A study was conducted to determine whether reading specialists' diagnoses lead directly to remedial recommendations. Eight experienced reading specialists were observed during 24 sessions as they performed a series of tasks using three simulated cases of reading difficulty, two of which were thinly disguised versions of the same reading problem.…

Excerpts from "On Learning to Read: The Child's Fascination with Meaning," by Bruno Bettelheim and Karen Zelan, emphasize the importance of meaning in teaching a child to read. Six reading specialists comment on the book and on teachers' problems in teaching children to read. (MLF)

Reports on a survey of reading consultants and school administrators concerning their perceptions of the roles of reading consultants. (JT)

Reports the results of interviews with 12 reading specialists who stated their major concerns about reading education. States that the responses focused on three major categories: (1) changes in the definition of reading; (2) changes in the scope of reading programs; and (3) changes in people's attitudes to reflect the current understanding of…

Obtains information about how teachers and reading specialist interns worked together to implement early intervention programs in three different school districts. Describes types of collaboration using observations in the classroom and interviews with interns and teachers. Suggests that the context in the school site, teacher preference, and…

The purpose of this case study is to describe the challenges one coach faced during the initial implementation of a coaching initiative involving 33 teachers in an urban, high-poverty elementary school. Reading coaches are increasingly expected to play a key role in the professional development efforts to improve reading instruction in order to…

A study obtained information from classroom teachers, principals, and reading specialists about what they believed was important in creating effective Chapter 1 programs. One-day meetings were held in three different parts of Pennsylvania during which each group of educators (who were recommended by an advisory board) were interviewed using focus…

To learn more about reading specialists (such as job requirements, certification, and opportunities) in Louisiana, a brief, one-page questionnaire was mailed to all principals of elementary schools in the state with a student population of over 400, to personnel directors of every parish in the state, and to directors of certification in all 50…

A study was undertaken to portray the levels of productivity of reading professionals for the past seven years, to determine the productivity ratings of institutions based on publications in reading journals and presentations at National Reading Conferences, and to identify the most productive individuals in terms of publications in reading…

A study of reading specialists conducted in 1977 revealed that their diagnostic reliability was very low. Mean diagnostic agreement between two clinicians on statements seen as characterizing a case was effectively zero. Mean agreement for one clinician's diagnostic statements on a case and its replicate over time was less than 0.23. In other…

Discusses a series of six studies that investigated the performance of 66 reading and learning disabilities specialists and classroom teachers who diagnosed simulated reading or learning disability cases and suggested remediation plans. Results indicate that both commonality and individual agreement among participants was very low. (AEA)

Reports on a study that examined whether different school staff members agreed on the importance of various roles performed by reading specialists. (FL)

To explore the facets of the roles of the reading specialist, data were gathered from 23 specialists concerning their values, their perceptions of the values of their principals, and their assessment of the skills in performing their various roles. The specialists were asked to read descriptions for the following roles: (1) resource person, (2)…

This report explains the role of reading/language arts resource specialists, contains tips for setting up a resource specialist program, and presents data--and discussions of this data--collected in a field testing of a staff development project conducted by the Florida Right to Read effort during the 1973-74 school year. The latter half of the…

Supports the contention that learning disability and remedial reading professionals provide a similar service and, lacking interdisciplinary coordination, are in danger of duplicating services. Indicates support for interdisciplinary training that would foster coordination. (FL)