Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University.

Accurate and rapid word recognition requires highly-specified phonological, orthographic, and semantic word-specific representations. It has been established that children acquire these representations through phonological decoding in a process known as orthographic learning. Studies examining orthographic learning and its predictors have thus far focused on monosyllabic words. It is unclear whether the findings of these studies—especially, those related to the role phonological decoding, orthographic knowledge, and contextual semantic information play in orthographic learning—can be generalized to polysyllabic words. A large number of the polysyllabic words children encounter in content-area texts is morphologically complex. Yet, examining the role of morphology in the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words is still in its infancy. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of morphology and context (two sources of semantic information) in the acquisition of whole-word representations of polysyllabic words in children with and without reading difficulty. A total of 73 fourth and fifth grade children participated in this study. The children read 12 disyllabic pseudowords presented in isolation or in context. An orthographic choice task and a spelling task measured children’s orthographic learning three days later. A battery of standardized and researcher designed tests measured children’s phonological decoding skill, orthographic knowledge, and morphological knowledge. Data were analyzed using mixed-design analysis of variance and multiple linear regression. The results of this study showed that morphology facilitated the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words in the spelling task but not in the orthographic choice task. The results also showed that context interfered with the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words, irrespective of their morphological structure. Context interference appeared to vary by children’s reading skill—that is, context appeared to interfere with the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words in struggling readers and children with reading difficulty but not in typically achieving children. The results also showed that, controlling for phonological decoding and orthographic knowledge, morphological knowledge contributed to the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words, irrespective of children’s reading skill. Implications for polysyllabic word reading instruction are discussed.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-05, Section: A, page: 2573. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1978.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, Section: A, page: 3212. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Despite the controversy about the term "disadvantaged", the term is used in this dissertation in order to coincide with Federal usage in conjunction with Chapter I guidelines. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the similarities and differences between the reading readiness test scores of disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged kindergarten students after the disadvantaged students received supplementary instruction in a Chapter I reading program. A second purpose was to determine if there were significant differences between the reading achievement of kindergarten students who attended classes in the morning and those students who attended classes in the afternoon. A third purpose was to determine if major demographic differences existed between the two groups. / The subjects were 53 disadvantaged and 65 nondisadvantaged students. The disadvantaged students were enrolled in a regular kindergarten class supplemented by a Chapter I reading program. The nondisadvantaged students were enrolled in a regular kindergarten class. The instruments used included the California Achievement Test and the Personal Data Sheet. / Twenty-three hypotheses were tested using the .05 alpha level as the criterion for the rejection of all hypotheses. The t test and the chi square test were used in the data analysis. / The major findings were: (1) after seven months of instruction, there was no significant difference between the mean reading scores of the two groups, (2) there was no significant difference between the mean reading scores of the morning disadvantaged and the afternoon disadvantaged, and (3) there was no significant difference in the mean reading scores of the morning nondisadvantaged and the afternoon disadvantaged students. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-12, Section: A, page: 3665. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The principle purposes of this study were: (1) to examine the relationship between the degree of superstitious beliefs held and the reading abilities of ninth and twelfth grade students in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina and (2) to examine the relationship between the degree of superstitious beliefs held by urban and rural subjects. / The study sample was composed of 657 ninth and twelfth grade students. They resided in Avery and Buncombe Counties in North Carolina. / No significant differences were found between ninth grade poor readers and twelfth grade poor readers and ninth grade good readers and twelfth grade good readers (Asheville only). However, a significant negative correlation (r = -.31) was found between the scores on the California Achievement Test, Reading Subtest and scores on the Test of Traditional Knowledge, Revised Edition. This correlation implies that as reading comprehension levels rise, the level of superstitious beliefs decreases. / The major findings of the study were: (1) Geographical area and reading comprehension level seem to demonstrate a greater effect on the level of superstitious beliefs than does years of schooling. (2) Levels of superstitious beliefs and reading comprehension levels are negatively associated. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-10, Section: A, page: 2982. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

A growing concern in elementary schools is how to bridge the gap between basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) so that limited-English-proficient (LEP) children may participate fully in an academic environment. However, many of the innovations in teaching children ESL have focused on the development of oral language (BICS) while neglecting innovations in literacy practices (CALP). If LEP students are to participate fully in an academic environment, they must be literate. Therefore, the development of reading comprehension skills is viewed as essential. / This study examined the cognitive span of questioning, i.e., levels of questioning, in ESL and L1 reading materials according to Barrett's taxonomy of reading comprehension skills, compared the levels of questioning following ESL reading passages with those following L1 reading passages, and analyzed the results of this comparison to determine whether a source of inadequate ESL reading comprehension skills exists. / The materials selected for this study included all Florida adopted series for ESOL grades K-6 (24 texts) and all adopted series for Reading, Basal Programs, grades 1, 3 and 5 (67 texts). A systematic sampling of reading comprehension questions and tasks were classified using the Barrett Taxonomy of Reading Comprehension. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to report and analyze findings. Total numbers of items classified into the four levels of the taxonomy, into each subcategory of the taxonomy, and for each publisher and text in a program were reported for ESOL and basal texts. The scale of measurement for all variables was nominal. / Analysis of the data revealed significant differences in levels of questioning between the ESOL and basal reading series, with the ESOL series containing a very limited number of higher-level tasks. This gap between the comprehension tasks required in the ESL reading class and the mainstream reading class might be a factor in overall literacy levels and/or in the cognitive rigors of the two sets of language arts materials. If ESL reading comprehension instruction could parallel the requirements of the L1 reading curriculum, the legislatively mandated need for ESL students to be mainstreamed might be more effectively and efficiently achieved. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-05, Section: A, page: 1162. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The trope density of the Newbery Bronze Medal winners and the selected Advanced Teacher's Choices books (1983-1985) was studied to determine the most common type of trope found in each of the eight prize-winning children's literature books. The readability level of each Newbery Bronze Medal winner and each selected Advanced Teacher's Choice was studied. The investigator utilized eight advanced children's literature books in seeking answers to the following questions. / Is there is significant difference between the trope density of the Newbery Bronze Medal Award books and the Advanced Teacher's Choices Books? Is there a significant difference in the readability levels of the two categories of books? Is there a significant relationship between readability levels and trope densities? Is there a significant difference in the trope types found in the Newbery Bronze Medal Award Books and the Teacher's Choices Books? These are the questions this investigator sought to answer in this study. / The four hypotheses were tested by using the following: (1) The Mann-Whitney U Test for small samples was employed for hypotheses 1 and 2; (2) The Spearman Rank Order Correlation was employed for hypothesis 3; (3) Chi-square and Binomial statistics were employed to test hypothesis 4. / No significant differences were found in the mean trope densities of the three Newbery Bronze and the five selected Advanced Teacher's Choices books. No significant differences were found in the readability levels of the three Newbery Bronze Medal Award Books and the five selected Advanced Teacher's Choices. However, a significant relationship between Award type and trope frequency was found. It was also found that the most frequently used trope was sense and the least used tropes were synecdoche, litote, and metonomy. / Further studies of metaphorical language should be conducted utilizing advanced fictional and nonfictional children literature books, pop literature, and newspapers. The readability levels of prize winning literature books, pop literature, and newspapers should be examined. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1717. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

An information processing model of reading comprehension accounts for influence over thought processes by the text (bottom-up variables) and the reader (top-down variables). Prior knowledge, a top-down variable, has been found to influence reading comprehension both in the quality and the quantity of what is remembered. In this study it was hypothesized that emotion, also a top-down variable, would affect reading comprehension in the same way as prior knowledge. To test this hypothesis the emotional orientation of passages was manipulated to determine the effect on the reader's comprehension. / First, a semantic differential was developed to measure fourth graders' feelings about passages. Then, 75 fourth graders read passages, freely recalled what they remembered, orally answered probe questions, and responded to the semantic differential. Each student read a total of three passages, each on a different topic (families, pets, and classrooms) and each with a different emotional context (positive, neutral, and negative). Transcripts of the free recall and probe question responses were scored for the percentage of correct responses. An analysis of variance using these two sets of scores yielded significant results. Linear regression using these two sets of scores and the scores from the semantic differential yielded significant results for two cases: (a) using probe question scores for negative passages only, and (b) using free recall scores for positive and negative passages together. Correlations conducted with comprehension scores and modified semantic differential scores were not significantly different from zero. Chi square tests to compare the recall of specific relationships were significant for four out of the ten relationships tested. / The findings of this study indicated that the emotional orientation of a passage has a stronger effect on the amount of information than on the kind of information recalled. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1721. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.