Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Literacy development”

The development of fluent reading requires coordinated development of key fiber pathways. While several fiber pathways have been implicated in reading, including the recently re-identified vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), arcuate fasciculus and its 3 components, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), whether these fiber pathways support reading in young children with little to no exposure to print remains poorly understood. Consequently, over the course of three studies, the current dissertation aimed to narrow this research gap by addressing the following research questions: 1) Which fiber pathways support early literacy skill in young children 5-10 years old? 2) Are microstructural properties of these tracts predictive of age-related changes in reading across an interval of two years? 3) Do different components of the recently identified VOF differentially support reading? To answer these questions, we used diffusion-weighted imaging to measure white-matter development and to relate the microstructural properties of each fiber pathway to early literacy and literacy development. We report several novel findings that contribute to our growing understanding of the white matter connections supporting early literacy and literacy. For the first time, these studies revealed that the re-identified VOF can be reliably tracked in young children, bilaterally and is composed of three main components, which project from occipital temporal sulcus to angular, and middle and superior occipital gyri. We also found that the left AF, bilateral ILF, and particular components of the VOF play a role in early literacy and literacy development. Implications for contemporary models of reading development are discussed.

This research is concerned with investigating literacy development in the foster placement and the role and contribution of the foster carer in that development. Historical research shows the family (and that includes the foster family), as providing the literacy foundations for future academic success in school. Many studies have shown that Looked After children fare poorly in mainstream education, so our understanding of the literacy practices within the foster placement needs now to be advanced. This investigation presents the findings of a survey and structured and unstructured interviews, which were identified as the most appropriate methodologies to fulfil the research objectives. The questionnaire design elicited the degree of literacy awareness and activity in the foster placement, followed by interview schedules that allowed deeper meanings to be assigned to the more measured survey results. As the research area is a newly developing field a grounded theory approach was employed. The results of this research offer indications that literacy development within the foster placement is taking place, and explanations are offered about the way foster carers are instrumental in equipping Looked After children with 'literacy life skills'. Foster carers do feel a responsibility towards developing literacy in the home and provide a range of literacy-based opportunities, yet a more thorough, appropriate training would raise a heightened awareness in foster carers of what more they could do to utilise more flilly the materials they provide, and at the same time, develop their own literacy needs and confidence in supporting literacy development in the foster placement. Institutional weaknesses also prevent fiarther development in this area. The implications of this research mean that developing literacy in foster placement will only become common practice when the pivotal role of the foster carers in raising educational achievement (both for themselves and their Looked After children) is acknowledged by all, when resources to make it possible are in place, and when foster carers are suitably trained.

The study concerns on the assessment of early literacy development of children aged three to five years. A review of research into the assessment of early literacy, a consideration of purposes of literacy assessment and a survey of practice in schools revealed the need for new measures of literacy development that are in step with current research into literacy development in the preschool years. The study addressed six questions: 1. How is early literacy development currently assessed by teachers? 2. What is the focus of teachers' early literacy assessment? 3. What are teachers' purposes for assessing early literacy development? 4. What are teachers' needs in terms of assessment of early literacy development? 5. How can researchers better assess early literacy development? 6. Can early literacy development assessment instruments developed for researchers also be useful to teachers? Questions 1-4 were investigated through an interview survey of 30 schools. Question 5, the major research question of the thesis, was researched through the development and trialling of a new measure, the Early Literacy Development Profile. Teachers' views gathered during the trial were used to answer question 6. The major outcome of the study is a new measure, the Early Literacy Development Profile. This is intended for those research studies which require a measure which results in a statistical outcome (specifically, experimental studies involving comparison of groups of children, comparison of methods and comparison between age spans). Other outcomes include: a basis for the development of a new measure~ a review of the literature on early literacy assessment and a delineation of the purposes of assessment in this area. Three lines of future research emerge: further development and evaluation of the Profile~ comparisons with other measures; use of the Profile in studies involving comparisons between groups, methods and age spans.

This thesis comprised an investigation of literacy development and literacy difficulties in the context of bilingualism involving 479s ix to thirteen year old children bilingual in two languages The children in this study were required to learn literacy in two writing systems namely Filipino and English.' Me context of concurrent earning and a bilingual background provided a unique context for studying biliteracy development and difficulties. Additionally variations in the orthographio complexity between e two scripts( Filipino is transparent, whilst English is complex) allowed an assessment of current cross-language perspective ins literacy difficulties. The main aim of the research was to investigate cognitive and linguistic factors that are related to literacy difficulties in a bilingual population. This was achieved via two additional ims:i e, to understand the development of, and the skills involved in , literacy acquisition. This required assessment of the impact of processes within and between the languages of literacy. 'Me results in dicate that the predominant theories on literacy developmengte nerated on the basiso f monolingual English-speaking cohortd o not explain literacyp rocesses amongt he bilingual-biliterate children in this study. Although predictions base do n these theories found some support in the English based data, the were inconsistent with the data produced by the same children in Filipino. The second main conclusion asserttsh at the central processing hypothesis and the script dependent hypothesis are complementary explanations of bilingual reading. Although development seems to progressa t different rates underlyings kills in literacys how a high degree of crosslanguage interdependence Finally, in examining literacy difficulties a mongth e children in this study, it was found that group c omparisondsi d not provides ufficientb asisto characterise ingle word literacy difficulties Howevert he analysiys of single cases indicated different manifestations of literacy difficulties across the two languages These findings1 )indicate that illiteracy resents a fundamentally different context in which to investigate and assess literacy difficulties2, ) highlight the importance of assessments in all languages of literacy and3 ) demonstrate the need to assesm sore than single word processing deficits, particularly when dealing with a highly transparent writing system.

Although prior research has shown that parental involvement positively affects a child's literacy development, attention should also be directed to the factors that keep parents from being involved in their children's education. The study reported in this dissertation examined five factors: socioeconomic status, level of education, employment, culture, and language that may be influential in parental assistance of their children's literacy development in the home. The data sources for this investigation included interview responses and a demographic survey. Data from 17 parents, each from a different household, and each with a child in kindergarten were obtained and used for the study. For analyses of these data, content analysis was used to identify similar themes among the interview responses and the demographic survey. Results indicated the following: (1) the time parents spent assisting their child with literacy activities was affected by long work hours, (2) parents with a yearly income of $25,000 or less were unable to provide additional literacy materials for their children, (3) lack of multicultural literature caused culturally diverse parents to feel devalued, and (4) parents who did not speak English fluently lacked the strategies to assist their children in completing English literacy homework. The findings suggest there are significant factors in the home environment that impact the quality and amount of literacy activities that parents provide for their children. In order for teachers to support parents in providing for their children's literacy development, they need to be aware of these factors. In addition, teachers should be culturally sensitive by including multicultural literature in the curriculum.

We only need to consider public media reports to appreciate that there is growing concern amongst citizens for sustainability. This concern arises from increasing appreciation that the current direction and rate of exploitation of resources is not sustainable and humanity's actions today are arguably compromising future generations' ability to meet their living needs. By drawing on the research of scientists, ranging from their evidence of the problems of sustainability to those promising solutions, the same press reports show strong links between sustainability and science. The appearance of such reports in the public media implies that citizens understand the interaction of science and sustainability and that they can engage critically with scientific research, including its applications and implications for sustainability. In this dissertation this understanding and capacity to engage critically is termed scientific literacy. The general question governing the research reported in this dissertation arose from this context and is: What does it mean for citizens to be scientifically literate within the context of sustainability? More specifically, because it is expected that university graduates are well educated in a socially relevant manner, with commensurate responsibilities and influence, the focus question studied in this dissertation is: What does it mean for university graduates to be scientifically literate? It became apparent from the review of the literature, that the concept of scientific literacy was multidimensional. The three key dimensions that emerged were (i) the fundamental and enduring ideas and concepts of science, (ii) the nature of science and (iii) the interaction of science with society. These dimensions provided the framework for the research reported in this dissertation. Within this framework and based on the literature, two relationships amongst these dimensions were proposed. The first relationship was that the dimensions were in a conceptual hierarchal order, with successive dimensions including the previous dimensions and expanding upon them. The second relationship was that students' scientific literacy developed sequentially along the same hierarchy. It was proposed that development occurred sequentially, with development of concepts of science first, nature of science second and interaction with society last. It was proposed that a scientifically literate person would have reached the level of understanding that includes the interaction of science with society. Specific indicators of the successive dimensions were functional, conceptual/procedural and multidimensional, which at this highest level, includes the relationship between the first two dimensions and society. This framework and the associated indicators were used as a structure and lens for interrogating the development of scientific literacy of 244 first year university students enrolled in Australia's Murdoch University's foundation unit, Life and the Universe. This is one of five units from which first year students are required to select one. The units are interdisciplinary in nature with Life and the Universe being a unit that covers generic issues in science. In part because of its content and in part because it allows students from all backgrounds to enrol, it was considered suitable for studying, illustratively, the development of scientific literacy of potential university graduates. The development of scientific literacy was studied in three ways. First, participants responded to open questions about a newspaper report of science, before and after their studying in Life and the Universe, second, they responded to a Likert style questionnaire regarding the nature of science, again before and after studying the unit, and third, a subset of participants were involved in a focus group run over two years. The participants' responses to the open questions on the questionnaire were analysed for their critical engagement with the news brief, in terms of their ability to give reasons why the text should be accepted or rejected. The nature of requests for extra information about the news brief's content was also analysed. Analysis of the initial responses to the open questions showed that more than fifty percent of the participants in this study did not demonstrate the ability to critically engage with science reported in the news. The Likert style questionnaire assessed participants' conception of the nature of science, with one end of the continuum reflecting a traditional view that science was a body of unchanging facts, derived from objective and value free observations, and the other reflecting a more contemporary view, that scientific knowledge was dynamic, open to change, had subjective components, and had scientists socially located so that their work was not free of values. Analysis of the initial responses to the Nature of Science questionnaire showed that more than fifty percent of the participants were located on the continuum towards the contemporary, socially located end. However, it also showed that the majority were still not sufficiently located towards the contemporary end of the continuum to view science as dynamic, with a changing body of knowledge. There was no statistically significant difference in these analyses in relation to participants' gender, time out of school, course of enrolment or science background. Unexpectedly, the comparison in the analysis of the news brief pre and post Life and the Universe showed that the number of participants engaging critically did not increase. More expectedly, the comparison of the pre and post Life and the Universe responses to the Likert scale showed that there was overall a statistically significant increase in the group's contemporary, socially located, perspective of the nature of science during their participation in the foundation unit. Specifically, the participants demonstrated raised awareness of the tentative and subjective nature of science and that scientists study a world in which they are a part and, as such, their work is not objective or value free. Nevertheless, there was substantial possibility of higher locations on the scale which the majority of participants did not reach. This statistically significant increase, but possibility for further improvement, is compatible with the lack of increase in critical engagement with the news brief and suggests that the statistical increase was not educationally significant. The focus group data contributed greater depth of understanding to the researcher about the range in participants' conceptions of the nature of science. The conceptions evident were consistent with the conclusions from the open questions and Likert style questionnaire and also highlighted limited understandings of scientific processes or scientific methods. It was evident that misconceptions and naive understandings of the contemporary nature of science were present at the beginning and retained throughout the foundation unit learning experience. These limitations helped explain participants' inability to engage meaningfully and to question critically the science news briefs contained in the questionnaires. Data from the focus group also suggested that a limited understanding of science terms prevented critical engagement with the content of the news briefs. Following closely the focus group participants' development of scientific literacy over a two year period, allowed the researcher to gain a greater depth of understanding of the participants' development of scientific literacy than that which could be gained alone from the large scale administrations of the questionnaire. This experience highlighted that the development of scientific literacy was far more complex than the originally proposed sequential development across the three dimensions. The analysis of converging sources of data challenged this proposition and resulted in a reconstruction of understanding about the development of scientific literacy. It was evident that the ability and disposition to critically question and act scientifically required parallel development of science content, socially located conceptions of the nature of science and understanding of its interaction with society. It was the blended and parallel development of these knowledge dimensions, at any level, that demonstrated scientific literacy. In order to characterise the more complex structure amongst the dimensions in which parallel development occurred, a rope metaphor was used. This metaphor effectively represented the observed development of scientific literacy, as it made concrete the interwoven threads of multidimensional knowledge. It represented more realistically the complex, intertwining and multidimensional aspects of participants' development of scientific literacy. Re-thinking the development of scientific literacy and representing the construct with the rope metaphor offered possibilities for effective pedagogy in higher education. The interaction of multidimensional threads of knowledge seems an integral part of the development of scientific literacy and suggests the need for teaching and learning experiences that are holistic in nature and driven by socially relevant contexts.

We only need to consider public media reports to appreciate that there is growing concern amongst citizens for sustainability. This concern arises from increasing appreciation that the current direction and rate of exploitation of resources is not sustainable and humanity's actions today are arguably compromising future generations' ability to meet their living needs. By drawing on the research of scientists, ranging from their evidence of the problems of sustainability to those promising solutions, the same press reports show strong links between sustainability and science. The appearance of such reports in the public media implies that citizens understand the interaction of science and sustainability and that they can engage critically with scientific research, including its applications and implications for sustainability. In this dissertation this understanding and capacity to engage critically is termed scientific literacy. The general question governing the research reported in this dissertation arose from this context and is: What does it mean for citizens to be scientifically literate within the context of sustainability? More specifically, because it is expected that university graduates are well educated in a socially relevant manner, with commensurate responsibilities and influence, the focus question studied in this dissertation is: What does it mean for university graduates to be scientifically literate? It became apparent from the review of the literature, that the concept of scientific literacy was multidimensional. The three key dimensions that emerged were (i) the fundamental and enduring ideas and concepts of science, (ii) the nature of science and (iii) the interaction of science with society. These dimensions provided the framework for the research reported in this dissertation. Within this framework and based on the literature, two relationships amongst these dimensions were proposed. The first relationship was that the dimensions were in a conceptual hierarchal order, with successive dimensions including the previous dimensions and expanding upon them. The second relationship was that students' scientific literacy developed sequentially along the same hierarchy. It was proposed that development occurred sequentially, with development of concepts of science first, nature of science second and interaction with society last. It was proposed that a scientifically literate person would have reached the level of understanding that includes the interaction of science with society. Specific indicators of the successive dimensions were functional, conceptual/procedural and multidimensional, which at this highest level, includes the relationship between the first two dimensions and society. This framework and the associated indicators were used as a structure and lens for interrogating the development of scientific literacy of 244 first year university students enrolled in Australia's Murdoch University's foundation unit, Life and the Universe. This is one of five units from which first year students are required to select one. The units are interdisciplinary in nature with Life and the Universe being a unit that covers generic issues in science. In part because of its content and in part because it allows students from all backgrounds to enrol, it was considered suitable for studying, illustratively, the development of scientific literacy of potential university graduates. The development of scientific literacy was studied in three ways. First, participants responded to open questions about a newspaper report of science, before and after their studying in Life and the Universe, second, they responded to a Likert style questionnaire regarding the nature of science, again before and after studying the unit, and third, a subset of participants were involved in a focus group run over two years. The participants' responses to the open questions on the questionnaire were analysed for their critical engagement with the news brief, in terms of their ability to give reasons why the text should be accepted or rejected. The nature of requests for extra information about the news brief's content was also analysed. Analysis of the initial responses to the open questions showed that more than fifty percent of the participants in this study did not demonstrate the ability to critically engage with science reported in the news. The Likert style questionnaire assessed participants' conception of the nature of science, with one end of the continuum reflecting a traditional view that science was a body of unchanging facts, derived from objective and value free observations, and the other reflecting a more contemporary view, that scientific knowledge was dynamic, open to change, had subjective components, and had scientists socially located so that their work was not free of values. Analysis of the initial responses to the Nature of Science questionnaire showed that more than fifty percent of the participants were located on the continuum towards the contemporary, socially located end. However, it also showed that the majority were still not sufficiently located towards the contemporary end of the continuum to view science as dynamic, with a changing body of knowledge. There was no statistically significant difference in these analyses in relation to participants' gender, time out of school, course of enrolment or science background. Unexpectedly, the comparison in the analysis of the news brief pre and post Life and the Universe showed that the number of participants engaging critically did not increase. More expectedly, the comparison of the pre and post Life and the Universe responses to the Likert scale showed that there was overall a statistically significant increase in the group's contemporary, socially located, perspective of the nature of science during their participation in the foundation unit. Specifically, the participants demonstrated raised awareness of the tentative and subjective nature of science and that scientists study a world in which they are a part and, as such, their work is not objective or value free. Nevertheless, there was substantial possibility of higher locations on the scale which the majority of participants did not reach. This statistically significant increase, but possibility for further improvement, is compatible with the lack of increase in critical engagement with the news brief and suggests that the statistical increase was not educationally significant. The focus group data contributed greater depth of understanding to the researcher about the range in participants' conceptions of the nature of science. The conceptions evident were consistent with the conclusions from the open questions and Likert style questionnaire and also highlighted limited understandings of scientific processes or scientific methods. It was evident that misconceptions and naive understandings of the contemporary nature of science were present at the beginning and retained throughout the foundation unit learning experience. These limitations helped explain participants' inability to engage meaningfully and to question critically the science news briefs contained in the questionnaires. Data from the focus group also suggested that a limited understanding of science terms prevented critical engagement with the content of the news briefs. Following closely the focus group participants' development of scientific literacy over a two year period, allowed the researcher to gain a greater depth of understanding of the participants' development of scientific literacy than that which could be gained alone from the large scale administrations of the questionnaire. This experience highlighted that the development of scientific literacy was far more complex than the originally proposed sequential development across the three dimensions. The analysis of converging sources of data challenged this proposition and resulted in a reconstruction of understanding about the development of scientific literacy. It was evident that the ability and disposition to critically question and act scientifically required parallel development of science content, socially located conceptions of the nature of science and understanding of its interaction with society. It was the blended and parallel development of these knowledge dimensions, at any level, that demonstrated scientific literacy. In order to characterise the more complex structure amongst the dimensions in which parallel development occurred, a rope metaphor was used. This metaphor effectively represented the observed development of scientific literacy, as it made concrete the interwoven threads of multidimensional knowledge. It represented more realistically the complex, intertwining and multidimensional aspects of participants' development of scientific literacy. Re-thinking the development of scientific literacy and representing the construct with the rope metaphor offered possibilities for effective pedagogy in higher education. The interaction of multidimensional threads of knowledge seems an integral part of the development of scientific literacy and suggests the need for teaching and learning experiences that are holistic in nature and driven by socially relevant contexts.

The aim of the study was to assess the emergent literacy knowledge of a group of South African pre-schoolers from low and low-middle class families and to explore their home supports for literacy. The sample comprised 24 subjects, aged between 5 years 9 months and 6 years 5 months. Sixteen of the subjects were from low-middle class families, while the remaining eight were from low-class families. The emergent literacy knowledge of the children was assessed using the Emergent Literacy Assessment Profile (ELAP), which was developed for the purpose of this study. The profile included subtests derived and modified from existing batteries developed elsewhere in the world for assessment of emergent literacy. The children's home supports for literacy were ascertained by means of personal interviews conducted with the parents in their home environments. Although both groups exhibited poor emergent literacy knowledge in general, it was found that there were statistically significant differences in the performance of the two groups on several subtests of the ELAP. The group of children from low-middle class families displayed relatively better literacy knowledge than their counterparts from low-class families. This group (i.e. the low-middle class group) also had better access to home supports for literacy. Thus, differences in home supports for literacy were strongly linked to differences in socio-economic status. The findings of the study confirm the much documented finding that home environments impact greatly on children's emergent literacy development. The finding that even the children with relatively more favourable home environments displayed deficits in emergent literacy knowledge indicates the urgent need to promote the emergent literacy development of pre-schoolers in South Africa, particularly those from historically disadvantaged communities. This has implications for parents, teachers, educare workers, librarians and speech-language therapists, inter alia.

Public school kindergarten programs have become increasingly more academic and have educators debating about what skills best serve children in kindergarten that will prepare them for later academic achievement. The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) is a screening instrument used in Virginia to assess kindergarten students and students in grades 1 through 3. Kindergarten teachers want to make sure that with the more demanding curriculum, and increase in rigorous standards, that students enter kindergarten ready to learn. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between students’ kindergarten PALS scores and first grade PALS scores in a southwestern Virginia school district. This study involved kindergarten and first grade students. The study reviewed their readiness skills required for kindergarten and later academic achievement. The study also examined preschool experience, birth order, and birthdays when students entered kindergarten. In addition, the study included students who were redshirted or held out of school for a year before enrolling in kindergarten. The results showed the Spring PALS scores of kindergarten students and the Spring PALS scores of first grade students are significant indicators of academic achievement for language arts literacy. The results can potentially assist in identifying the skills needed for students to be successful when they begin kindergarten. The relationship between readiness in kindergarten PALS scores and first grade PALS scores appears to extend across students’ preschool experience, kindergarten entrance age, and birth order. Teachers, administrators, parents, policymakers, and legislators can make decisions that affect the curriculum and school readiness policies that will help students begin their educational career prepared to learn.

An alarming trend of student non-compliance with reading assignments in secondary and post-secondary environments is causing concern in many areas, including college readiness. Public school teachers and university faculty alike are responsible for the literacy levels of graduating students; however, many educators are not implementing the adequate literacy supports within their content area courses. This project used current research on best practice in literacy instruction, as well as the Characteristics of Highly Effective Teaching and Learning to create the Readers Matter™ evaluative process in which faculty members self-select to be assessed regarding the current levels of student literacy support. After scoring the assessment, evaluators are then able to provide individualized professional development targeting areas of weakness made evident by the Readers Matter™ rubric. The current study evaluated five university instructors at a midsized university in the south-central United States. The results of this preliminary development research identified the data collection procedures that were beneficial and ultimately informative in the evaluation process and enabled developers to make informed decisions regarding individualized professional development.

This thesis concerns the literacy difficulties of fifteen children with cerebral palsy (CP). The children were an opportunistic sample from two schools, and were initially selected on the basis that they had typical abilities in other school subjects. A review of the literature pertaining to the development of literacy and related aspects of cognitive development in typically-developing children and children with CP informed the development of the research strategy. The children's literacy, their general non-verbal and communication abilities, as well as a set of cognitive abilities that could be related to literacy impairments, were assessed. The findings revealed that most, but not all, of the children with CP had literacy difficulties with low scores in reading and spelling, and all the children had problems with handwriting. Standardised assessments showed that while the children had good verbal abilities, they had very low scores on a non-verbal test. The children with the most severe literacy difficulties also had the most problems with phonological processing. Almost all of the children had difficulties with visual and spatial perception; however the better readers had typical results in an assessment of visual sequential memory. Tests of working memory (WM) revealed a clear division between typical levels of performance on verbal recall measures, and very poor performance on the visual components of working memory tests. There were mixed results for the assessment of the central executive, but generally those children who were the more able in literacy had higher scores. Correlations suggested that visual sequential memory; phonological segmentation; verbal recall; and aspects of the central executive of working memory were most closely associated with the children's literacy abilities. Thus, the findings indicate that children with CP ha,ve specific cognitive impairments, including a new suggestion that poor visual sequential memory abilities could delay the development of reading and spelling skills.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.
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2031-01-02

Low health literacy is a problem the U.S. faces and, like health care itself, is a complex issue stemming from patient demographics and the healthcare providers being very diverse. Tools have been developed to mitigate the risks of low health literacy, however, without formal policy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and compare commonalities in health literacy best practices of organizations that are recognized as leaders in health literacy and are addressing low health literacy in their communities. By comparing the organizations' abilities to implement standards of plain language and health literacy tools/guidelines, best practice and policy recommendations could be made to various organizations regardless of level (local, state, federal, or nonprofit). The theoretical framework was based on the Evans and Stoddart framework of determinants of health and the health behavioral theories. The conceptual framework was based on health literacy best practices and policy. The research questions focused on how organizations implement health literacy tools/guidelines, the impact of health literacy best practices on policy development and addressing health literacy through formal policy. The qualitative multiple case study used open-ended interview questions via telephone conferencing, with 13 participants from health literacy organizations. The analysis was done by coding and bracketing the responses manually and with NVivo software. Results indicate that health literacy policy development and involvement exists but it is not derived from the health literacy best practices. The implications for positive social change for this study impacts the patient (individual), community, organization, and society through best practices and recommendations for policy development.

The literacy rate in Louisiana remains lower than the national average. This is especially true at Rosewood Elementary School (pseudonym), a D-rated school on a scale of A-F. The problem is that teachers are unsuccessful in trying to improve students' literacy test scores, despite several targeted efforts to give them tools to make these improvements. The purpose of this study is to explore the literacy practices, beliefs, and professional development of teachers at Rosewood Elementary. The conceptual framework of this study included Clark and Peterson's cognitive process teacher model, which focuses on teachers' thought processes and their behaviors in the classroom and guides the questions about these processes. The key research questions involve 3rd-5th grade teachers' and literacy coaches' perceptions of their current professional learning on and support for effective literacy instruction, as well as the literacy coaches' perceptions of teachers' needs and struggles with teaching literacy. This case study includes sequential data collection including a survey, interviews, and classroom observations from 9 purposefully selected literacy teachers in Grades 3-5 and 2 literacy coaches, all from Rosewood Elementary School. Constant comparative data analysis was used for interview and observational data, and descriptive analysis was used for the survey. Findings include both teacher and coach perspectives. Training on classroom management and differentiated instruction was needed. A 4-day professional development was developed to address these needs. Implications for social change with improved literacy instruction include an increase in student literacy rates as well as teachers' self-efficacy in literacy instruction.

This study investigated the literacy experiences and attainment of 42 children aged 3 to 7, who had attended preschool education in a city in the North of England. Data were collected through parent interviews before nursery entry; literacy assessment at school entry, and at age seven; and by parent, teacher and child interviews. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were employed. Four measures of literacy development at age seven were used: children's reading book level, writing ability and standardised scores for reading and English at seven. Factors before school entry shown to be significant were: vocabulary scores, number of letters known, how well children wrote their name and a phrase, whether they listened to stories at nursery, and how often they were read to at home. This was influenced by earlier home factors; by having access to books, being read to from storybooks, and having books read in their entirety, the age parents started reading to them, how many nursery rhymes they knew, and parents pointing out environmental print. By seven, other significant factors were parents' knowledge about school literacy, and how often children read to parents at home. Several findings confirmed those of previous studies. Others were new: having a favourite book before nursery, choosing to read books in nursery, access to home computers at seven, children storing literacy resources indiscriminately, parents reading more than newspapers and magazines, and parents providing examples of day-to-day literacy. Process variables appeared to exert greater effects on children's performance than status variables, such as social class, mother's employment and qualifications, and relatives with literacy difficulties. Home literacy experiences for the majority of children were barely acknowledged in school, and home learning for children with problems was often unsupported by school. For most children, homes provided rich, complex and powerful environments for literacy learning.

This study was conducted to develop a standardized agricultural literacy assessment using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs) as benchmarks. The need for such an assessment was born out of previous research, which found that despite numerous programs dedicated to improving agricultural literacy, many students and adults remain at low or very low levels of literacy. Low literacy levels lead to negative associations with the production and processing of food, clothing, and shelter, as well as misinformed public perceptions and policies. Agricultural literacy researchers recognized that the development of a standardized assessment for post-12th grade, or equivalent, could unify both research and program development efforts. The assessment was developed by forming two groups of experts. Teaching experts and agricultural content experts worked together in an iterative process. They crafted 45 questions using research methods and models. The 45 items were placed in an online survey to be tested for validity by a participant group. During the Fall 2018 semester, 515 Utah State University students between the ages of 18-23 years old participated in the online assessment. The participant data assisted in determining which questions were valid and reliable for determining agricultural literacy, as aligned to the NALO standards. Additional demographic information was also collected from participants. The demographic items asked students to self-report their level of exposure to agriculture and their self-perceived level of agricultural literacy. The study concluded that two separate 15-item Judd-Murray Agricultural Literacy Instruments (JMALI) were valid and reliable for determining agricultural proficiency levels based on the NALOs. Participant scores were reported as a single proficiency stage: exposure, factual literacy, or applicable proficiency. The study also determined that students who had a “great deal” or higher level of exposure to agriculture also had a strong, positive correlation with a “good” or higher level of agricultural literacy. Findings show participants who reported a “good” level of agricultural literacy shared a positive correlation with either performing at a factual literacy (middle) or applicable proficiency (highest) level on the assessment. The results suggest JMALI instruments have the potential to assist in improving current agricultural education endeavors by providing a critical tool for determining the agricultural literacy proficiency stages of adult populations.

If there is a single song in which nations, governments, human rights organizations, communities, and parents harmoniously blend their voices, it is that being literate is valuable and valued. Being literate entails one's access to and interaction with text in one's environment (Harris & Hodges, 1995). However, in developing countries, print is hard to come by due to several factors. What is of significance, though, is that despite the absence of readily available print environments that are prevalent in the developed world, one still sees highly literate persons emerging from poor developing countries. This study sought to investigate how those who become literate achieve literacy despite growing up in places where print is not readily available. It was a search for factors that supported and enabled the participants to become literate persons. This investigation searched for an answer to the umbrella question: What are the conditions that promote literacy development in a print-limited environment? In order to answer this question, six postgraduate degree holding Malawian teacher educators were interviewed. The interviews generated six to literacy autobiographies, i.e. stories of how they acquired literacy skills in English, a second language, when print resources were limited. From an analysis of those stories, themes emerged that indicated prevailing commonalities in the study participants' literacy developmental paths. The major themes that emerged were parental involvement in children's literacy development, influence of teachers on developing literacy, the role of peers and siblings as learners develop literacy, presence of text in the environment, literacy practices of participants as they grew up, and participants' perceptions of literacy and its development. The study showed that literacy acquisition is a complex developmental phenomenon (Luke, 2002). It is a process that emerges from a combination of complementary factors. What emerged from the study is that, even in print-limited environments, there are facilitating conditions that enhance an individual's literacy development. The facilitating conditions were various people who helped learners acquire literacy, the availability of text, the meaningfulness of texts and tasks, the learners' intrinsic motivation, and the differences that evolved over time in the relationships between the learners and those with whom they interacted.
Ph. D.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2018.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages [100]-105).
Pictures play an important role in aiding literacy development amongst children. Present day educational apps for children take advantage of pictures in an instructionst manner - such as a flashcard, drag-and-drop, or fill-in-the-blanks approach. However, research indicates that following a constructionist approach rather than instructionst, where children actively construct meaningful projects playfully, leads to better engagement and learning. It is also universally established that children across the world enjoy creating and drawing pictures as a means of self-expression. Despite the evidence from the literature and the data, there is a lack of constructionist approaches towards picture-based learning apps for children. The goals of this thesis are two-fold: 1. Successfully design and evaluate a picture-based, constructionist literacy learning app in order to address this gap. 2. Explore the unique affordances/implications that this exploratory approach has on children's self-expression and learning. This app is called PictureBlocks, and it is designed for children between the ages of 5-9 years. The design of PictureBlocks is refined through several rounds of playtesting. Finally, a 15-day pilot study conducted in children's homes helps evaluate the app's design. Data analysis and findings also establish unique affordances and future implications for picture-based, constructionist learning apps.
by Sneha Priscilla Makini.
S.M.

It has been proposed that literacy development follows a sequence from simple to complex rules: children acquire simple phonological rules before they learn more complex orthographic rules such as conditional rules or morphological rules. I hypothesise that Greek children start reading and spelling by using a simple phonological strategy and later develop more complex phonological and morphological strategies. The hypothesis that young children fail to use complex phonological and morphological rules, the processes involved in reading words with complex phonological rules, the predictors of children's use of morphological strategies in spelling and the relations between different instances of morphological spellings were investigated in six studies. In the first three studies the hypothesis that young children fail to use complex phonological strategies in reading and the processes involved in reading words which involve complex rules were examined. Children (6-8 years) were asked to read words and non-words (analogous and not-analogous to real words) either in isolation or in the context of a sentence, assigned to three categories in tenns of the rules involved in reading them. The children - especially the younger ones - performed better in words and non-words that involve constant relations between graphemes and phonemes than in words and non-words that involve variant relations between graphemes and phonemes. All the age groups performed better in the analogous nonwords that involve complex phonological rules than in the not-analogous non-words. Children and adults read words that involve variant but predictable spelling patterns either by establishing connections to whole words or segments of known words. Younger children benefited more from context than the older ones and the effect was bigger for more difficult words. In the fourth study the hypothesis that younger children fail to use morphological strategies in spelling was tested. Children (7-10 years) were given a task involving three instances of spelling of the final morpheme. Young children spelled the final morpheme using phonological strategies while older children used morphological ones. In the last two studies, children (7-10 years) were given oral measures of grammatical awareness, a standardised verbal ability test, measures of grammatical spelling knowledge and a measure of their ability to interpret novel words. Significant correlations between grammatical awareness, different instances of morphological spelling and children's ability to interpret novel words were found even after age and verbal ability were partialled out. I conclude that even in a language that is transparent (at least from spelling to phonology) a stage model of simple rules first, complex rules later still holds. In reading, complex phonological strategies must be acquired for the reading of words that involve conditional rules. Morphological spelling strategies are important for correct spelling in Greek (which is not transparent from phonology to spelling).

FundaWethu is reading software that is designed to deliver reading lessons to Grade R-3 (foundation phase) children who are learning to read in a multilingual context. Starting from a premise that the system should be both educative and entertaining, the system allows literacy researchers or teachers to construct rich multimedia reading lessons, with text, pictures (possibly animated), and audio files. Using the design-based research methodology which is problem driven and iterative, we followed a user-centred design process in creating FundaWethu. To promote sustainability of the software, we chose to bring teachers on board as “co-designers” using the lesson authoring tool. We made the authoring tool simple enough for use by non computer specialists, but expressive enough to enable a wide range of beginners reading exercises to be constructed in a number of different languages (indigenous South African languages in particular). This project therefore centred on the use of designbased research to build FundaWethu, the design and construction of FundaWethu and the usability study carried out to determine the adequacy of FundaWethu.

Students achieve knowledge by different means. I find that a child allowed to learn from one's personal style finds purpose in learning and develops a desire to read. With this in mind I have designed this project to be used as a resource for teachers wanting to implement creative drama, in the classroom, as an avenue for improving reading abilities of low-progress readers.

The purpose of this study has been to provide a rich description of the role of the literacy leader in two primary schools. Through this study I was seeking to identify what the role of the literacy leader is and how this role is enacted. The role has been described from the perspectives of the literacy leader, a principal and five members of two school’s teaching staff. The desire to better understand the role of the literacy leader is important to those in the role and those they interact with. This is particularly so for those in my position as a professional developer, working alongside both a school and its literacy leader as they undertake in-depth literacy professional development. Literacy leaders have assumed greater responsibilities within schools since the 1999 Literacy Taskforce report which suggested a range of initiatives to better support literacy learners in New Zealand. Since this report there has been a governmental priority on literacy as a foundation learning area. Interest in literacy success for all stems from both international and national assessment knowledge. This information highlights the strength of New Zealand students in literacy but also identifies a group of students who do not perform well and continue to underachieve in literacy into adulthood. This underachievement limits the opportunities they have as adults for employment and participation in society. There has been no formalised role description for literacy leaders or how they might enact this role. The purpose of this study therefore has been to identify the role and how it is enacted. The literacy leader role has been analysed from multiple perspectives. Participant observation and in-depth interviewing have provided a rich picture of the role and how it is enacted. It is from these insights that some clarity has been gained about the characteristics of the role, how it is interpreted by the participants and then enacted by the two leaders. The findings indicate the role identified by those participating in this study and the reality of how it is enacted, are closely matched. The tasks of a literacy leader are complex and their dual role of classroom teacher and literacy leader adds to this complexity as they manage both positions simultaneously. This study identified that being a literacy leader requires a central focus on improved student achievement. It requires literacy leaders to provide strong leadership in literacy professional development/learning. This study also suggests that literacy leaders are seen as learning partners during the in-depth literacy professional development/learning focus where all involved are learners. The final role they play is in supporting the development of a collaborative professional learning community where all of the learning occurs. It raises issues and questions for those who interact with the literacy leader both within the school and those outside the school in how they can support them in this role. It also surfaces the need for schools and professional developers to address how the structures they are operating within can be reorganised to afford the time needed to be effective in this role. Finally when schools, advisers and Ministry of Education enter into a partnership of learning openly demonstrating that each will learn from the other, then capacity is built across all levels of the education system in meeting the goals of improved student outcomes.

Public school instructional coaching programs are designed to improve pedagogy via collaboration between teachers and coaches. However, the utility of literacy coaching is limited because teachers may lack understanding of the instructional coaching model. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers' expectations of literacy coaching in order to enhance professional development and teacher-coach partnerships. Guided by Knowles adult learning theory which states that adults benefit from designing and understanding relevancy of learning, this study examined elementary teachers' perceptions of the coaching model. The guiding questions explored ways to optimize teacher professional growth through coaching. Four teachers who had partnered with literacy coaches were selected as participants. Qualitative data were collected from the participants through in-depth interviews and a researcher-created, open-ended questionnaire. The interviews allowed for probing questions, and the questionnaires provided time for detailed reflections on the part of participants. Qualitative data were analyzed to determine coding categories, and consistent with Knowles adult learning theory, prominent themes regarding self-direction and relevancy of learning emerged. Results indicated that the teachers believed literacy coaches to have a positive impact on their pedagogical growth, but current methods provided inadequate clarity about the coaching model to be relevant to teachers. Based on the results, professional development sessions were designed to support teacher-coach partnerships which will benefit students, teachers, coaches, and administrators by providing a collaborative foundation to promote student success.

This qualitative study investigated parents' awareness of and involvement in their prekindergarten child's literacy development. In addition, the feasibility of parents using a home literacy portfolio for the purpose of exchanging literacy information with teachers at a parent/teacher conference was examined. Participants included six parent/child dyads, who qualified for a Texas public school prekindergarten program by meeting the requirements for either free or reduced lunches or for the English-as-a-Second Language program. Research tools included audiotaped interviews with parents and with teachers; observations at parent/child workshop sessions, which were also videotaped; and work samples, including a home literacy portfolio from each child. Findings indicate that parents are involved in their children's literacy development. Also, at home, children participate in both open-ended literacy activities and drill-oriented literacy activities, with most of the activities falling into the open-ended category. According to the findings, all of the parents were more aware of their child's literacy achievements after attending the parent/child workshop and developing a home literacy portfolio. In addition, the home literacy portfolio proved to be a useful tool for sharing information at parent/teacher conferences. Parents and teachers exchanged literacy information at the parent/teacher conference. In the process of explaining the portfolios, the parents shared information about their child's drawing development, writing development, and reading development. In contrast, the teachers shared some literacy information with the parents, but much of the information teachers shared reflected the child's participation in class or general information about the child. The findings suggest that the parent/child workshop is a cost-effective vehicle for directly involving parents in their child's education. Moreover, developing a home literacy portfolio provides a means of involving parents with their child and of helping parents' become more aware of their child's literacy development.

The importance of developing learners’ scientific literacy in both the fundamental and derived senses has been highlighted by Norris & Phillips (2003). Development of the derived sense of science, which is dependent on the development of a sound fundamental sense of science, aims at promoting scientifically literate societies who are able to make informed decisions concerning the natural environment and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods. In turn, response to increasing recognition of environmental degradation, the United Nations’ Decade of Education for Sustainable Development advocated that the principles, values and practices of sustainable development should be integrated into all aspects of education and learning. However, despite these aspirations, the difficulties of insufficient teacher knowledge and a lack of in-service training, both abroad and within South Africa, remain a challenge. In response to this challenge this study investigated the potential of an Integrated Scientific Literacy Strategy (which aimed at increasing in-service teacher knowledge and skills) to contribute to ESD by developing more scientifically literate teachers and learners in primary education. The study was conducted in 2010 in the Port Elizabeth Metropolitan area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study sample comprised seven schools, with a total of nine teachers and 243 learners participating. As the research is situated within the pragmatic paradigm, a mixed methods approach was followed using Creswell and Plano Clark’s (2007) embedded design’s correlational model whereby quantitative data are rooted within a qualitative design to help verify and explain the outcomes. Qualitative measures were generated through teacher interviews and an analysis of their written portfolios. These data were triangulated against quantitative test data gained from an ANCOVA statistical analysis of the learners’ pre- and post-tests, and both the qualitative and quantitative data gleaned from classroom observations and an analysis of the learners’ science notebooks. The data suggest that, when properly implemented, the Integrated Scientific Literacy Strategy can be used to help teachers develop their learners’ scientific literacy by exposing them to open-ended inquiry investigations. Statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.01; d=0.88) were noted when comparing improvements in learners’ abilities and understandings of scientific investigations (graphs, variables, inquiry and investigable questions) between those learners whose teachers successfully implemented the strategy in their classrooms, and those learners whose teachers were considered to be ‘non-implementers’ of the strategy. Data from this study also suggest that the successful use of the ISLS enables teachers to integrate issues relating to sustainable development into their natural science lessons. In addition, the learner-orientated approach of the strategy also enabled the learners to engage in autonomous learning environments, aspects of which have been identified as being important for meaningfully learning about and internalising important issues related to ESD.

Background/Aims: Urie Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems model is well regarded in the field of child development. Although this model is not commonly used by literacy researchers, I argue that Bronfenbrenner's emphasis on the roles of personal characteristics, proximal processes, contextual systems, and historical time has explanatory power in the area of literacy. Methods: I review this body of literature and describe a visual representation that clarifies the relevant aspects of the theory. Results: Adoption of Bronfenbrenner's model increases the likelihood that literacy development will be understood as occurring at the site of transaction between cognitive processes and social practices. Literacy researchers who have applied this theory differ in the degree to which they have attended to Bronfenbrenner's guidance relative to adequate research practice and, as such, findings from this research range from less to more theoretically sound and useful. Conclusion: As contemporary literacy researchers consider employing Bronfenbrenner's theory to frame their work, it is necessary for them to account for all aspects of his rich and complex model.

Drawing on recent literacy studies, this thesis examines second language academic literacy development in Libyan higher education. A novel intervention programme focusing on academic writing through an action research approach was undertaken with a group of 30 undergraduate university students, majoring in English as a foreign language who were studying in a college of education at a university in the North West of Libya. The research was guided by five main aims: firstly, to explore Libyan higher education students’ perceptions regarding the influence of their socio-cultural and educational background, and the institutional context on their academic literacy development; secondly, to examine their views and thoughts about the concept of academic literacy and its development within their institution; thirdly, to apply the genre approach to teaching writing as an innovation in a Libyan context in order to raise participants’ awareness of how English academic literacy might be developed; fourthly, to employ action research to develop practice in order to improve teaching and learning L2 (Second Language) writing in a Libyan context; and finally, to contribute to building theory in the field of teaching English L2 academic literacy in higher education in Libya. The field work was conducted over six months, and to gather data for analysis, the study employed five tools of data collection: observation, using a teacher journal to monitor the students’ learning performance; students’ written feedback on sessions; samples of the students’ written work; a questionnaire and an interview administrated at the end of the intervention programme with further interviews a year after conducting the initial empirical research. Data analysis revealed inadequacies in the role of the wider socio-cultural environment for acquisition and practice of English reading and writing at school and also for the development of academic literacy in higher education. English is viewed as a school subject rather than a language and the concept of academic literacy is not familiar in a Libyan context so there are few opportunities for students to develop outside the classroom. The problems students encounter in language and in writing also revealed limitations in the teaching within Libyan institutions. Students who experienced the intervention programme appreciated the significance of English academic literacy and felt it should be promoted through individual and social awareness and within an educational environment which encourages its multifaceted nature, and the need for resources and a more participative pedagogical approach. Finally, this study suggests that the genre approach, as yet unfamiliar in Libya, might be helpful for students to improve their L2 writing capabilities and encourage awareness of academic literacy through learning by doing and through engagement with language as a holistic process. Action research, also unfamiliar in Libya, proved significant in professional and pedagogical development and in the creation of a more student-centred classroom in which students felt empowered to participate and to engage in the teaching and learning process.

Previous cross-linguistic research has well established that transfer in the literacy development of English-as-the-second-language (ESL) students exists. Less extensive is the research on the effect of diverse first languages (L1) on the specific reading-related cognitive abilities and academic performance in the second language (L2). In the current study, Study Part One investigated English reading and spelling skills of students from different language backgrounds (English, Chinese- and Persian-speaking ESL) in Grade 6 by examining a variety of cognitive skills, and reading and spelling. The results showed similar performance on most of the cognitive tasks, however, the Chinese L1 group performed lower than the English L1 group on the oral syntactic awareness test, and the Persian L1 group performed lower than English L1 group on the written syntactic awareness task. Furthermore, the Chinese L1 group performed at a higher level than Persian L1 group on the two reading comprehension tasks, and no difference was found between English L1 and the two ESL groups. Study Part Two was a retrospective analysis of reading and syntactic skills from Grade1 through Grade 6 across the same groups. Comparable performance was found on the word reading task but not on syntactic awareness task (oral cloze). Specifically, in lower grades (i.e., Grade 1 and 2), both ESL groups performed lower than English L1 group on the syntactic awareness task, whereas heterogeneous performance was found in middle and upper grades (i.e., Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6). The Persian L1 group caught up with English L1 peers in these grades, and the Chinese L1 group showed less efficiency than English and Persian L1 group in Grades 3 and only performed lower than Persian L1 group in Grade 5 and English L1 group in Grade 6. Taken together, these results clearly suggested (1) the weakness in both oral proficiency and syntactic awareness in ESL groups in lower grades; (2) possible L1 influence on linguistic tasks with higher demands in middle and upper grades across ESL groups.

With an increasingly bilingual population, children have more opportunities for dual language education. Literacy activities at home have been correlated with reading and writing success; however, helping a child learn in a language in which the parent is not fluent could create challenges. Parents of students who attend a K-8 dual language school completed a survey asking how they help their child obtain literacy skills in both languages. Over 200 surveys from both English and Spanish speaking households were analyzed to determine what strategies parents utilize. Follow up interviews were conducted by the investigator to ask additional questions about parent activities and learn if parents had special concerns about the dual language school environment. Reading books was widely chosen by parents when asked what activities they used to help facilitate literacy and language learning in both the home language and secondary language. English speaking families tended to rely more on school functions to help facilitate learning and literacy in Spanish. The Spanish speaking families reported a high usage of TV shows and movies as a tool to help their children develop their second language, English. Although some reported feeling concerned about their children learning two languages at once, the benefits that they saw from the experience outweighed any academic concerns.
Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Health Professionals, Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Thesis advisor: Susan M. Bruce
The effects of deafblindness are much greater than simply combining the effects of the individual’s vision loss with the effects of their hearing loss, because these senses strongly support one another (Silberman, Bruce, & Nelson, 2004). Even though most individuals have some residual vision and hearing, deafblindness limits access to the environment, resulting in a distorted perception of the immediate surroundings (van Dijk, Janssen, & Nelson, 2001). The implications greatly limit the individual’s opportunities for incidental learning and significantly impact the individual’s language and communication development (Bruce, 2005; Miles & Riggio, 1999). For children with deafblindness, there is a strong connection between literacy and communication, since engaging in accessible literacy activities can support learning and communication development (Downing, 2005b). When understood as exchanging information with others in a variety of ways based on personal experiences, literacy has inherent communicative and social components (Bruce et al., 2004). This qualitative research study investigated how teachers were implementing read alouds for children with congenital deafblindness, as well as teacher’s understandings regarding the relationship between communication and literacy for individuals with deafblindness. Three case studies were conducted, followed a cross-case analysis to determine prominent themes that emerged from the observation, interview and field note data. Results included the emergence of themes related to teacher beliefs, instructional strategies and the learning environment across cases. The major theme that emerged for teacher beliefs was a shared understanding of the connection between communication and literacy for children with deafblindness, and the minor theme was comprehensive understanding of deafblindness. Major themes that emerged for instructional strategies were the use of total communication with different levels of representation, communication modeling, and positive reinforcement, as well as the minor theme of formative assessment. Finally, for the learning environment, a major theme of adapted materials emerged, as well as a minor theme of technology
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' use of whole language practices in language arts classrooms to determine if teachers' attitudes and philosophies about whole language influence their teaching. Previous research studies in the area of whole language practices indicate that teachers' preexisting philosophical outlooks concerning language influence the effectiveness of their whole language practices. The research questions dealt with teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of a whole language instructional approach. The study also focused on factors that influenced teachers to utilize whole language practices. Four self-professed whole language teachers participated in this qualitative research study. Data were from classroom observations, interviews with the teachers, teachers' lesson plans, examinations of student's work, and review of curriculum guides. Data collected revealed that teachers' perceptions and philosophical views are reflected in teachers' instructional practices. The interpretation of data led to the conclusion that whole language practices are influenced by teachers' attitudes and philosophies about whole language. Recommendations are that teachers be allowed to practice the whole language instructional approach and that training and staff development be provided for teachers desirous of utilizing this practice. It is also recommended that school administrators provide support services and periodic inservice training for teachers desirous of continuous implementation of whole language practices.

Secondary school students lacking technological literacy required for job success in the 21st century participated in an action oriented research study to increase their literacy levels. A team of teachers, 9th-grade students, media specialists, and a researcher implemented a technological and information skills model across subject -area disciplines in an effort to identify the needed skills and implement an instructional program for technological literacy. The researcher worked with a formative and summative committee to design and produce a conceptual design, scope, sequence, and instructional schedule that served four grade levels across subject area curricula. Teachers used an interdisciplinary approach to instruction and determined that effective and efficient teaching for technological literacy across the curriculum was achieved. Students successfully demonstrated performance in 14 core competencies over a two-month time period during regular courses in five major disciplines. During the study, students benefited from opportunities to engage in supplemental technological activities by individual choice. Performance of technological objectives was marked and entered on checklists for planned future entry into a networked database for use by all teachers and administrators. Individual checklists were printed and became a part of student portfolios displaying technological learning. Other items in the portfolios included self-entry and exit-analyses and pre- and post-instruction compositions. Assessment instruments developed for the study were used to evaluate teacher attitudes, portfolio development, student attitudes, and class performance. Teachers and technology committee members judged the program to be successful and projected a need for implementation of the program for the entire school population. Findings and recommendations showed that cross-discipline instruction based on the model used in the study was a solution for increasing student levels literacy through increased understandings and demonstrated performance. The study revealed a need for further research in areas of curriculum space, cooperative work, and contextual problem-solving education as they apply to improving technological literacy in secondary schools.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’examiner à la fois les dimensions de l’offre et de la demande relatives à l’inclusion financière. Cette recherche présente un ensemble complet de preuves empiriques concernant l’accès aux services financiers, aux niveaux macro et micro-économiques. Le troisième chapitre fournit une exploration de cette hypothèse essentielle. En utilisant des données structurelles par pays, il montre les effets de l’inclusion financière sur la réduction de la pauvreté et des inégalités. En outre, il montre les effets bénéfiques des nouvelles technologies sur l’extension de l’inclusion financière et la réduction de la pauvreté. Le quatrième chapitre soutient que la culture financière est un déterminant important de l’inclusion financière des ménages et du bien-être. Basé sur des données d’enquête, il suggère en outre que l’accès aux nouvelles technologies et leur utilisation augmente la probabilité de l’inclusion financière. L’objectif du cinquième chapitre est de déterminer si l’adoption des nouvelles technologies favorise l’inclusion financière des PMEs au Pakistan. L’analyse révèle une association entre l’adoption des NTIC et l’accès de la firme aux services financiers, ce qui implique que les firmes qui ont un meilleur accès ou une utilisation plus intense des nouvelles technologies sont susceptibles de tirer de plus grands avantages des marchés financiers que les autres.Cette recherche contribue à la littérature sur l’accès aux services financiers en étendant l’examen de plusieurs dimensions significatives et complémente les études sur l’impact de la profondeur financière, de la stabilité financière et de la culture financière
The aim of this PhD dissertation is to examine both the supply and demand sideof financial inclusion. This research presents a comprehensive set of evidence regarding financial access at macro and micro levels. This thesis blends three essays where the third chapter provides insights on the crucial linkages between new technologies, financial inclusion and poverty. Findings have shown poverty and inequality reducing effects of financial inclusion based on cross country data. Moreover, it shows beneficial effects of new technologies in expansion of financial inclusion and poverty reduction. Fourth chapter argues that financial literacy is an important determinant of households’ financial inclusion and welfare. Based on primary data it further suggests that the access toand use of new technologies increase the likelihood of financial inclusion. The objective of fifth chapter is to determine whether the adoption of new technologies promotes financial inclusion for SMEs in Pakistan. The analysis indicates the association between information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption and firm’s access to finance,implying that firms with greater access to and use of new technologies are more likely to benefit from financial markets compared with the others. This research contributes to the literature on access to finance in a more extensive way by examining relatively modern dimensions such as ICTs, digital finance and mobile money. Moreover, this dissertation concentrates on the effects of financial development and ICT on poverty and inequality which is understudied branch in conventional finance-growth nexus

This thesis investigates the development of literacy amongst children in Greek kindergartens. Performance on the precursors of reading (phonological awareness, letter knowledge and concepts about print) was explored, as well as the relationships between these skills and early reading and spelling skills during their time in kindergarten. Children's views and attitudes towards literacy as well as their experiences of literacy at home and in kindergarten were also investigated. These were explored in relation to the school environment. The project was undertaken at a time when new literacy policies affecting Greek kindergarten were implemented by Government initiatives. The participants in the study were 54 children from three separate classes in state kindergarten schools in Athens, Greece. Experimental tasks were developed to measure the kindergarteners' performance on the precursors of reading (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, concepts about print); on word-, sentence- and text-reading; on name- and word-spelling; to determine what skills they have upon their entry into kindergarten; and to map how these change over time. Children's and teachers' experiences and views on literacy were assessed through developed interview questionnaires at two points in time. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse the data. Results suggested that Greek kindergarteners' skills in letter-sound knowledge and phonological awareness were associated with their performance on early reading and spelling. The analysis further indicated that the informal literacy instruction children received in each kindergarten class resulted in differences between them relative to their performance on the literacy tasks. However, gender and age did not appear to have any influence on their performance in literacy. The investigation of children's experiences of literacy showed that all children had plenty of experiences of dealing with reading and writing, of being read to and of dealing with printed materials at home and in kindergarten. They understood the purposes of reading and writing. Teachers' views and attitudes towards early literacy appeared to influence their teaching practices, which, in turn, had an effect on the development of the children's literacy skills. The educational implications of the findings are discussed.

This thesis seeks to contribute to a theory of 'television literacy' - that is, of the understandings and competencies children employ in interpreting and using the medium - which is both social and developmental. The main focus of the research is on the way s in which these competencies are mobilised and defined in small-group talk. The data are drawn from a series of interviews with a core sample of ninety children in three different age groups, aged between seven and twelve. The groups were varied in order to provide for systematic comparisons in terms of age, social class, gender and ethnicity. Analysis of the data draws particularly on approaches derived from discourse analysis, and is related to hypotheses raised in previous research, particularly within the fields of cognitive psychology and media studies. The thesis begins with a review of the theoretical paradigms which have been employed in analysing the relationship between children and television, and a critical account of previous definitions of 'television literacy' within educational and psychological research. The second section of the thesis discusses some methodological problems associated with the status and interpretation of small-group interviews in this field. It goes on to offer an alternative analytical framework, which considers the relationships between the content of talk, the subject positions of speakers and the social relations of the interview group. The third section considers children's use of 'higher order' concepts which are the focus of media education, namely those of genre, representation, modality and agency. In each case, the analysis of empirical data is related to a critical review of previous research in the field. In the final section, conclusions and implications for future qualitative audience research and for media education are considered.