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    Literacy and language skills in the new vocational training environment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Social Sciences) at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Sutton, Alison Joy
    Significant numbers of New Zealanders do not have adequate literacy, numeracy and spoken English language skills for the demands made of them in the workplace, particularly where workplace reform initiatives have increased the quantity and sophistication of the skills required. Recent reforms in the national vocational education and training system are intended to increase participation in education and training, yet many adults with poor literacy skills never participate in post-school training and therefore may not be able to make use of these new opportunities. Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) are responsible for the design, management and delivery of training for their respective industries, and are national standards-setting bodies for the National Qualifications Framework. ITOs are therefore key stakeholders in the vocational training arena. This study evaluated the extent to which a sample of senior managers from 32 ITOs recognised literacy, numeracy and language skill levels as significant issues and the manner in which literacy skills are being incorporated into industry qualifications on the Framework. The evaluation used an enlightenment evaluation methodology to provide a policy focus to the research. Literacy, numeracy and language skills were regarded as significant by only a small of respondents, but this is likely to change when more workers participate in training and in particular when large numbers of learners are assessed against unit standards. Some ITOs have put strategies in place to support learners with limited literacy skills, but these are not adequate. There was some evidence of poor assessment practices. There was confusion about the most effective way to integrate literacy, numeracy and language skills into qualifications and the methods used were not in keeping with research on the transfer and integration of literacy skills from a training context to on-the-job performance. In order to improve the integration of these skills into the training system national policies and common definitions need to be established, supported by substantial research.
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    The effectiveness of a phonological-based intervention for students in their first year of school : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Literacy Education at Massey University, Hokowhitu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Wild, Sarah Anne
    New Zealand has a long tail of underachievement in reading with the results of international literacy surveys consistently showing that while some New Zealand students are among the best readers in the world, the gap between the best and poorest readers continues to widen. Research evidence indicates that a potential reason for the increasingly large gap is a lack of focus on the explicit teaching of phonologically-based decoding skills in the early years of school. The purpose of this study was to first determine the levels of alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness in a group of students at school entry and compare these levels to a group of slightly older students also in their first year of school. A second aim was to evaluate the efficacy of a nine-week explicit intervention that targeted phonologically-based skills for improving decoding ability. This study is a modified replication of a study conducted by Greaney and Arrow (2012). The study is a non-randomised, pretestintervention- posttest design with one control group. A total of 30 students were included in the study. The intervention group involved a new entrant class while the control group involved a year one class. All students were assessed using a range of phonologically-based assessments. The intervention group received the intervention in addition to their regular literacy programme while the control group only received their regular literacy programme. The results showed that the students within the intervention group entered school with a range of phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge. A key finding was that the students who had received the intervention significantly outperformed the control group on two measures of isolated decoding (the Burt word reading test and pseudoword reading) when pretest letter sound knowledge was controlled. The results of this study highlight the importance of using phonologically-based assessments with students as soon as they start school in order to identify those at risk and plan effective programmes to meet the needs of these students.