The problem addressed in this study pertained to two elementary schools whose kindergarten teachers encountered challenges in meeting phonological awareness and phonics standards. This basic qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of kindergarten teachers regarding effective strategies for enhancing children's phonological awareness and…

Students have the right to learn to read as part of their free, appropriate, public education. Yet current assessment data reveal that a substantial number of students in American public-schools are not able to read at a proficient level. If we desire improved student outcomes in reading, we must work for improved instruction in foundational…

Reading skills are important for students' academic success. Phonics specifically is a foundational skill which is necessary for reading fluency and overall reading proficiency. Additional support outside of the classroom can be beneficial for those struggling and at-risk. There are various strategies and interventions that can help student's gain…

In this dissertation I report findings from two studies of the literacy abilities of children with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disability. I had two overarching goals: 1) evaluate the applicability of theories of reading and spelling acquisition developed based on typically developing children to…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how K-2 teachers perceive the effectiveness of multi-sensory phonics methods used in conjunction with a standards-based reading curriculum on students' reading acquisition skills, students' decoding abilities, and student engagement in an inclusive classroom at a public charter school in…

This quantitative exploratory causal-comparative study investigated the relationship between public and private K-3 schoolteachers' perceptions of their pedagogical content knowledge and instructional practices of phonemic awareness and phonics, the two best predictors of reading comprehension proficiency. Gough and Tunmer's (1986) Simple View of…

The present study aims to examine the effects of a combination of academic and behavioral supports on students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) who are also struggling readers. A multiple baseline across participants single case design was used to measure the impact of an evidence-based systematic phonics program, in combination with…

As the number of English Learners in United States classrooms continues to increase, understanding how to best instruct these learners in reading acquisition is important. This study used a mixed-methods, casual-comparative research design to examine the differences in teacher perceptions between those who used a phonics-based approach to reading…

Public elementary schools in the Republic of Korea (Korea) do not reliably include phonics in their third and fourth grade English language curriculum. Therefore, examining how teachers are currently including phonics instructions in the classroom could significantly impact the level of reading skills acquired in English as a Foreign Language…

The purpose of this study was to provide data about the effects of early literacy instructional methods on later elementary reading performance. This study compared students who were introduced to reading through a synthetic phonics approach in contrast to students who were introduced to reading through an analytic phonics approach. Quantitative…

The purpose of this research study was to prove if students who are intellectually disabled can obtain phonemic awareness and the ability to read independently with the use of Wilson's Fundations. This study aims to investigate if students who have been identified as intellectually disabled are able to gain phonemic awareness by using Wilson's…

One of the most significant reasons children struggle with primary literacy skills is due to poor phonemic knowledge and understanding. This study was designed to identify foundational strategies necessary, needed, and used to help decrease struggles in reading performance and academic growth while addressing long term guidance for higher reading…

A nonrandomized quasi-experimental, mixed-method double pretest-posttest design was used to compare the effects of a multilinguistic word study model of instruction -- RAVE-O program (Wolf, Miller, & Donnelly, 2000) -- in comparison with a phonics word study model of instruction -- Fountas and Pinnell Phonics Lessons -- Letters, words, and how…

The study was conducted to describe how third graders, teachers, and interventionists perceive the influence of a phonics treatment program on the reading achievement of third-grade students in a school in the Western United States. The study was guided by the research questions on the perceptions of students, teachers, and interventionists on the…

Early literacy skills are essential to later reading success, yet minimal empirical understanding exists about preparing students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to read. Since 1 in 59 children are currently diagnosed with ASD, understanding how to teach reading to this population in critical. Decoding is necessary for successful reading, per…