Looking closer at reading comprehension

Purpose Reading comprehension levels of elementary students have not significantly improved in the twenty-first century, and, as a result, the need for systematic and intensive reading interventions is as high as ever. Literacy clinics are an ideal setting for struggling readers to experience success through the implementation of a cyclical approach to individual assessment, planning, instruction and evaluation. Yet, additional research is needed to create current and relevant models of literacy clinics for today’s diverse learners. This paper aimed to measure the effects of an experimental approach to reading comprehension instruction for third graders within an off-campus literacy clinic; the intervention involved a scope and sequence of comprehension strategies in which students had to demonstrate skill mastery before progressing to the next skill. Design/methodology/approach This investigation used a classic controlled experiment design by randomly assigning half of the literacy clinic participants (30) to either a control or experimental group. The previous year-end’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores of the participants were used as indicators (or base lines) of each participant’s preexisting level of reading achievement. Findings There was a statistically higher achievement rate in the experimental group as measured by the CRCT statewide assessment with a Cohen’s effect size value (d = 0.79) suggested a moderate to high practical significance. Practical implications This study’s findings are relevant to those involved in literacy remediation, including literacy clinic directors, preservice educators and curriculum directors. Originality/value This paper is one of a kind in that it is the first to trial a scope and sequence of evidence-based comprehension strategies for comprehension improvement in primary school students. The findings call for major changes to thinking about how we improve students’ reading skills by focusing on depth rather than breadth.

Thinking like a School Technology Leader

School technology leaders can be school principals and assistant principals, teachers, technology specialists, professional development coordinators, central office administrators, curriculum directors, and a variety of others (or a composite of people) within a school. This chapter presents important issues for emerging school technology leaders to consider in understanding the technological culture and conditions in educational settings. The concepts and critical questions listed in this chapter are utilized to enhance readers’ abilities to begin thinking like a school technology leader and to successfully implement, manage, change, and lead technology in schools. These points are derived from over six decades of the authors’ collective experiences in leadership and educational technology. The “take-aways” for readers are practical, experience-based knowledge and critical, guiding questions. The propositions in this chapter are based on the concept of “leadership through inquiry” as school technology leaders attempt to better understand both “where they are” as well as “where they want to go” with technology in schools by learning how to ask the right questions and understand the technological status of a school.

Conceptions of Power Held by Educational Leaders: The Impact on Collaborative Decision-Making Processes

This article draws on a reanalysis of findings from two separate qualitative studies that examined a possible relationship between school board members’ and curriculum directors’ conceptions of power and the way they made decisions (Mountford, 2001; Ylimaki, 2001, respectively). The findings from both studies were then compared to the extant literature on collaborative decision making and inherent obstacles of power to sustained collaboration. The findings reveal a pattern among school board members’ and curriculum directors’ conceptions and enactments of power. This pattern of behavior can be used by educational leaders to increase their understanding about the role of power during collaborative decision making, minimize some of the obstacles of power to collaborative decision making, and build and sustain collaborative efforts of all kinds.

A Comparison of Curriculum Directors, Aspiring Curriculum Directors, and Faculty Members in Occupational Therapy

There is a shortage of qualified occupational therapy faculty members who are interested in becoming curriculum directors. This study presents the results of a mail survey used to compare the demographic, educational, and career characteristics of three groups involved with occupational therapy education: curriculum directors, faculty members interested in becoming curriculum directors, and faculty members not interested in becoming curriculum directors. Although the results of the survey do not show clear and distinct profiles for each of the three groups, interesting similarities and differences do exist. In general, differences between men and women were greater than differences between groups.

Morale of Curriculum Directors as Related to Perceptions of Leadership of Superintendents

209 curriculum directors in Georgia public schools responded to the School Administrator Morale Measure, a 9-variable scale, and the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, which measures perceptions of their superintendent's behavior in two dimensions, Consideration and Initiating Structure. A canonical R e of .72 was obtained with the subscale Superordinate Relations correlating .69 with Consideration. Few differences in morale or perceptions of leader's behavior due to sex, race, certification status, and length of service were found. On five subscales and the Total Morale measure, means were significantly higher for directors from small systems with those from medium and large systems having lower scores in that order. Initiating Structure of superintendents was perceived by directors as significantly higher than Consideration.