Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Australia have persistently performed at relatively low levels in national and international tests of reading literacy. Research attention is required to look for new models to promote reading and reading engagement for disadvantaged students. The current study discussed a case study derived…

This article is excerpted from "Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance: Poverty, Literacy, and the Development of Information Capital" by Susan B. Neuman and Donna C. Celano. Based on 21 studies conducted over 10 years in two neighborhoods, it offers a new lens on the achievement gap--and the need for both school and community solutions. The…

THIS INVESTIGATION FOCUSED ON THE USEFULNESS OF A PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING MEASURES OF THE MOTIVATION OF FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES TO ACHIEVE IN READING WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN OR ORAL VERBAL RESPONSES FROM THE SUBJECTS. MEASURES OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION WERE CORRELATED WITH TEACHER RATINGS OF EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE IN…

This study was undertaken in a single school district to determine if variation in reading achievement levels was related to some social factors. The social factors analyzed included student IQ, student socioeconomic status (SES), teacher SES, school SES, and school classroom SES. Data was culled from the personal records of 1,522 students.…

Current research dealing with the importance of reading, various beginning reading programs, and reading and the disadvantaged child was surveyed. This was followed by an explanation of the DISTAR Reading Program, which was designed to teach reading to disadvantaged children. The remainder of the report described a study which was conducted to…

TWO STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AUDITORY SKILLS OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS AND READING ACHIEVEMENT. THE EFFECT OF A DEVELOPMENTAL AUDITORY TRAINING PROGRAM ON READING ACHIEVEMENT AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT EVALUATIVE PROCEDURES FOR AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL SKILLS WERE ALSO TESTED. SIXTY-FOUR…

COMBINATIONS OF READING AND AUDITORY PROGRAMS FOR RETARDED READERS WERE VARIED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS ON THE SHORT AND LONG TERM READING SKILLS. FORTY-THREE THIRD-GRADE NEGRO AND PUERTO RICAN SOCIALLY DEPRIVED STUDENTS SERVED AS SUBJECTS. THEIR READING LEVEL WAS AT LEAST ONE GRADE LEVEL BELOW THEIR ACTUAL GRADE PLACEMENT. THERE WERE THREE…

A review of the literature about reading instruction for ethnically different students discloses a body of information largely disconnected and biased. Numerous factors are alleged to be determinants of the reading retardation of such students. Generally, these fall into two categories: racial factors in intelligence and cultural deprivation. The…

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE APPROACHES TO TEACHING BEGINNING READING AND THE INFLUENCE OF AN ORAL LANGUAGE STIMULATION PROGRAM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN IS REPORTED IN THE FIRST-YEAR REPORT OF A 2-YEAR INTERVENTION STUDY. SUBJECTS WERE 608 FIRST-GRADE PUPILS FROM 12 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN AN INNER-CITY AREA. THE THREE EXPERIMENTAL…

FOURTEEN STUDIES IN THE AREA OF READING READINESS ARE SURVEYED. MUCH OF THE RESEARCH IS DIRECTED AT THE CHILD WHO NEEDS A PERIOD OF READINESS, PARTICULARLY THE CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED CHILD. THE VALIDITY OF READINESS TESTS, THE IMPORTANCE OF SEX DIFFERENCES, AND BEGINNING READERS ARE OTHER TOPICS DISCUSSED. REFERENCES ARE GIVEN. THIS ARTICLE IS…

Determination of the effectiveness of visual perceptual training upon word recognition and subsequent reading achievement of the culturally disadvantaged first grader was this study's goal. Forty-eight pupils in two sections of the first grade of an elementary school in Louisiana tested the hypotheses that no difference would be revealed in the…

THREE GROUPS OF DISADVANTAGED MEXICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN WERE TESTED TO DETERMINE CHANGES IN READING ACHIEVEMENT BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD GRADE. DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, AN ORAL-AURAL ENGLISH GROUP OF 102 CHILDREN WERE GIVEN INTENSIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION WHILE AN ORAL-AURAL SPANISH GROUP OF 67 CHILDREN WERE GIVEN INTENSIVE SPANISH LANGUAGE…