In this article, the author examines briefly several broad themes in reading reform to see what these can tell about policy makers' respect--or lack of respect--for teachers of reading. He talks about the current discourse of "scientifically-based" research which is about teachers, teachers who are blamed for reading failures. He…

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…

There is a growing awareness among researchers that the magnitude of cognitive sex differences is affected by a number of subject variables. To examine spatial and verbal cognitive sex differences as a function of personal and family handedness, the 478 offspring who participated in the Minnesota family study and 454 offspring who participated in…

This review of literature on stress and reading disabilities covers some affective research and theoretical footings. The research is considered in terms of historical research foundations (up to 1979) and recent research findings (1979-1989). The literature relates emotional stress either as cause, effect, or a concomitant aspect of reading…

Intended to be of help to teachers who deal with students having problems in reading, this annotated bibliography examines research findings on the relationship between reading achievement and self-concept in elementary students. The introductory portion states the problem and the purpose of the study, as well as its limitations and organization.…

Successful teachers of reading to minority children must be linguistically sophisticated. (JH)

FOUR HYPOTHESES WERE INVESTIGATED IN A STUDY DESIGNED TO DISCOVER WHETHER READING PATTERNS AND SUCCESS DURING CHILDREN'S PRIMARY YEARS COULD BE ANTICIPATED FROM EMOTIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS DETERMINED DURING THEIR PRESCHOOL YEARS. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT CHILDREN WITH EMOTIONAL DIFFICULTIES DURING PRESCHOOL YEARS WOULD HAVE MORE DIFFICULTY LEARNING…

Thirty-one first grade students from four schools participated in an investigation of the attitudes toward beginning reading held by children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Two of the schools were in inner-city, predominantly low-income, minority areas; one was in a middle-income area with approximately 27% minority enrollment, and one…

The first major section of this report describes in detail an information-integration theory which seeks to explain how an organism selects information and integrates it with other information from the environment and from the organism's internal processes. The model treats information as a pattern of neural activity composed of a plethora of unit…

Many young children are being placed in a formal reading program before they are cognitively ready. Jean Piaget's developmental theory challenges educators to begin viewing learning and cognitive development from the child's point of view. Interpreters of Piaget's theory have addressed themselves to the teaching of math and science concepts, but…

U.S. Commissioner of Education Allen, in an address to a group united in their effort to eliminate reading failure in the United States, said that volunteers are needed to sustain the additional person-to-person, specialized help that will determine the ultimate success of the Right to Read program. Brief mention was made of various roles…

In a country beset with confrontation and division--some of it over the quality of education--educators should consider as a basic need, the right of every student to read. With taxpapers concerned about the cost of education, educators need to make certain that present allotments go to priority needs, which surely include alleviating the tragic…

A recent finding that good and poor readers may bring different response patterns to the reading task comes from a pilot study in which so-called good readers achieved a higher score on a comprehension test than did poor readers, even when they had not had a paragraph or story to read as a basis for answering the questions. This study was a more…

Two alternative models for identifying kindergarten children with a high risk of becoming reading failures were compared in this study. One model places primary emphasis on psychometric test procedures assessing linguistic and perceptual-motor skills related to reading readiness. The alternative strategy is based upon the kindergarten teacher's…