affective, or linguistic needs.</p>

<p> The purpose of this empirical-phenomenological study was to reveal the lived experiences of monolingual Southeast Texas intermediate mathematics teachers who instruct ELL students. The study addressed a lack of knowledge about ELL mathematics instruction by monolingual teachers. The first theme pertained to complex mathematical word problems that represent linguistic challenges leading to student text anxiety. The second theme encompassed the linguistic assumptions by teaching staff that include assumptions about the language of mathematics and assumptions about ELL language acquisition. The third theme stemmed from the expressed demographic changes involving ELL students in the mathematics classroom that included changes in classroom climate. The fourth theme revolved around the challenges the teachers identified regarding communication with parents of ELL students. The fifth theme pertained to the high pressure that teachers expressed from administration and the general community to improve strategies for ELL mathematics instruction and testing. The sixth theme reflected teachers' interests in better professional development programs for ELL mathematics instruction. The seventh theme emerged from teachers' expressions about instructional strategies, with focus on key words in mathematics and the breakdown of complex mathematical word problems. Recommendations for leadership and suggestions for future research stemmed from these findings. </p>