The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the relationship between reading ability, frequency of reading and attitudes and beliefs relating to reading and school. Two hundred and thirty-two 10-year-old children (117 male) completed a reading comprehension test and a questionnaire exploring the following areas: frequency of…

Reports that students in a college reading efficiency course who had high self-images read significantly faster than those with low self-images, that students with initially high self-images did not maintain those images, that males had higher self-images and read faster than did females, and that there were negative relationships between speed…

College students were compared to adults for their reading comprehension of news items on two critical issues of national concern. The subjects were 109 adults and 97 college students who read ten short magazine articles on the Iran-United States hostage crisis and the U.S. energy problem. After reading the articles, the subjects' comprehension…

A study investigated (1) the effectiveness of giving instructions to form mental images prior to reading a text and at the conclusion of the text, and (2) sex differences in the ability of below average readers to form mental images. Subjects were 47 sixth grade students who were below average readers. The subjects were randomly assigned, by sex,…

Substantiates a positive and significant relationship between high interest and literal comprehension for second grade readers in the Virgin Islands. Asks teachers to consider how this might affect classroom instruction. (FL)

Two experiments were conducted to investigate children's understanding of the relationship of narrators to the texts they narrate and how children's developing cognitive abilities influence that understanding. The subjects, 164 children aged 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10, heard a series of short passages containing several characters, one of whom was the…

A study examined the effects of sex-typed content and sex role preference on 87 fifth grade boys' and 64 fifth grade girls' reading material preferences. It also explored how high- and low-rated sex-typed reading content and students' sex and sex role preferences influenced reading comprehension. After reading the sex-typed content, which…

To determine if performance on short term auditory memory tasks is influenced by reading ability or sex differences, 62 third grade reading students (16 above average boys, 16 above average girls, 16 below average boys, and 14 below average girls) were administered four memory tests--memory for consonant names, memory for words, memory for…

Tested whether a relationship existed between the method of presentation of statistical data and (1) reader retention, (2) reader reaction, and (3) reading time. Found that reader retention was highest for reports with tables; reader reaction was most favorable for reports with graphs; and reading time was shortest for reports with tables. (PD)

A study was conducted to determine if knowledge of the purposes of written language facilitated reading achievement in preschool children. The study also compared the performance of boys and girls to determine if boys' generally poorer reading abilities could be related to differences in print awareness. Scores from the comprehension subtest of…

The effect of cultural background knowledge on comprehension and on the language of recall was investigated using an oral presentation. Fifteen Aboriginal women in northern Australia and 15 American women in an adult education class in Illinois were matched in age and educational level. Two stories were read aloud to the subjects, each based on…

This publication offers the 57th Yearbook of the National Reading Conference (NRC). This Yearbook begins with a preface and presents profiles of two awardees, John E. McEneaney and Scott G. Paris. Included in this Yearbook are the following papers: (1) The Education of African-American Students: Voicing the Debates, Controversies, and Solutions…