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    A dyslexic-type profile, anxiety and school-related stress in primary aged students : a New Zealand study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Educational Psychology at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Smith, Heather May
    The acknowledgement and identification of dyslexia are long overdue in New Zealand’s education system, and there is currently little understanding of the prevalence or emotional correlates of dyslexia in Aotearoa. Research offers a range of prevalence rates (3-20%), based on various operationalised definitions. The literature also suggests that a variety of emotional difficulties often co-exist with dyslexia, yet aspects of anxiety specific to research on primary school-aged groups are underrepresented in the literature. This study had two aims. First, this study aimed to identify the prevalence of a dyslexic- type profile (D-TP) in New Zealand for 8-10-year-old students. Secondly, this study explored the difference in anxiety and school-related stress experienced by students with a D-TP, when compared to generic poor readers and students with no significant reading difficulty. It was hypothesised that students with a D-TP will report significantly more anxiety and school-related stress than their peers. A quantitative approach, using Nicholson and Dymock’s (2015) SVR operationalised definition of dyslexia was employed with 54, 8 to 10-year-old students attending six different primary schools in the South Island of New Zealand, to establish a prevalence figure for a D-TP. Two standardised questionnaires (Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and the School Situational Survey) were administered to all participants, to gauge group differences in anxiety, across six dimensions, and school-related stress, across seven dimensions. The results indicated an 11% prevalence rate for a D-TP, based on the SVR criteria: a figure that appears elevated in comparison to other countries; may only represent moderate to severe dyslexia, and is likely an underestimate of the prevalence of a D-TP. Questionnaire response analyses showed that the D-TP group reported significantly greater anxiety and school-related stress than their peer groups. The study contributes towards an understanding of how the SVR-based methodology may be utilised in New Zealand for 8 to10-year-olds as an assessment for the identification of a dyslexic-type profile. It is also concluded that students with a D-TP experience greater anxiety and school-related stress than poor readers and proficient readers: a feature that not only distinguishes this group but calls for awareness in relation to their well-being.
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    An investigation into contextual facilitation effects from a verbal-visual format : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Education, Education Department, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 1992) Hyde, Justin Charles Francis
    This study investigated the use of contextual facilitation in children's beginning reading. A verbal-visual format was utilised to examine the way context influences children's ability to identify irregular words (words which do not follow normal spelling to sound relationships). The study also determined whether poor or good readers in each grade utilised context more or less according to a proposed stage pattern of word identification. The sample, comprised 113, children drawn from three grades from a Primary School in New Plymouth. Children were individually tested with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, BURT Word Reading Test, Isolated Word Test and Contextual Facilitation Test. The BURT, Isolated Word Test and Context Facilitation Test were modified for easier presentation and active participation of the children to reduce confounding variables of earlier research. Two ANOVA's were applied to analyse data in this study. The first was used to assess the difference that exists in contextual facilitation across the grades tested. The second ANOVA assessed the interaction between grade by reading ability by word block difficulty for context facilitation and for movement through the proposed stage pattern in word recognition. A correlation and stepwise regression assessed the link between context facilitation and BURT scores for reading ability differences between the children in relation to contextual facilitation use. The first ANOVA revealed that utilisation of context with childrens' increasing age decreases for simple words, but increases with increasing word difficulty. The second ANOVA indicated a divergence in reading ability and contextual facilitation beginning at about Junior 2 grade, which possibly delayed childrens' development of automatic word decoding skills. The correlation and stepwise regression between contextual facilitation and BURT scores provides the range of the children's word identification ability. This showed a considerable range in ability from poor word decoding where context cannot be utilised, through an alliance between decoding and context to identify words; to highly efficient word decoding without the need for context. Evidence from this study indicates the existence of a stage pattern of sight word acquisition similar to that proposed by Adams and Huggins (1985). This consists of three stages: 1) non-recognition, 2) intermediate and 3) automatic word recognition. Results of. this study provide evidence that an alliance exists between children's decoding and context for words in the intermediate stage before automatic word recognition occurs. As a result, increasing word identification ability into the child's non-recognition stage from intermediate stage expansion. Divergence in the stage pattern proposed begins in Junior 2 grade, where low ability readers lag behind in automatic word decoding and rely more on context. Further research beyond the generalised results from this study should include a longitudinal study to follow the reading development of individual students.
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    Oral reading errors of eight, nine and ten year olds of high and low reading ability : an analysis of their miscue patterns at independent and frustration levels : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1978) Shepherd, Harold Tinsley
    A review of the Research which has investigated Oral Reading errors, both before and after the contribution of the Psycholinguists, showed that much of the data had been collected at relatively high difficulty levels. It was the purpose of this study to investigate differences in miscue patterns both between Independent and Frustration Reading difficulty levels and amongst groups differentiated by Reading ability, age and sex. The sample used consisted of twenty eight-year-olds, twenty nine-year-olds and twenty ten-year-olds, thirty of whom were of each sex and thirty of whom were of High Reading ability and thirty of whom were of low Reading ability. Five of the subjects were low ability Readers who had scored highly on the PAT Listening Comprehension Test. Miscues were collected from each subject at both their Independent and Frustration Reading levels and classified by using an amended form of Goodman and Burkes Reading Miscue Inventory. The miscue patterns obtained were then compared both between levels and amongst groups by using the SPSS programme of the Burroughs B6700 Computer at Massey University. Significant differences were found between miscue patterns at Independent and Frustration level and this has serious implications for the interpreting of the accumulated miscue research. Significant differences were also found amongst the various groups. High ability Readers were found to make greater use of the Syntactic and Grapho-Phonic cueing systems, and relatively less use of the Semantic Cueing system, at both levels, then were the low ability Readers. At Independent Level the high ability Readers made greatest use of the Syntactic cueing system but at Frustration Level usage of the Grapho-Phonic cueing system marginally replaced the Syntactic cueing system as the one upon which he placed most reliance. For low ability Readers this increased dependence on the Grapho-Phonic cueing system at Frustration level is not evident, and this suggests that high ability Readers have a more highly organized and integrated method of utilising the cues available than do low ability Readers. Rather,low ability Readers appear to utilize the cueing systems in a non-sequential, non-preferential, almost random manner. Girls appear to utilise the Semantic cueing system to a greater extent than do boys and developmental trends over the age groups used in the study illustrate the Readers developing ability to utilise the cueing systems in an integrated manner. Subjects of low Reading ability who had scored highly on the PAT Listening Comprehension Test utilised all three cueing systems less efficiently than did the other low ability Readers. Self-correction rates were found to be a function of the difficulty level of the material being read rather than a reflection of mastery of a trainable skill which differs quantitatively between high and low ability Readers. It is concluded that the analysis of Oral Reading Errors is a vital source of information for the Reading teacher or diagnostician and a recommended procedure for carrying out such analysis is outlined.
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    How and why does phonics and comprehension skill instruction impact on spelling, reading and self-efficacy for struggling adolescent learners? : a case-study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Education (Educational Psychology) at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Nelson, Melanie
    The ability to read and write is important to learning; there is a reciprocal relationship between reading and cognitive development, and academic achievement. Adolescents who experience difficulties in spelling and reading have been found to display avoidance behaviour, and low self-efficacy, or over inflated self-efficacy that is incongruent to capability. This case study investigated how and why spelling, reading, comprehension and self-efficacy for four struggling adolescent spellers and readers was impacted by a phonological based and comprehension skills intervention. The intervention implemented was Agility with Sound. The children received eight weeks of intervention aimed at improving their spelling, word decoding and comprehension. Pre and post-intervention measures of spelling, decoding, word decoding, and comprehension were taken. Measures of pre and post-intervention self-efficacy, to investigate the influences of phonic knowledge and comprehension skill development on self-efficacy, were also taken. Infield observations and post-intervention student interviews were used to provide an in-depth investigation. There were meaningful increases in word decoding and spelling. Participants reported phonological-based instruction simplified and reduced the ambiguity of word spellings and decoding. The impact on self-efficacy was that judgements were recalibrated to more accurate judgements of capability; although the adolescent learners reported their improved skill knowledge increased their belief they could improve their spelling and reading comprehension overtime. Struggling adolescent children do benefit from explicit phonics instruction. Time constraints reduced the opportunity for the consolidation of skills which impacted on comprehension development for two students, and self-efficacy growth.
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    Developing reading comprehension for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder through concrete representations : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Serci, Amanda
    The ability to comprehend written text is an essential skill for all students, leading to their increased engagement at school, and the development of communication and cognitive skills. Recent research has found that a significant number of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have fluent word reading skills, but often experience difficulties with reading comprehension. Research is limited on this topic, and there are few studies that have identified strategies that enhance comprehension for learners with ASD. In the present study, the researcher investigated whether it was possible for students with ASD to improve their reading comprehension through a multimodal, researcher developed intervention, “Show Me’. Concrete figures and objects representing text features were manipulated by the students in accordance with the text they read, as a scaffold to assist their understanding. A single subject multiple baseline design was utilised to assess the effect of the intervention on the reading comprehension ability of three participants (aged 7-10 years old) with ASD. The results established a functional relationship between the independent variable, the ‘Show Me’ intervention, and participants’ ability to respond to comprehension questions during and after a reading session. A smaller relationship was established between the intervention and the verbal output of the students. Staff responses to the intervention were positive and indicated high social validity. The findings suggest that the manipulation of concrete representations may support students with ASD develop their reading comprehension abilities.
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    Word level literacy skills of adolescents and their teachers : an exploratory mixed methods study : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Craig, Jessica Anne
    Poor adolescent reading comprehension is a persistent problem which is difficult to solve because of its complexity. The contribution made by the word level skills of decoding and spelling to skilled reading has been under-researched in New Zealand. Relationships between word level abilities and reading comprehension were investigated in an exploratory study of 301 adolescents aged from 12 to 14 from six secondary schools in the lower North Island of New Zealand. Word level knowledge was assessed through pseudoword and real word spelling tasks whilst vocabulary knowledge was assessed using a standardised reading vocabulary assessment and a morphological awareness task. Results demonstrated that spelling was more difficult than reading comprehension, and that whilst most adolescents in the sample had a grasp of the alphabetic principle, many had weak knowledge of English orthography and morphology. Regression analysis showed that vocabulary knowledge made the greatest contribution to reading comprehension. The contribution of spelling, although quite small, was significant. This finding suggested that an intervention focused on developing orthographical and morphological knowledge might have a beneficial influence on reading comprehension abilities. An intervention focused on developing orthographic and morphological awareness, delivered by classroom teachers, consisted of bi-weekly word study sessions over 21 weeks. The intervention aimed to improve spelling and decoding skills for weaker students and vocabulary knowledge and word consciousness for all students. Moreover, the intervention also aimed to increase teachers’ word level literacy knowledge by exposing them to interactive word study activities intended to engage students’ interest. Post intervention assessments results showed no intervention effects for standardised spelling, vocabulary or reading comprehension. However, gains were found in pseudoword spelling and morphology tasks. Qualitative evidence supported the role of the intervention in developing word consciousness for a number of participants. There was evidence from a word level knowledge task that most intervention teachers improved their word level knowledge when compared with control teachers’ results. The study has added to the existing body of knowledge relating to adolescent literacy because of the dearth of research into New Zealand adolescents’ decoding and spelling skills. Furthermore, the study has contributed to a better understanding of secondary teacher’s knowledge of word level literacy skills.
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    An analysis of year 8 poor comprehenders' responses to the PAT Reading Comprehension test : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Literacy Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Corkery, Frances
    Despite years of literacy learning, a group of students continue to struggle with reading in their final year at primary school. Many of these students show adequate decoding skills but perform poorly on comprehension tasks. This study reports on the results of a study into the linguistic skills and cognitive processes of a group of thirty one poor comprehenders and twelve proficient comprehenders in Year 8. An analysis of the poor comprehender group found issues with some foundation language skills persist beyond the junior levels of primary school. Syntactic and morphological awareness were found to be less developed in the poor comprehender group when compared with their more skilled peers, while phonological knowledge was not implicated in reading difficulties. The poor comprehenders were also asked to retrospectively consider their incorrect question responses on the Progressive Achievement Test of Comprehension (PATC) in an effort to understand the reasons behind their choices and further find where breakdowns in comprehension were occurring. The PATC is widely used in New Zealand primary schools and measures silent reading comprehension using a multiple choice format. Tests conducted silently do not allow the processes of comprehension to be revealed, rather they can only tell us if understanding was successful of not. The results of this retrospective analysis highlighted several key areas of difficulty in the poor comprehender group including inferencing, vocabulary knowledge and the use of prior knowledge. Additionally, the use of poor test-taking strategies was highlighted. These included students using a key word matching ‘search and destroy’ technique to find answers, and employing timesaving measures to avoid a complete reading of the text. Finally an analysis of the questions in the PATC was undertaken to find if certain types proved more challenging for students. Results showed individual questions proved difficult to answer due to their high cognitive demands, but no question type was more difficult to answer. The study indicates the need for assessments to reflect the cognitive aspects of reading comprehension and to include foundation skills until the Year 8 level. In addition to teaching comprehension strategies and vocabulary, teachers need to focus on improving the test-taking skills of students.
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    Strategy instruction, metacognitive training and attribution retraining : a combined approach for remediating secondary students' reading comprehension difficulties : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1992) Horrex, Jan Erica
    Students who adequately decode but have difficulty comprehending what they read, often possess a limited range of comprehension strategies. Furthermore, they often lack the metacognitive knowledge to use these strategies effectively. These two factors limit the likelihood of students experiencing success on a range of academic activities. As a consequence these students often develop dysfunctional attributional beliefs which also negatively impact on future learning. In the present study, 39 students with comprehension difficulties participated in an intervention programme comparing the effects of strategy-plus-attribution training, strategy-only training, and no training conditions on reading comprehension. The results revealed no significant improvement in students' reading comprehension. However, there was a significant improvement in students' use of comprehension strategies. A number of reasons have been suggested, which could explain why the increased use of strategies did not translate into improvements in reading comprehension. In light of these suggestions, several recommendations have been made regarding the future development and implementation of reading comprehension intervention programmes.
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    Improving the reading comprehension and motivation level of struggling adolescent readers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Jeriffe, Desma
    Adolescents from many parts of the world are struggling to read and comprehend text at their appropriate grade level. As a result of their repeated failure in reading comprehension tasks, many of these struggling adolescent readers lose their motivation to read and consequently become disengaged with reading. The aim of this research project was to determine the effectiveness of a reading intervention programme at improving the reading comprehension and motivation level of struggling adolescent readers. The intervention was designed based on the Concept Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) Programme developed by John Guthrie and colleagues. The four week intervention which included a total of 15 forty minute lessons was carried out with seven struggling adolescent readers from the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. The research project utilized a mixed-method approach in which both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. The Neale Analysis of reading ability was used to assess the reading comprehension level of the students while a motivation questionnaire was used to assess the motivation level of the students. A pre-test and post-test method was used in administering these instruments. Field notes were also taken based on general observations of the participants exposed to the intervention. The results from the data indicated that there was a general improvement in students‘ reading comprehension and motivation level at the end of the intervention.
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    Causal metacognitive-motivational models of reading comprehension in reading disabled and normal achieving readers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology
    (Massey University, 1996) Pereira-Laird, Joyce Anne
    Contemporary models of reading indicate that reading achievement and impairment are the products of the complex interaction of motivational, cognitive and metacognitive processes. Most previous research has relied on correlational studies to examine the links amongst these variables. Given the complex relationships of these variables, research designs which examine these constructs simultaneously and which establish causal relationships are needed. The dearth of interactive research with different populations is surprising considering that reliable and theoretically meaningful models that are generally invariant across subpopulations would contribute much towards theoretical parsimony and progress of educational research. In light of the above considerations, the present study was designed with the primary goal of replicating and extending a previous test of a structural model of reading achievement. The main goal was to explain and predict both reading achievement and impairment from the complex and multicomponential perspective of a model of metacognition. Specifically, this involved an examination of the causal influences of young adolescent students' attributional style, and self-efficacy on metacognitive knowledge and their use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. In addition, these same variables were examined to see how they related to their reading comprehension performance and how the relationships differed in normal achieving (NA) and reading disabled children (RD). A secondary goal of this study was the investigation of variables that would distinguish between RD and NA readers. There were three phases involved in the present study. Phase 1 concerned sample selection and involved administration of a short-form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised. Selection of RD children was based on a six-stage multidefinitional approach. A sample of NA readers with reading achievement consistent with their age was also identified. A total of 203 NA readers and 204 RD readers were selected to participate in this study. The data were collected in Phases 2 and 3. Phase 2 involved administration of two self-report questionnaires which examined children's attributional style, use of strategies, metacognitive knowledge, and self-efficacy for reading. Phase 3 involved individually administered reading interviews. All questionnaires and reading interviews were administered within a two week period. The relationships among general intellectual ability, attributions, self-efficacy, metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive/cognitive strategy use, and reading comprehension in NA and RD children were evaluated using four models. The results were analyzed using structural equation modelling procedures. The proposed models provided a statistically adequate fit for the obtained data, accounting for about 60% of the variance in student performance. Several structural relationships were similar across groups suggesting that the metacognitive-motivational systems of NA and RD children were rather similar. For instance, the relationships between attributional style (as a single latent construct), efficacy, metacognitive knowledge, cognitive strategy use and metacognitive strategy use were similar across groups. Nearly all of the structural correlations and the direct and indirect coefficients were in the theoretically expected direction. In both groups, students' adaptive attributional beliefs significantly predicted self-efficacy and metacognitive knowledge. However, when the separate effects of attributional style were examined for each outcome, the results revealed that adaptive attributional style for failure was the only significant predictor of metacognitive knowledge. Furthermore, the attributional components varied in their impact on self-efficacy and these differential effects also varied across groups. An important contribution of this study was the incorporation of "strategy use" in the model. When combined strategy use (both metacognitive and cognitive) was included in the model, metacognitive knowledge no longer had a direct impact on reading performance (comprehension), instead combined strategy use played a significant role in mediating this relationship. Self-efficacy as well as metacognitive knowledge predicted combined strategy use which in turn predicted reading comprehension. Closer examination of the components of combined strategy use revealed that only "metacognitive strategy use" directly predicted reading comprehension across groups. The mediating role played by cognitive strategy use in the relationship between metacognitive knowledge and comprehension performance differed across groups. Self-efficacy directly and positively predicted metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive/cognitive strategy use. The results suggested that attributional style plays a pivotal role in the metacognitive development of both NA and RD children. A number of causal paths distinguished good from poor readers. They were the paths between ability and success/failure attributions, ability and performance, success/failure attributions and efficacy, cognitive strategy use and performance, and efficacy and performance. On the whole, motivational variables were more important in determining comprehension for RD children whilst metacognitive and cognitive strategy use variables were more important for achieving readers. The failure to develop an enriched metacognitive system in RD children was ascribed partially to the effects of their self-defeating attributions. Attributional beliefs, self-efficacy, metacognitive knowledge, and cognitive strategy use uniquely discriminated between NA and RD children. These findings suggest that metacognitive and motivational variables combine effectively to distinguish between RD and NA readers. The results also provide support for the utility of adopting a multidefinitional approach in defining RD children. The findings from this study advance the argument that reading achievement and impairment should be studied using a multicomponential framework. The implications of this study's research findings for classroom practice and research methodology are reviewed. Limitations of the present study were also discussed.