The ability to read written material is very important in the civilized world. In a society characterized by globalization and technological change, where knowledge is becoming increasingly important, reading ability is a key skill for active participation. The intent of the current study is to set out the nature of reading alongside express…

This article presents a critical review of the literature surrounding the potential impact of undiagnosed and untreated vision impairment on reading development in the early years of primary school. Despite pre-school screening programmes, it is still possible for children to enter school with undiagnosed, uncorrected vision impairments. This can…

"Low vision" describes any condition of diminished vision that is uncorrectable by standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery that disrupts a person's ability to perform common age-appropriate visual tasks. Examples of assistive technologies for vision rehabilitation include handheld magnifiers; electronic vision-enhancement…

Gender gaps in academic achievement have long captured the attention of educational researchers. Although studies from laboratory experiments have reported relatively consistent gender differences in cognitive skills over the decades, investigations done in schools have uncovered dramatic changes. In the United States, educational studies from the…

A review of the research into the possibilities of increasing the braille reading rate, including changing the ability of braille readers, changing the way in which braille characters are displayed, and changing the braille code, is presented. It is concluded that changing the perceptual ability of the braille reader is the most promising…

The effect of television viewing on children and their reading ability is discussed with emphasis on encouraging both parents and children to be more discriminating viewers. (DS)

Evaluates prior findings of reading, mental ability, and personality correlates of Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT) scores. In spite of significant correlations between the SCWT scores and selected measures of mental ability, genetic influence on SCWT scores was relatively unaffected when the influences of correlated ability measures were removed.…

Based on a review of the literature on hyperlexia (better described as hermetic reading), and often associated with autism, a theory is proposed suggesting that such reading arises from a dysfunctional procedural memory system and a disconnected though functional declarative memory system. (Author/DB)

A reprint of chapter 28 from the authors' book, "K-6: Best Years of Their Lives?" published in 1979 by the (Australian) Primary English Teaching Association, which presents evidence that contradicts reports of a decline in Australian reading standards. (DD)

Investigates whether children can use partial information to learn the pronunciations of Chinese characters. Children learned to pronounce more regular characters, which contain full information about pronunciation, and more tone-different and onset-different characters, which contain partial information about pronunciation, than characters with…

Results of analysis of correlations collected by Cookson, following Eysenck and Cookson's study of personality and ability in young people, confirm the finding from previous Cattellian test data that the more intelligent children decline in relative extraversion scores and cast doubt on Eysenck's suggestion that introverts gradually show higher…

Reviews recent studies dealing with the question of whether students' dialects interfere with their ability to read. Suggests three specific actions that educators concerned with reading instruction might take in order to enhance the quality of reading instruction for students with nonstandard dialects. (FL)

Reviews formal and informal reading achievement and diagnostic tests, evaluating them to see how they measure reading and spelling abilities within the framework of component-view of reading. Discusses recent attempts to develop alternate assessments. Concludes that school psychologists and reading specialists should be familiar with these…

Although research results generally fail to confirm a consistent relationship between reading performance and visual perception, auditory perception, or modality preference, clinical observations and teachers' opinions suggest the presence of such a relationship. The article reviews the research and suggests factors, including asking the wrong…

Describes and presents findings from an educational research study in which 100 students in primary schools were tested with regard to individual variation which could be detected when the children viewed a white disc on a dark background which momentarily disappeared. Findings regarding the smallest dark interval for which the disk was reported…