Examined 103 articles from journals/periodicals related to science education to: (1) determine which were most popular; (2) verify or refute paucity of research data about secondary teachers' journal/periodical reading patterns; and (3) study reading patterns within the secondary school teaching areas. (JN)

Describes the construction of a nonreading instrument (Preschool Reading Attitudes Scale) designed to assess attitudes toward reading in young children, aged three through five years. Demonstrates the scale to be valid and reliable with these age groups. (HOD)

This examination of the reading processes of 36 fifth graders focused on the reader's attempts to gain meaning from three content passages using syntactic and semantic cue systems. The reading strategies of high, average, and low ability readers appeared not to vary with content. Prior knowledge and interest influenced comprehension. (Author/BS)

To examine the effect of structural factors on the development of story appreciation, a developmental model of story liking for suspense stories was tested by having second, fourth, and sixth grade children rate suspense stories on 10 affective scales. Specifically, the model predicted that (1) reader identification would increase with greater…

Designed to assess children's preferences for story settings, the instrument requires children to indicate their preference for a story setting in each of 36 pairs of contrasting pictures, 12 pairs in each of the following categories: (1) fantasy versus realism, (2) past versus contemporary, and (3) geographically remote versus the near-at-hand.…

This study examined the effectiveness of booktalks for high school students by measuring their attitudes toward reading and book circulation. A reading attitude survey used as a pretest and posttest showed no significant differences overall, although specific teachers did affect their students' attitudes toward reading. Circulation showed a…

A study examined the effects of sex-typed content and sex role preference on 87 fifth grade boys' and 64 fifth grade girls' reading material preferences. It also explored how high- and low-rated sex-typed reading content and students' sex and sex role preferences influenced reading comprehension. After reading the sex-typed content, which…

Library circulation records for five years in one Hawaiian elementary school were analyzed to discover patterns according to sex and grade level; identify titles, subjects, and types of books circulated; and determine circulation of Hawaiiana and books about Asia. Bibliography of 129 titles mentioned in text is included. (11 references) (EJS)

To determine if purposes in reading differ with sex, grade level, and nationality, a 16-item "Functions of Reading Scale" (developed from content analysis of student essays on why they like to read) was administered to 459 Irish (Dublin, Ireland) and American (Windham, Connecticut) students in grades three, five, and eight. Data…

Reports on the reading interests of 450 Russian secondary school graduates enrolled in a mathematics and physics-oriented technical school in Moscow. Finds that students' interests changed during two periods in recent Russian history: (1) 1988-1990--the perestroika period; and (2) 1991-1992--the "market" period. (CFR)

Surveys the reading and viewing habits of British teenagers. Discovers that, although U.S. horror fiction (R. L. Stine, Stephen King) tops the lists, a wide diversity exists among the less popular authors. Reveals marked gender differences in amount of time spent viewing videos, television, and computer games. (MJP)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) abled and disabled sixth grade readers' knowledge of story structure under three conditions, (2) the impact of typographical factors on the visual information…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of modality-based instruction in test taking skills upon young children's performance on standardized reading tests; (2) the effects of five…