While teacher aides often provide individual and group reading instruction for at-risk readers, research suggests these interventions may not always bring about reading gains. This Australian study investigated upper primary school teacher aides' definitions of reading, drawing on semi-structured interview responses and written definitions…

This report captures the variety of music education research between 2012-2014 and covers a range of topics and events such as the International Society for Music Education (ISME) 2012, Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) 2013 and Australian and New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education (ANZARME) 2014.

This article reframes the concept of comprehension as a social and intellectual practice. It reviews current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse, indigenous and low socioeconomic students (SES), noting an emphasis on comprehension as autonomous skills. The four resources model (Freebody & Luke, 1990) is…

The understanding of instructions and the role of diagrams were explored in the context of cognitive load theory in 3 experiments involving 102 Australian fifth and sixth graders. Results suggest that understanding depends on interaction between elements of the information, and that diagrams can reduce cognitive load and enhance understanding.…

Indicates that there has been an increase in the standard of reading for meaning for fifth grade pupils in Australia between 1946 and 1971. (TJ)

Results from reading tests and demographic variables indicated that knowledge about books and print conventions is strongly related to reading achievement, and is predictive of comprehension involving the inferential linking of two pieces of information separated in the text. Students in a subskills-emphasis program outperformed those in a…

This study attempted to determine whether the findings of psycholinguists to syntax and reading comprehension could be generalized to children of other English-speaking cultures. Specifically, the influence of material written at different levels of syntactic maturity (according to the T-unit analysis) upon the reading comprehension of selected…

This paper constructs a taxonomy for non-oral reading based on Kenneth and Yetta Goodman's reading research. Cloze type deletions reveal how proficient readers and low ability readers from 6 to 14 years of age use graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic cues. It compares performance of Australian children on oral reading and outline strategies with…

In a comparison of normal readers and dyslexic readers who had been less successful with other late developing rules of oral syntax, both groups demonstrated knowledge of the rules for interpreting adjective complements. The only major difference was that the dyslexic readers were less likely to perform without error. (Author/MJL)

Reviews a study designed to determine whether some of the problems of poor readers are related to inadequately developed story schemata or the inability to use schemata. Discusses the need for teaching strategies to enhance children's knowledge of story structure. (RBW)

A mismatch between the intended purpose of a curriculum strategy and the discourse understandings of students that enable them to engage in the activity is a common occurrence when the purposes of the curriculum strategy are not apparent to the students. This is more likely to happen in schools in multicultural societies. Experiences in a…

Three experimental tasks were devised to assess the nature of memory processing limitations in fourth-graders' oral reading comprehension. (Author/MP)

Reports on a study that examined the relationship between understanding of specific cohesive items and general reading comprehension ability, as well as differences in performance of girls and boys. Makes suggestions for the classroom based on the findings. (ARH)

Traces the theoretical sources of self-questioning instructional research. Summarizes such research in three areas: spelling; reading comprehension; and summarization. Considers important caveats on self-questioning instructional research and practice. Mentions nascent curriculum development that is explicitly based on metacognitive theory and…

In 1981, the reading achievement of a representative sample of Queensland (Australia) Year 5 students was assessed by using a test that measured skills in the areas of vocabulary, comprehension, and speed of reading. The aim of this testing was to compare reading achievement in 1981 with reading achievement in 1971 and 1976. Comparisons of…