Faculty of Education - Theses

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Understanding reading difficulties: an alternative for teachers

Johnson, Barbara (1946-) ( 1979)

Theory of education stresses the importance of both the affective and cognitive domains in education. However, the affective domain receives less attention both in teaching and assessment. The reading area is no exception. One way in which an affective measure can be employed is by assessing children's attitude to reading. The literature in the area shows that attitudes to reading can have important implications for a number of aspects related to reading. This thesis examined the usefulness of attitude assessment by conducting. case studies of good and poor readers. An interview schedule was used to assess both attitudes to reading and possible causes of the attitude, and a modified miscue inventory was used to assess reading ability. The main implication to be drawn from the case studies is the importance of assessing a child's attitude to reading as well as assessing a child's reading ability. The interview provided a wealth of information about factors influencing attitude to reading. The study also indicated that important differences exist between good and poor readers in a number of areas. Together, both measures allow a teacher to look at the total picture of the factors affecting a child's reading. By using an instrument of this kind a teacher should be able to plan a remedial program more realistically than she/he could given only cognitive data.