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    Collaborative support for reading development : parent partnership in practice : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Jackson, Jayne Helen
    There is a wealth of existing research which reports on programmes aiming to improve the reading skills of children who are struggling to learn to read. This thesis builds on one specific research area where parents are central to the process of reading remediation and are engaged to promote learning and improve reading skills. In this research the Participatory Intervention Model was used to guide the development and implementation of a collaborative intervention in support of reading development. The researcher and parents jointly developed reading support strategies which linked child assessment data, existing home literacy practices and research led literacy instruction practices. Parents then implemented these strategies during iterative cycles of support and review. The findings focus on three aspects of the process. Factors which enhanced and inhibited the effectiveness of collaboration are explored. The particulars of parental enactment of strategies to coach children’s reading are revealed. Finally, the impact of parental reading support on the children’s reading skills is highlighted. Finally, the study presents a new way of conceptualising an intervention as a collaborative endeavour. It proposes a new term; home based pedagogy to describe the actions parents and the researcher took in supporting each child.
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    The general reading status of struggling Year 9 students and their teachers' perceptions of their needs in New Zealand secondary schools : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Literary Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) White, Emma Jane
    Literacy skills are critical to academic, economic, and social success from an individual to a state level. It is in the interest of New Zealand society that literacy education meets the needs of all students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reading-related difficulties experienced by students entering secondary education and to evaluate the preparedness of secondary teachers to meet the literacy-related needs of their students. In this study, Year 9 students at two secondary schools in central-north New Zealand completed tests of reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, listening comprehension, word-reading skills, knowledge of heuristic decoding rules, and reading self-efficacy. Additionally, teachers of Year 9 students at these schools completed a questionnaire regarding their literacy-related classroom practices. The results showed that 16% of Year 9 students experience significant difficulties with reading comprehension, indicating that these students are not able to engage with secondary-level texts. These students have difficulties with varying combinations of reading vocabulary, word-reading, decoding, language comprehension and low reading self-efficacy. Secondary teachers are responsible for selecting and implementing appropriate instruction to advance the literacy skills of all their students, from those with basic reading difficulties to those who are developing disciplinary-specific literacy skills required for academic success at upper-secondary and tertiary levels. The results of this study showed that teachers of Year 9 students hold sparse and inconsistent levels of literacy-related knowledge and that literacy-related assessment and instructional practices are insufficient. It can be inferred from the results of the questionnaire that teachers of Year 9 students do not regard literacy-related practices as an important responsibility of a subject area teacher. It is suggested that secondary schools require comprehensive literacy plans that coordinate literacy-related teaching and learning practices across subject areas so that students can receive appropriate and effective literacy support in all their classes. Secondary schools require appropriately qualified, on-site literacy specialists with sufficient allocated time to support the literacy-related teaching and learning needs of teachers and students.
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    The effectiveness of a phonological awareness with decoding training programme for three struggling readers during their first year at school : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Randall, Susie Zoe
    The intention of this study was to add to the already substantial body of research regarding the instructional conditions that need to be in place to accelerate reading development in young children who are experiencing early reading failure in New Zealand schools. This study aimed to examine the efficiency of using an empirically validated approach to teach phonological awareness and decoding to struggling readers during their first year of schooling. The study was a single-subject, multiple-baseline across participants design involving three participants who were identified by their class teacher as falling significantly behind the Ministry of Education benchmark for reading acquisition after 6 months of schooling. The intervention programme was a moderated version of Phonological Awareness Training for Reading (Torgesen & Bryant, 1993) which included clearly structured games and activities focused on developing phonological awareness and knowledge of letter-sound patterns. Instructional sessions took place four times a week for 30 minutes over 6 weeks. Ongoing assessments demonstrated the existence of a functional relationship between the intervention and dependent variables of blending and segmenting accuracy, pseudo-word reading, and word recognition accuracy. The latency effect between the introduction of the intervention and the change in dependent variables was examined to determine the process of change. Improvements in these reading-related skills appeared to generalise to accuracy and fluency in reading connected text, assessed by their reading book level. The educational implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
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    Reading recovery as a small group intervention : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 1997) Iversen, Sandra
    A small scale pilot study and a larger experimental study were undertaken to determine whether the Reading Recovery procedures could be successfully adapted for small group instruction. The purpose of the pilot study was to determine effective ways of working and to make recommended changes, if necessary, to the standard Reading Recovery lesson format. The experimental study was designed to see if these modifications would be as effective as the standard one to one Reading Recovery program. Both studies involved a high percentage of children for whom English was a second or third language. Pilot study teachers, working with either two or three children, devised ways of working with children reading at the same instructional level and with children working at different instructional levels. The experimental study involved seventy five children. Fifty of these children were taught in a pair situation and twenty five were taught one to one. A wide battery of tests including the Observation Survey (Clay 1993), a word reading test and tests of phonological processing ability was administered to all children prior to commencing the program, at the end of their program, and at year end. The results from both studies suggest that one to one Reading Recovery can be successfully modified for small group instruction, the preferred group size being two. Results from both studies indicated that by investing at most 27% more instructional time, the teachers could service 100% more children.
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    The relationship between SPELD and schools in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2010) Devine, Jennifer Mary
    This research investigated the relationship between SPELD teachers and classroom teachers from the Wellington region. A key issue identified in a 2009/2010 evaluation of the SPELD New Zealand organisation was the lack of effective collaboration between SPELD teachers and individuals in the education sector. The present study sought to identify what supports SPELD and schools to work together, what factors restrict the relationship between SPELD and schools, and how can collaboration between SPELD and schools be enhanced. Using a case study methodology, this research investigated SPELD teachers’ views and experiences about their relationships with classroom teachers and the schools in which they operate and classroom teachers’ views and experiences about their relationships with SPELD teachers and the SPELD organisation in which they operate. The study found that while there were a number of positive factors contributing to an effective collaborative relationship between SPELD teachers and school teachers, there were a number of issues restricting the relationship. In particular, issues arose concerning tutoring within school hours and alignment with the work and schedules of existing specialist staff. Suggestions are offered about ways in which collaboration between SPELD and schools could be enhanced.