The Effect of Consistent Structured Reading Instruction on High and Low Literacy Achievement in Young Children who are Blind

2009 ◽  
Vol 103 (10) ◽  
pp. 595-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wall Emerson ◽  
Debbie Sitar ◽  
Jane N. Erin ◽  
Diane P. Wormsley ◽  
Stephanie Leigh Herlich
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Literacy Achievement ◽  
Low Literacy

Young Children's Reading Behaviors in Various Classroom Contexts

1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen McIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Reading Behaviors ◽  
Affective Characteristics ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Instructional Settings

This is a study of classroom context and how it shapes children's beginning reading behaviors. Three first-grade children were observed and tape-recorded twice weekly during reading instruction for the first 10 weeks of school. Patterns of reading behaviors emerged through a constant comparison of conditions under which each of the behaviors occurred. The three children in this study learned to interpret the various classroom reading contexts and their responses reflected the conditions of each. The salient conditions included: (a) the instruction, (b) the implicit and explicit rules for functioning within that context, (c) the texts the children read, and (d) the physical and affective characteristics of the context. The differences in the contexts were often quite subtle, yet children followed instructional foci and read accordingly. It was evident that some behaviors occurred across contexts, whereas others did not. For example, children did not transfer many of the skills they were able to employ during the direct instructional settings to unguided reading time. Implications for theory and practice are offered to explain the reading behaviors of the young children.

scholarly journals Foundation phase educators' knowledge and attitudes towards implementation of the National Reading Strategy

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Prabitha Singh
Keyword(s):  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Zone Of Proximal Development ◽  
Reading Strategy ◽  
Teaching Reading ◽  
Proximal Development ◽  
Low Literacy ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude

In response to the alarmingly low literacy rates in South Africa and to improve reading instruction in schools, the National Department of Education introduced the National Reading Strategy (NRS) in primary schools in 2008. The NRS was developed for educators from grades R to 9 to facilitate reading literacy but foundation phase educators are faced with many challenges in implementing the NRS which include among others: teaching or facilitating reading in English in their multicultural, multilingual classrooms where the majority of their learners do not speak English as a first language; catering for different levels of understanding and proficiency in the language of instruction and reading within time-table and resource constraints; and adapting to changing curricula and requirements without receiving training to do so. In the absence of training, educators are left to interpret the NRS on their own. Recognising that the above factors impact on performance in the classroom this study investigated foundation phase educators’ knowledge and attitudes towards implementation of the NRS. Grounded within a social constructivist paradigm and underpinned by Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development, this study used a mixed methods approach to gather both qualitative and quantitative data from foundation phase educators and learners in the Phoenix-North region in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Questionnaires were administered to foundation phase educators to gather data to determine their knowledge and attitude towards implementing the National Reading Strategy. Focus group discussions were conducted with learners to establish the effect of educators’ implementation of the NRS on their “actual level” of development in terms of reading. Analysis of data revealed that despite a relatively positive attitude towards teaching reading, educators’ level of confidence to implement the NRS was low as many of them were teaching reading in their second language. In the absence of training workshops and professional development, there was conflict between educators’ existing knowledge and the requirements of the NRS. This study also found that educators’ knowledge and attitudes towards implementation of the NRS had a direct impact on learners’ reading progress as they are dependent on the educator for guidance and assistance within their zone of proximal development. Based on the findings, this study developed a training framework towards vi improving foundation phase educators’ knowledge and attitudes in order to facilitate reading and implementation of the NRS.

scholarly journals SpLD - Silent Learning Difficulties? Factors influencing literacy learning of Māori students, as identified by teachers, SENCo, and parents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Catherine Smallbone
Keyword(s):  
Oral Language ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Literacy Achievement ◽  
Unconscious Bias ◽  
Low Literacy ◽  
Special Education Needs ◽  
Specific Learning

<p>This qualitative research study, conducted in primary English-medium schools in a mid-sized, central New Zealand city, uses mixed-methods to investigate the factors that teachers, special education needs coordinators (SENCo), and parents identify as influencing Māori student literacy learning. It looks at the prevalence of discourse around specific learning difficulties (SpLD), and whether the different parties consider SpLD as a potential reason behind low literacy achievement among Māori students. The motive for the study is to begin a conversation around the possibility of SpLD being overlooked in favour of socio-cultural understandings of literacy learning. It uses a critical theory lens and touches on the potential influence of unconscious bias amongst participant teachers. Data collection methods included an online survey, sent to all of the schools in the area for teaching staff to complete, interviews conducted with teachers and SENCo, both online and in person, and focus groups with groups of parents, in neutral and welcoming environments. There are three significant findings, and the study concludes that teachers, SENCo, and parents tend to look for social and cultural causes where there is low literacy achievement amongst Māori students. The three main findings are that teachers look ‘outwards’, to influences on literacy learning such as socioeconomic status, transiency, home background, and oral language development. Secondly, both teacher and parent participants generally do not consider specific learning difficulties as one of the main influences on literacy learning. There seems to be a lack of confidence amongst teachers in supporting students who have been identified as having a SpLD. The final major finding was that teachers, SENCo, and parents all agreed on and promoted the importance and value of relationships between teacher and child, and whānau as underpinning the student’s learning.</p>

Designing and Implementing an Early Literacy Screening Protocol

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Justice ◽  
Marcia A. Invernizzi ◽  
Joanne D. Meier
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
Literacy Intervention ◽  
Literacy Achievement ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Early Literacy Intervention ◽  
Screening Protocol ◽  
Guide Intervention

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2001) recently asserted that speech-language pathologists can and should play an important role in promoting literacy for young children with communicative impairments. Early literacy screening provides a valuable tool for speech-language pathologists to use for the timely detection of difficulties in literacy achievement. In addition, results of early literacy screening can be used to guide intervention and instruction. This article provides a rationale for incorporating early literacy screening into service delivery. It also makes recommendations for determining which children and what areas of literacy should be targeted in screening activities. Suggestions for interpreting findings are also provided, as are strategies for using screening to guide early literacy intervention.

scholarly journals SpLD - Silent Learning Difficulties? Factors influencing literacy learning of Māori students, as identified by teachers, SENCo, and parents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Catherine Smallbone
Keyword(s):  
Oral Language ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Literacy Achievement ◽  
Unconscious Bias ◽  
Low Literacy ◽  
Special Education Needs ◽  
Specific Learning

<p>This qualitative research study, conducted in primary English-medium schools in a mid-sized, central New Zealand city, uses mixed-methods to investigate the factors that teachers, special education needs coordinators (SENCo), and parents identify as influencing Māori student literacy learning. It looks at the prevalence of discourse around specific learning difficulties (SpLD), and whether the different parties consider SpLD as a potential reason behind low literacy achievement among Māori students. The motive for the study is to begin a conversation around the possibility of SpLD being overlooked in favour of socio-cultural understandings of literacy learning. It uses a critical theory lens and touches on the potential influence of unconscious bias amongst participant teachers. Data collection methods included an online survey, sent to all of the schools in the area for teaching staff to complete, interviews conducted with teachers and SENCo, both online and in person, and focus groups with groups of parents, in neutral and welcoming environments. There are three significant findings, and the study concludes that teachers, SENCo, and parents tend to look for social and cultural causes where there is low literacy achievement amongst Māori students. The three main findings are that teachers look ‘outwards’, to influences on literacy learning such as socioeconomic status, transiency, home background, and oral language development. Secondly, both teacher and parent participants generally do not consider specific learning difficulties as one of the main influences on literacy learning. There seems to be a lack of confidence amongst teachers in supporting students who have been identified as having a SpLD. The final major finding was that teachers, SENCo, and parents all agreed on and promoted the importance and value of relationships between teacher and child, and whānau as underpinning the student’s learning.</p>

scholarly journals Afrikaanse taalvariasie: Uitdagings vir regverdige meting van jong kinders se taal

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frenette Southwood ◽  
Helena Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Low Literacy ◽  
Parent Questionnaire ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Parental Questionnaire ◽  
Communicative Gestures ◽  
School Careers

Approximately 5% of children show a language delay (Law, Boyle, Harris, Harkness and Nye 2000), and there are indications that this figure is higher in South Africa, especially amongst very young children (Van der Linde, Swanepoel, Sommerville, Glascoe, Vinck and Louw 2016). There are no adequate instruments with which to ascertain which young Afrikaans-speaking children will require assistance to overcome future language-related academic problems. This article reports on the challenges experienced owing to Afrikaans language variation during the development of a parent questionnaire with which the language acquisition of young children can be measured. This questionnaire comprises questions on early developing communicative gestures, first words, and early grammatical constructions, and parents are requested to indicate on the list which gestures, words and constructions their child comprehends and/or produces. The length of the questionnaire needs to be contained, because the completion of the questionnaire should remain a realistic task for parents, also for those with low literacy levels. Decisions regarding the inclusion or exclusion on the questionnaire of the words found in specific varieties of Afrikaans are however often not straightforward. Existing language assessment instruments the world over typically discriminate against children who are not part of the dominant culture and language community. Given South Africa’s stained history with regard to the recognition of speakers of non-standardised language varieties (cf., e.g., Hendricks 2012; Williams 2016), the compiling of a valid parental questionnaire is non-negotiable. It is thus necessary to consider carefully which words should appear on the list, because a good parental questionnaire can contribute to culturally and linguistically fair language assessment of young Afrikaans-speaking children. Such a questionnaire will assist in identifying children who struggle to acquire their language and who need extra assistance in order for their language to improve sufficiently before the commencement of their school careers. That way, they will have a better chance of accessing the curriculum, of experiencing academic success, and of having a sufficiently long school career to realise their potential.

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