Morphology Matters, but What Do Teacher Candidates Know About It?

Skilled reading is a complex process in which many subskills are involved, including an awareness of the morphological structure of language. Morphological awareness is the ability to understand how words are broken into meaningful units (e.g., affixes, root words). Explicit and systematic teaching of morphological concepts are reported to help striving readers, particularly those in upper elementary, middle, and secondary grades, with reading. To teach morphological concepts and their relation to reading, teachers need to have both awareness and knowledge of morphology. In the present study, general and special education teachers’ knowledge of morphological concepts are examined. Results indicate that teachers, regardless of type of certification (general vs. special education) or grade level (elementary vs. secondary), have difficulty identifying morphemes in both simple and complex words. Suggestions for what and how teacher educators can integrate the teaching of morphological concepts into teacher preparation contexts are provided.

Young Readers Transpetro Program: The Sustainable Development of Community Close to a Pipeline in Goia´s, Brazil

A person reading an average of sixteen books per year is considered high even in so-called First World countries. This achievement is even more remarkable if it is performed by children of low-income families. An example is the participants of PETI, Child Labor Eradication Program of Jardim Canedo, a neighborhood located over part of the Sa˜o Paulo - Brasi´lia Pipeline, situated in Senador Canedo, Goia´s, Brazil. In 2007 this community experienced the Striving Readers Transpetro Program, which aims to develop a taste for reading among children. Transpetro expects to be helping to overcome the low-quality Brazilian education, reflected in the 72% rate of functional illiteracy. The chief objective of the Program is the development of art education workshops and the creation of the “Readers Group - What story is that?”. The workshops are meant for the educators, with the purpose of offering tools form them to spur the children into reading through techniques such as story-telling, theater, singing, puppet shows, set constructions and other audio visual resources. The Readers Group is intended for children. Participation is voluntary and offers literary books according to the childs’ taste and literacy. In the first year of operation, Striving Readers Transpetro Program relied on the participation of 100% of the educators in the Art Education Workshops and a commitment of 93% of the Readers Group members. It also played a part in the improvement of the childrens performance in formal school. Furthermore, the Program contributed to the mapping of libraries available for PETI members, supported the assembly of a catalogue of institutes that sponsor striving readers programs and performed workshops with the technical staff at selected institutes to educate them on how to conduct fund raising. Such actions, as a whole, ensured sustainability to the program and promoted a company relationship with the community and with the Regulatory Authority. This is a socially responsible approach to ensuring childrens’ rights are met.