Effectiveness of Spanish intervention for first-grade English language learners at risk for reading difficulties

The effectiveness of an explicit, systematic reading intervention for first-grade students whose home language was Spanish and who were at risk for reading difficulties was examined. Participants were 69 students in 20 classrooms in 7 schools from 3 districts who initially did not pass the screening in Spanish and were randomly assigned within schools to a treatment or comparison group; after 7 months, 64 students remained in the study. The intervention matched the language of instruction of their core reading program (Spanish). Treatment groups of 3 to 5 students met daily for 50 min and were provided systematic and explicit instruction in oral language and reading by trained bilingual intervention teachers. Comparison students received the school's standard intervention for struggling readers. Observations during core reading instruction provided information about the reading instruction and language use of the teachers. There were no differences between the treatment and comparison groups in either Spanish or English on any measures at pretest, but there were significant posttest differences in favor of the treatment group for the following outcomes in Spanish: Letter-Sound Identification (d = 0.72), Phonological Awareness composite (d = 0.73), Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery-Revised Oral Language composite (d = 0.35), Word Attack (d = 0.85), Passage Comprehension (d = 0.55), and two measures of reading fluency (d = 0.58-0.75).     

Sex Bias and the Validity of Believed Differences between Male and Female Interscholastic Athletic Coaches

Abstract

Previous research indicates that young athletes as well as athletic administrators hold gender-role stereotypical beliefs about coaches that disfavor females. The validity of two such beliefs (lack of qualified female coaches and time constraints due to family responsibilities) was examined in a statewide survey of 256 female and 296 male interscholastic coaches and a nationwide survey of 2,719 male and 1,449 female interscholastic coaches. Statistical analyses (p < .001) indicated that female coaches were (a) more qualified than their male counterparts with respect to coaching experience with female teams, professional training, and professional experience; (b) as qualified as male coaches with regard to intercollegiate playing experience; and (c) less qualified than male coaches with respect to high school playing experience and coaching experience with male teams. Findings also indicated that male rather than female coaches more often experienced time constraints due to family responsibilities.     

Comprehensive reading instruction for students with intellectual disabilities: Findings from the first three years of a longitudinal study

This longitudinal experimental study investigated the reading progress of students with IQs ranging from 40 to 69 (i.e., range for students with mild or moderate mental retardation or intellectual disabilities [ID]) across at least two academic years, as well as the effectiveness of a comprehensive reading intervention for these students across the same period of time. Participants were 59 elementary students who were randomly placed into treatment and contrast groups. Students in the treatment condition received daily, comprehensive reading instruction in small groups of 1–4 students for 40–50 minutes per session across two or three academic years. Measures of phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, comprehension, and oral language were included. Findings indicate that students with IQs in the ID range made significant progress on multiple standardized measures of reading. Furthermore, significant differences between the treatment group and contrast group were found on several measures, including progress‐monitoring measures of phoneme segmentation, phonics, and oral reading fluency. Results demonstrate that, on average, students with ID, even those with IQs in the moderate range, learn basic reading skills given consistent, explicit, and comprehensive reading instruction across an extended period of time. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Do students with and without lexical retrieval weaknesses respond differently to instruction?

Deficits in phonological processing are theorized to be responsible for at least some reading disabilities. A considerable amount of research demonstrates that many students can be taught one of these phonological processes-phonemic awareness. However, not all students have responded favorably to this instruction. Research has suggested that these nonresponders may be unable to retrieve phonological codes quickly from long-term memory. The purpose of this study was to examine whether such a deficiency, which we refer to as lexical retrieval weakness, blunts the effectiveness of combined phonemic awareness and decoding training. To this end, we compared the effectiveness of phonemic awareness and decoding training for students with and without severe lexical retrieval weaknesses. All students in both groups demonstrated poor phonemic awareness. The results suggested that students with relatively strong lexical retrieval skill responded more favorably to beginning reading instruction than did students with weak lexical retrieval skill. In other words, lexical retrieval weakness may influence reading development independently of the effects of phonemic awareness. Implications for instruction are discussed.     

Sex bias and the validity of believed differences between male and female interscholastic athletic coaches

Previous research indicates that young athletes as well as athletic administrators hold gender-role stereotypical beliefs about coaches that disfavor females. The validity of two such beliefs (lack of qualified female coaches and time constraints due to family responsibilities) was examined in a statewide survey of 256 female and 296 male interscholastic coaches and a nationwide survey of 2,719 male and 1,449 female interscholastic coaches. Statistical analyses (p less than .001) indicated that female coaches were (a) more qualified than their male counterparts with respect to coaching experience with female teams, professional training, and professional experience; (b) as qualified as male coaches with regard to intercollegiate playing experience; and (c) less qualified than male coaches with respect to high school playing experience and coaching experience with male teams. Findings also indicated that male rather than female coaches more often experienced time constraints due to family responsibilities.     

Preliminary Evidence on the Social Standing of Students with Learning Disabilities in PALS and No–PALS Classrooms

Many researchers have documented the apparent fact that numerous students with LD have social–skill deficits and a lower social standing than their nondisabled peers. In principle, participation in peer tutoring would appear to be at least a partial solution. It requires classmates to work together on valued tasks and research indicates that it can promote academic growth among students with and without disabilities. Yet, little research has been conducted on the social benefits of peer tutoring. This study attempts to do precisely that by collecting sociometric data in 39 second– through sixth–grade classrooms, 22 of which were engaged in Peer–Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS), a form of peer tutoring. In each of the 39 classrooms, sociometric data are reported on four children—a student with LD and a low–achieving, average–achieving, and high–achieving student. Findings indicated that students with LD in PALS classes were (1) more socially accepted than their counterparts in No–PALS classes, and (2) enjoyed the same social standing as most nondisabled classmates. Strengths and weaknesses of this study are discussed, as are directions for future research.     

How research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books led to planning a joint approach to e-book policy and practice across UK and Ireland healthcare libraries

The research goals were to obtain an understanding of who the users of e-books in the NHS are, what they are using e-books for, and when and how they use them. This article presents the methodology used and the findings from the research. It also explores the outputs and next steps from the research, both for the individual countries and collectively. The Five Nations group, (library leads in England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) commissioned research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books to understand the behaviours, needs and expectations of healthcare staff and to identify shared challenges around e-books to inform policy and practice.     

All Children Can Learn To Read: Critical Care for the Prevention of Reading Failure

In this article, we present the position that students with special needs, regardless of causation, share the same basic needs for literacy instruction. What sets special needs learners apart from higher performing learners is that systematic, explicit instruction appears to be critical rather than merely beneficial and that special needs students require more instructional time and opportunity to practice reading. The need for greater explicitness and time intensity does not, however, change the content of what composes good literacy instruction. We take the position that general education should maintain primary responsibility for literacy education for all children, with special educators and reading specialists providing instructional support and, if necessary, additional instructional intensity and practice opportunities. Obstacles to providing quality literacy instruction are examined, and a school-based case study in which these obstacles have been largely overcome are presented.     

An Exploratory Analysis of the Attitudinal Impact of Awarding Athletic Scholarships to Women

The impact on women athletes of receiving or not receiving scholarships was investigated in this study. The subjects were 61 women participating in 10 intercollegiate sports. Attitudes were assessed by administering a questionnaire prior to, and after, scholarships had been awarded. The questionnaire items were grouped into three subsets which reflected different attitudes about the “impact” of awarding athletic scholarships. A 4 × 2 × 2 repeated measures design was used to test for significant statistical interaction between the three independent variables: (a) wanting a scholarship, (b) receiving a scholarship, and (c) reacting to the awarding of scholarships.