This action research study explored if changes in the reading curriculum, specifically implementation of critical literacy approaches that acknowledge bicultural students, increase student learning as perceived by teachers and students in a Catholic elementary school, where students have been chronically performing at the lowest level in the…

Results from phonological awareness research on assessment and intervention support two major suppositions. First, findings from correlational studies revealing that young children's phonological sensitivity is related to the future development of reading skills (Lonigan et al., 1998) validate early screening of phonological awareness to identify…

Closing the achievement gap among the nation's students is a major concern for many school districts across America. The achievement scores for minority and low income students are not keeping pace with those scores of white, middle/upper-class students. In hopes of reversing this trend many schools have implemented early literacy intervention…

This dissertation examined the efficacy of using minimally trained college undergraduates to tutor third- through fifth-grade students with reading difficulties. Tutors receiving four hours of training in scripted reading program based on the principles of Direct Instruction and emphasizing explicit instruction in phonological awareness and…

Abundant research chronicles the backgrounds and characteristics of community college students assigned to developmental reading. Many are members of underrepresented groups and first in their families to attend college. English may not be their primary language. Developmental students often struggle with learning disabilities. Nontraditional…

The 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) suggests that the general education setting is the most appropriate placement for all students with disabilities based on its mandate for the least restrictive environment. Because many children with disabilities have historically been educated in self-contained…

This eight-week descriptive study examined the impact of the incorporation of a Life-Application Learning Methods Program on struggling middle school readers. Two questions were explored: 1) How did incorporating life-application learning into the middle school curriculum impact reading motivation?, and 2) How did incorporating life-application…