Recently the DfES has issued guidance on ways to address the needs of students who experience difficulties in literacy through Wave Three provision in the National Literacy Strategy (DfES, 2002). This guidance raises the issue of what kind of programmes might be initiated in mainstream schools that will improve what is available generally for…

Examines the characteristics of students showing signs of deficiency in their reading performance at 16+. Reports on a research study which concludes that reading failure at 16+ is related to the incidence of two or more adverse characteristics. Identifies and investigates some of these characteristics. (RKM)

This article takes up the proposal, originally postulated by George Miller in the US (Miller, 1969) and later taken up by Harry Kay in the UK (Kay, 1972), that psychologists should work through non-psychologists to help alleviate social problems. Specifically it evaluates a reading intervention programme devised by educational psychologists and…

Recent work on raising attainment in education has raised theoretical issues about organizational responses to innovation and qualitative aspects of programme implementation. In particular, the "depth" of an implementation (the extent to which a programme actually changes the educational interactions between pupils and their teachers) is…

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between schooling, literacy development, and socioeconomic context, as reflected by a composite measure of socioeconomic status (SES). Reading, spelling, and phonological abilities were assessed from kindergarten to grade three in Canadian children in a school district with intensive literacy…

Examined ways early childhood teachers in three Australian schools rationalized children's literacy failure on Queensland's Year 2 Diagnostic Net. Found that teachers' narratives clustered into three groups: blaming families, blaming children, and moving beyond blame to focus on teaching; all teachers based pedagogical intervention decisions on a…

Discusses various issues surrounding inability of individualized reading approach to improve reading ability of poor readers at elementary level. Suggested reasons for failure include school environment, peer pressure, self-concept, and individual reading difficulties. Teachers' role in addressing reading failure in children is considered. (DST)

Examines the gains in single word recognition and oral reading fluency made by low-progress readers after an intensive, systematic skills-based reading program. Reports that the results did not support the hypothesis because both groups of low-progress readers made gains on the reading measures. Includes references. (CMK)

Offers a case study of one student's struggles with the demands of school literacy throughout his primary school years. Illustrates how such children rely on the innovation, energy, and good will of individual teachers; and how his fragile literacy is under threat in the transition to more fragmented learning environment of secondary school. (SR)

A survey in 1970, the first of its kind undertaken in the United Kingdom, focused on the problem of illiteracy at national and local levels. Findings are discussed and tabulated regarding total numbers by age, sex, marital status, intelligence, and causes of disability. A proposed course of action is offered. (MW)

Examines research on comparative differences in reading disabilities to determine whether findings corroborate the belief that learning to read in Japanese produces fewer reading disabilities resulting from its writing system. Suggests that there is no perfect orthography and that a small percentage of children will have difficulty in learning to…

A study examined the reading problems of adults in Newfoundland (Canada) with low reading ability. It explored the genesis of these problems through a retrospective analysis of their lives as school children; and determined the relationship between literacy development and personal background factors, school factors, physiological factors, and…

Discusses the hazards that the English language contains for children learning to read, reports the Bullock Report's recommendation to judge I.T.A. on its merits, and describes research findings suggesting that the probability of reading failure is considerably greater when T.O. is used than when I.T.A. is used. (GT)

Presents examples of the social causation of reading handicaps from a cross-cultural study of 14 countries called the Comparative Reading project. The study compared ways children were taught to read. (BF/JH)

Presents a study evaluating the effect of reading intervention with children at risk of reading failure. Explains the program spanned 10 weeks and emphasized word building and phonics skills. States there is a need for continual support as opposed to a short intervention. Includes references. (CMK)