This descriptive qualitative case study explored the changing role of the reading specialist through various perceptions of professionals in the Neon Shadow School District. The purpose of the study was to explore what, how, and why the duties and responsibilities of the reading specialist have changed since first employed as an…

This study surveyed and compared support systems for poor readers in six member states of the European Union (EU). The goal was to identify features of effective support systems. A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among mainstream teachers (n = 4,210) and remedial teachers (n = 2,395). Results indicate that the six support systems…

This article examines the differences in learning support provision for English and mathematics in Irish primary schools. Questionnaires were completed by 172 learning support teachers in Irish primary schools, as part of a national assessment of English and mathematics. Few respondents (3%) provide learning support for mathematics only, over…

The ACT National Curriculum Survey is a one-of-a-kind nationwide survey of educational practices and expectations conducted by ACT every 3 to 5 years. ACT surveys thousands of middle school/junior high school, secondary, and postsecondary teachers in English/writing, reading (including English language arts and social studies teachers),…

A nationwide survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of college remedial mathematics programs. Questionnaires mailed to 200 two- and four-year remedial educators solicited information on teaching techniques, student evaluation, course offerings, faculty qualifications, classroom resources, math labs, time limits on remediation,…

Reports on two studies that examined teachers' perceptions of the characteristics of good schools. Notes that institutional biases exist in all types of schools. Found high levels of agreement among primary, secondary, and special school teachers' ratings of the qualities of good schools. (KO)

Drawing upon selected findings from student and faculty surveys, this report describes the remedial mathematics component of the University of Georgia's Special Studies Program. After examining the need for basic skills programs in an era of declining test scores and open admissions policies, the report describes the Special Studies Program's…

After a brief discussion of the problems and defects of junior college remedial or compensatory English programs, the need for adequately trained teachers for these programs is considered. The major areas essential to the training of such teachers are identified as (1) training in English, including oral language and linguistic studies and a broad…

This paper examines remediation as the product of perceptions and beliefs about literacy and learning. It illustrates some ways teachers inadvertently participate in constructing inaccurate and limiting notions of learners as being cognitively defective and in need of "remedy," and thus limit classroom learning. It combines an empirical,…

Presents an action plan for the many developmental educators who have been enraged by the entry of private companies into the developmental education field. Asserts that developmental educators should combine the best that learning assistance has to offer with the best that the private companies have to offer, within a framework and language that…

Provides a detailed account of role of the peripatetic remedial teacher as perceived by those in daily contact with her. Examines the role within an educational context to raise issues about developing the role to accommodate changing expectations resulting from the implementation of the 1981 Education Act (England), in respect to children with…

A relatively context-free method of assessing teacher behavior was tested on nine preschool teachers, five elementary school teachers, and seven remedial teachers in Israel. The context is removed via use of extremely brief (10-second) video clips of teacher behavior, separated into verbal and non-verbal channels. (TJH)

Techniques such as the norm-referenced and average score techniques, commonly used in the identification of educationally disadvantaged students, are critiqued. This study applied latent trait theory, specifically the Rasch Model, along with teacher judgments relative to the mastery of instructional/test decisions, to derive a standard setting…

An exploratory study was conducted at Mercer County Community College to identify the skills needed and external barriers suffered by most remedial students enrolled at the college, and to develop a preliminary ranking of these skills and barriers according to their perceived importance by faculty. A survey instrument identifying 26 learning…