More than two-thirds of middle school students do not read proficiently. Research has shown that targeted interventions using explicit instruction methods can improve reading outcomes for struggling readers. A central feature of explicit instruction is the systematic implementation of instructional interactions, but it is not clear what specific…

Syntactic knowledge, the implicit and explicit knowledge of syntax, is a necessary--but often overlooked--component of proficient reading (e.g., Deacon & Kieffer, 2018). Though some research exists on effective syntactic instruction, such as sentence combining (Neville & Searls, 1985; Wilkinson & Patty, 1993), researchers have called…

Senior secondary Literature courses in Australia all aim, to various extents, to develop students' critical literacy skills. These aims share emphases on reading, reflecting and responding critically to texts, on critical analysis and critical ideas, and on forming interpretations informed by critical perspectives. Critical literacy is not…

Language and culture hold power and significant connections to students' identities. However, these connections are often minimized, especially for students from diverse racial-ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds who are neither white nor monolingual speakers of English. In literacy instruction, we often see complete disregard and…

A number of studies have examined the effects of reading interventions for younger readers; however, there does not appear to be any existing syntheses examining the effect of reading interventions on students in Years 7--12. The purpose of this study was to establish whether such a synthesis is feasible by reviewing the methodological quality of…

Studies find a deterioration in reading attitudes. This is worrying since research suggest that attitudes are key in developing reading comprehension. The aim of this study was, hence, to examine the relationship between the amount of school reading experience, beliefs about reading outcomes and reading attitudes. The theoretical framework was…

National reading data indicate that students with intellectual disabilities (ID) fall behind their peers in reading. Reading is important for academic achievement and learning to read can increase independence in several settings including school, work, home, and community or social (Wilson & Hunter, 2010). Students with ID have historically…

The middle and high school years represent a unique challenge for students who have not yet attained proficiency with word reading. By this time, it is generally expected that students will be able to independently read a variety of texts to gain content knowledge and to read for understanding. Students with or at-risk for learning disabilities…

Despite the importance of reading comprehension, many secondary students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) struggle with this skill. Students with ID also experience greater challenges in foundational literacy skills (i.e., skills related to phonological awareness) and the cognitive skills temporal processing and nonverbal reasoning (Van…

The notion of reading publics has a secure place in the sociology of Literature but its place in the educational literature around curriculum studies is relatively sparse. Here I address the question of reading publics in a curriculum context by examining school subject curricula whose very raisons d'etre are the creation of a reading public, viz.…

Meta-strategic learning refers to a mediated construction of knowledge regarding when, why and how to apply a group of strategies for accomplishing cognitive tasks. This study examined the effect of meta-strategic learning of structure strategies on reading comprehension of expository texts by secondary school students under whole-class…

American Samoa, a U.S. territory, has grappled with low reading scores similar to other mainland schools. As a result, different reading interventions were implemented over the years. The problem studied was that despite using Achieve 3000 as a reading intervention for students in the local high school in American Samoa, reading scores had…

In some academic topics, like physics, students are required to comprehend tough books and acquire the knowledge contained in them. The majority of content-specific teachers typically feel awkward employing explicit tactics to boost student comprehension, despite the fact that they are adept at teaching the subjects covered in their areas. As a…

Providing independent reading opportunities is a critical learning practice often overlooked in many classrooms. This study utilizes expectancy-value theory to explore the motivational beliefs of eight 4th to 8th-grade teachers regarding providing in-class independent reading opportunities. Through semi-structured interviews, data reveal that…

There is a gap in reading scores between blind/low-vision students and their sighted peers. The problem addressed in this study was that the reading interventions currently in use for blind/low vision students are not successful in closing the reading achievement gap at a Midwest secondary school for the blind and visually impaired. The purpose of…