Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Volunteer One-on-One Tutoring Model for Early Elementary Reading Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial Replication Study

This study examines the impacts of two AmeriCorps programs, Minnesota Reading Corps and Wisconsin Reading Corps, where AmeriCorps volunteers provide literacy tutoring to at-risk kindergarten through third-grade (K–3) students utilizing a response-to-intervention framework. This evaluation replicates a prior randomized controlled trial evaluation of the program 4 years later and for the first time evaluates the program model replicated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The results of the two evaluations showed that kindergarten and first-grade students who received a single semester of Reading Corps tutoring achieved significantly higher literacy assessment scores, and demonstrated meaningful and significant effects after a full-school year of the intervention for second- and third-grade students.

Students’ Attitudes and Perception of Achievement in Reading Comprehension

This study aimed to investigate the students’ attitudes and perception of reading comprehension. Participants were fourth, fifth and sixth-grade students selected using random purposive sampling from three different classes in a public school (n=80) in Betong. This research using an explanatory mixed-method also aimed to determine whether students’ attitudes and perception significantly affect their reading comprehension. The data was gathered using Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) developed by McKenna and Kear, 1990, interview questions and the analysis on students’ performance in reading comprehension. The research findings showed no strong relationship between students’ attitudes and perception towards reading would affect their achievement in reading comprehension because students’ attitudes and perceptions are affected mainly by other factors.

Attitudes of Youth Toward Reading Before and After a Motivational Project

As part of an evaluation project assessing the impact of a specific reading motivation program in 30 schools (20 elementary, 10 middle), a longitudinal study of student reading attitudes was conducted using the nationally-tested Elementary Reading Attitude Survey instrument. The instrument tested both attitudes toward recreational reading and school reading. The results have implications for types o reading programs as well as book access and use of libraries.

Reading Habits of Freshmen of Gedu College of Business Studies

Aim: The main purpose of this study was to determine college students’ attitude towards reading against the backdrop of perceived poor habit of reading among Bhutanese students and evidences showing decline in attitude towards reading observed among students as they matured. Study Design: Descriptive survey. Place and Duration of the Study: Gedu College of Business Studies (GCBS), a constituent college under the Royal University of Bhutan, during the 2019 academic session. Methodology: The authors administered Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) questionnaire to 500 freshmen. Results: A descriptive statistical analysis of questionnaires returned revealed a positive attitude towards reading. Specifically, from the two types of reading, the respondents preferred recreational reading slightly more than the academic reading. In addition, an independent-samples t-test revealed a statistically significant attitudinal differences between genders towards reading. In both cases, female-respondents were found more positive towards both recreational and academic reading than their male counterparts. Conclusion: Analysis of the data revealed that the freshmen of GCBS held positive attitude towards reading with slight preference being given to recreational reading. Also, from the two genders, independent-samples t-test showed that females were more positive towards reading than males.

Teacher Preparation and Novice Teacher Self-Efficacy in Literacy Instruction

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which traditional and alternative preparation programs differ in terms of their program components, as well as whether program type was related to different levels of self-efficacy in novice reading teachers. This exploratory study collected data from 83 novice elementary reading teachers in a large urban district in Texas. We answered the research questions using t tests and correlation analysis. The results indicated that traditionally prepared teachers reported significantly higher levels of exposure to literacy teaching skills across their coursework and field work as well as higher levels of self-efficacy. We also found a significant but weak relationship between teachers’ level of self-efficacy and the level of literacy exposure they had in their coursework, and a significant and moderate relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and the level of literacy exposure they had through their field experiences.

In-Service Reading Teacher Efficacy

The complex task of teaching students to read well is one that in-service elementary teachers may not feel fully prepared for, as the methods for teaching reading have changed significantly in the last decade. As the research on explicit literacy instruction continues to expand, today’s teachers require specific training on how to effectively teach reading and move beyond the traditional basal reading curriculum. Additionally, the research showed that a teacher’s self-efficacy was a contributing factor in the actual implementation of new literacy instruction knowledge. This mixed method study examined the varying levels of self-efficacy from 36 in-service elementary reading teachers who were enrolled in a literacy education graduate program. The data suggested that in-service elementary reading teachers’ self-efficacy fluctuated greatly due to additional professional development, administration support, and their years of teaching experience. Understanding how these components impacted an in-service reading teacher’s self-efficacy was important, as previous research has shown that the level of teacher efficacy may have an impact on the effectiveness of their reading instruction and their students’ literacy achievement in the elementary classroom.