Level Of Literacy Skills Research Articles

Challenges and Instructional Approaches Impacting the Literacy Performance of English Language Learners

For English Language Learners (ELLs), the process of becoming literate in English is daunting. Not only are these students faced with the same literacy challenges faced by native English-speaking students, but they are also challenged with extensive diversity issues relating to substantial differences in linguistic, cultural, and academic background experiences. This paper reviews the challenges faced by ELLs in learning to read in English. Subsequently the paper discusses the major instructional approaches designed to improve the literacy skill levels of these individuals.

Exploring German preservice teachers’ electronic and professional literacy skills

This article presents findings from an exploratory pilot project which aimed at fostering electronic and professional literacy skills of preservice language teachers through computer-mediated peer collaboration. The research context is a qualitative case study involving cooperation via the email and chat functions of FirstClass among preservice teachers at the Justus-Liebig Universität in Giessen and the Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg in Germany. The author investigates participants’ prior experiences with regard to computer skills, Internet proficiency, and technology-based language learning and teaching. Next, she discusses benefits and challenges for preservice teachers with respect to collaborating via computers (computer-mediated communication or CMC) with their transatlantic partners. In collecting and analyzing preservice teachers’ reflections, a Grounded Theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was used. Instances of electronic and professional literacies were identified and triangulated with data from pre-course questionnaires, post-course self-assessments, logs, email and chat transcripts, and field notes. The author discusses benefits and challenges which preservice teachers encountered through the collaboration. Findings include preservice teachers’ differing levels of electronic literacy skills, tolerance for ambiguity, institutional constraints, peer feedback, and perception of the final product. Based on her findings, the author stresses the need to encourage preservice teachers’ meta-level reflections on the challenges of the collaboration and suggests conducting longitudinal follow-up studies in order to investigate if and how in-service teachers apply the knowledge they gained from their teacher education program to their own teaching.

Bridging the Gap Between Health Literacy and Patient Education for People with Multiple Sclerosis

Health literacy links literacy skill level with the ability to understand health information and take control of one's health. People who have multiple sclerosis (MS) are bombarded with information on the disease and its prognosis, symptom management, and complex treatment options--information that is vital to self-management and quality of life. Approximately 50% of the people who have MS experience cognitive deficits, such as memory loss and a diminished capacity for learning, processing, and recalling information. By identifying and removing barriers to learning and building collaborative nurse-patient partnerships, nurses can make MS education meaningful for their patients.

Re‐counting ‘illiteracy’: literacy skills in the sociology of social inequality

Recent media reports have repeated claims that there are very large numbers of illiterate people in Britain, seven million adults being the most common figure. The moral panic this engendered has helped to justify educational initiatives and greater public spending on basic skills. However, a closer investigation of definitions and measurements of illiteracy in major national studies reveals the peculiarity of this social construction of illiteracy. Not least, it is argued that the numbers actually suffering significant literacy deficits are much lower than reported. Partly because British sociology has given literacy little attention (despite the advent of the 'New Literacy Studies'), official accounts of illiteracy remain unduly 'normative', seriously under-estimating cultural differences like gender, ethnicity and class. A new classification of low literacy skills is proposed, with the intention of demonstrating connections with structural accounts of social inequality and sociological theory. Low levels of literacy skill remain important because they are related to other forms of social inequality, even when the number of people disadvantaged in this way is much smaller than previously claimed.

Chicago Public Schools Evaluate Teaching Methods

Chicago Public Schools Evaluate Teaching Methods

The Importance of Adult Literacy Issues in Social Work Practice

For many reasons, it is not uncommon for some clients to procrastinate, make excuses, or engage in noncompliant behavior in social work interactions. For some clients, however, these responses are an attempt to hide poor literacy skills. There are many indicators of the extent of low literacy in our nation. For example, according to the most recent national assessment of literacy skills, conducted in 2003, nearly 16 percent of the adult population reads and understands at a below basic level of literacy and has difficulty with daily functional reading tasks. Approximately 28 percent of the adult population is at the basic level of literacy and can only perform simple and everyday reading tasks. People with low literacy skills have difficulty with tasks such as identifying a location on a map and calculating the total costs of ordering supplies from a catalog (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). Other indicators come from sources such as the census. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 23 percent of adults in the United States did not graduate from high school or get a high school equivalency diploma (Lasater & Elliott, 2004). Even with a high school diploma, many individuals read three or four years below their highest grade of completion in school (Hochhauser, 1997). Twenty percent of the adults born in the United States and immigrants who speak English proficiently have only basic skills that are considered insufficient for the workplace (Comings, Reder, & Sum, 2001). When people with low literacy skills are asked about their ability to read, many report that they can read well. For example, according to reports of the National Adult Literacy Survey a high percentage (66 percent to 75 percent) of adults reading at the lowest literacy skill level described themselves as being able to read or very (Kirsch, Jungeblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993). Some adult learners in the study reported that they could read well because in their daily lives they are able to read what they need to get along and therefore do not realize how deficient their reading skills truly are. Others were simply providing socially desirable answers. Many individuals with low literacy recoil or become defensive at the mention of anything that might expose their literacy issues, and they often find complicated ways to hide their poor literacy skills. For example, we have worked with students who cannot tell time. Their employers do not realize that this is an issue because the students rely on environmental clues to help them get through the day. Specifically, in the morning, the beginning of a particular television show signals that it is time to leave the house; people leaving their offices in the middle of the day indicates that it is lunch time; and people leaving the office at the end of the day provides clues that the work day is done. Many people with low reading abilities are ashamed of their circumstances. In a study of patients in acute care at a large public hospital in Atlanta, Parikh and colleagues (1996) found that nearly 40 percent of individuals who reported having low literacy skills admitted their feelings of shame. Sixty-seven percent of their interviewees had never told their spouses, more than half had never told their children, relatives, or friends of their problems with reading and understanding what they read, and the vast majority had likewise never told coworkers or supervisors. Here's a typical scenario we encounter in the course of our work. Jane (pseudonym) is an unemployed 55-year-old African American woman who recognizes words at the 3.8 grade level and has attended our three-month adult literacy class. She completed the ninth grade and dropped out of school because she found it too difficult and was constantly embarrassed by her poor reading skills. Family members also encouraged her to drop out because they needed help taking care of her younger siblings. …

Literacy and Growth

From the demographic profile of the 1994-1998 International Adult Literacy Survey, we derive synthetic time series over the 19601995 period on the literacy level of labor market entrants. This information is then used as a measure of investment in education in a two-way error correction panel data analysis of cross-country growth for a set of 14 OECD countries. The analysis indicates that direct measures of human capital based on literacy scores contain more information about the relative growth of countries than measures based on years of schooling. The results show that, overall, human capital indicators based on literacy scores have a positive and significant effect on the transitory growth path and on the long-run levels of GDP per capita and labor productivity. Quantitatively, our results indicate that the skills associated with one extra year of schooling increase aggregate labor productivity by approximately 7 %, which is consistent with microeconomic evidence (Psacharopoulos, 1994). Moreover, we find that investment in the human capital of women is more important for growth than investment in the human capital of men and that increasing the average literacy skills over all individuals has a greater effect on growth than increasing the percentage of individuals that achieve high levels of literacy skills.

The Results of a Survey on "Information" Required Subject in Senior High School and a Change in the Information Literacy Skill Level of Freshmen

The Results of a Survey on "Information" Required Subject in Senior High School and a Change in the Information Literacy Skill Level of Freshmen

Usability analysis of Northern Illinois University Libraries' website: a case study

PurposeTo describe the process and present the findings of a usability assessment of the Northern Illinois University Libraries' website.Design/methodology/approachAfter significant planning, Northern Illinois University Libraries conducted a usability analysis using a trilateral approach: usability testing, focus group sessions, and survey questionnaires.FindingsQuantitative and qualitative data are presented and discussed. Quantitative data does not adequately reflect what the test moderators and recorders observed during test sessions. Thus, qualitative data prove to be more valuable. Results were used to redesign the library's website.Research limitations/implicationsQuestionnaire return rate was extremely low, and therefore these results could not be compared with the results of the other two data collection methods.Practical implicationsThe detailed methodology section can provide guidance for other libraries considering performing usability test analyses.Originality/valueThis study utilized a unique combination of usability testing, focus group, and survey questionnaire data collection methods to solicit feedback from users. Discussion of the results leads to a new and important question for future research: what can usability testing reveal about patrons' level of information literacy skills?

Analysis and Critique of Mongolia's Draft Law on Information Technology

Mongolia's Ministry of Infrastructure has proposed a Draft Law on Information Technology that is now being considered by Mongolia's State Great Khural, the country's parliament. The core conclusion of this analysis and critique is that the Draft Law as it now stands would do significant harm to Mongolia's vibrant and promising information and communication technology (ICT) sector. For the reasons detailed in this analysis, the Draft Law should be substantially revised and rewritten. To fulfill its responsibilities as the guardian of the people of Mongolia, the Great Khural must give careful consideration to each of the many policy choices that would be codified in the provisions of the Draft Law. An alarmingly high portion of the policy choices in the Draft Law will cause harm to Mongolia's national Internet and e-commerce sectors and to its future as a competitive player in the global information and communication technology markets. Many provisions are confused and confusing, apparently reflecting a lack of technical understanding. At home, the Draft Law would crush e-commerce with unnecessary regulatory burdens, block effective deployment of new technologies and infrastructures, raise the costs of Mongolia's ICT enterprises, restrict the range and reduce the quality of communications services, and increase the monthly bills for Mongolian users. If the Draft Law is approved and implemented as it is currently written, Mongolian citizens will be saddled with fewer choices, older technology, slower connectivity, higher prices, irrational limits on technology, and more bureaucracy. Perhaps worst of all, the Draft Law's burdensome regulations are so vague and expansive that they will undoubtedly open new vistas for governmental abuse and corruption. For Mongolia, the net result would be a costly tragedy of short-sightedness and a squandering of potential: with its high levels of education, literacy, and technical skills, the country is well-situated to be a highly competitive player in the global market for ICT services. Mongolia deserves much better than the broken legal framework of the Draft Law on Information Technology. If the country is to foster entrepreneurship, local enterprise, and low-cost, high-quality ICTs for all Mongolians, the Draft Law must be thoroughly reconsidered and rewritten.

Foreword

Foreword

Developing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Literacy Interventions in a Supported Employment Setting

This article describes an integrated augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and literacy intervention program developed for five adults with autism in a supported employment facility. Specific assessment and intervention strategies as well as general outcomes of the program are discussed. Three detailed case studies describe approaches used with project participants who had emerging, beginning, and more advanced levels of communication and literacy skill.

Literacy proficiency of older adults

As a supplement to the International Adult Literacy Survey, the Netherlands devoted special attention to the literacy proficiency of older adults. A close look at the literacy skills of older adults and their use in daily life is relevant because demographic developments, individualisation, the position of older employees in the labour market and technological innovations require an increasing level of literacy skills. Accordingly, this chapter compares the literacy skills of older adults with other age groups, and presents an analysis of the determinants of literacy proficiency of older adults. In addition, results from follow-up interviews conducted with 40 older adults who had low proficiency scores in the Netherlands are presented. This includes (a) the kind of problems they experience in daily life, (b) the kind of coping strategies they develop, and (c) their attitude towards educational interventions. The results show that the literacy proficiency of older adults gives reasons for concern. They score significantly lower than other age groups. However, many older adults develop practical coping strategies, such as using social networks, assertiveness in asking for help, etc. Yet, some of the coping strategies are vulnerable because of societal changes such as rationalisation in industry and public services.

Minorities, Cognitive Skills and Incomes of Canadians

This paper uses the Statistics Canada Survey of Literacy Skills in Daily Use (LSUDA) to investigate minority- white income differences and the role cognitive skills play in those patterns. Some minority groups have substantially lower (tested) levels of literacy and numeracy skills than whites and other more economically successful minorities, and in the case of certain male groups these differences play a significant role in explaining the observed income patterns. The ethnic-white income gaps are, however, much smaller for women, and the literacy and numeracy variables do not have much of a role to play in explaining those differences. Various policy implications are discussed.

A Sequential Analysis of Children's Responsiveness to Parental Print References During Shared Book-Reading Interactions

Adults reading to preschool children have been encouraged to use print references (e.g., questions and comments about print) to stimulate children's interactions with written language. This study used sequential analysis (Bakeman & Gottman, 1997) to determine the extent to which typically developing preschoolers were responsive to parental print references during a shared book-reading interaction using a rhyming book. Participants included 15 parents and their preschool children (mean age = 4 years 6 months). A single shared reading ession was collected for each dyad following parental instruction in print-referencing behaviors. Results indicated that children responded at an overall rate of 60% to parental print references but that differential levels of child responsiveness occurred as a function of parental utterance type. That is, parental prompts were significantly more likely to elicit child responses than parental comments were. Results also indicated that children's responsiveness did not vary as a function of the early literacy topic of parental print references. For instance, children were no more likely to respond to prompts addressing alphabet knowledge than those addressing book-reading concepts or word awareness. Results may help guide intervention planning for children exhibiting low levels of early literacy skill.

Library Research Success: Designing an Online Tutorial to Teach Information Literacy Skills to First-Year Students

This article reports on a collaborative effort recently undertaken between librarians and faculty at Toronto's Seneca College to develop and implement an online, interactive tutorial for first-year business students enrolled in the College's School of Business Management. The concept for this tutorial arose when library management was approached by the Acting Chair from the College's School of Business Management to partner with them in developing a library tutorial that would be incorporated into the curriculum of this newly created course, and that would accommodate its over 600 first-year students. Library management agreed, and proposed developing a self-paced online, interactive tutorial that would utilize current Web-based technology. The primary pedagogical goals were to increase student knowledge of library resources in general, and business resources in particular, and to increase levels of information literacy and basic research skills. With the help of the College's Centre for New Technology and the Centre for Professional Development, the result was a five-module tutorial entitled Library Research Success that, in addition to its main content, also incorporated hands-on exercises at the end of each module, live connections to the Library's Web site and electronic databases, as well as two assignments, which were submitted electronically to professors at the end of the tutorial by each student, and which composed 25 percent of their final mark. Feedback from both faculty and students has been overwhelmingly positive, and efforts are currently underway to adapt this tutorial to meet the needs of other student groups within Seneca College.

A Texas Two-way Bilingual Program: Its Effects on Linguistic and Academic Achievement

This study examines a variety of student outcomes in the area of linguistic and academic development and determines whether students enrolled in a two-way bilingual program for a minimum of three years are achieving academically. Participants were native Spanish-speaking and native English-speaking fifth-grade students of Mexican origin. The findings indicate that the majority of students who participated in the two-way bilingual program were performing at academic levels equal to or greater than their non-participant campus peers when tested on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). In addition, participants were developing a high level of English literacy skills. Spanish literacy skills for the native English speakers, however, were not as highly developed. While there appeared to be promising bilingual development in the early years of the program, the rate of development seemed to be difficult to sustain in the upper grade levels.

Literacy comes second: Working with groups in developing societies

The ¿Literacy comes second¿ model is an experimental approach that may hold greater promise for the future than the traditional literacy classes. The model works with groups that already exist within the community, such as religious groups, groups meeting for business, residents¿ groups (especially in urban areas), local government and political groups. The main characteristic of these groups is that, from the point of view of literacy, they are mixed groups consisting of men and women who have different levels of literacy skills. The group members share their skills and experiences; thus every member is valued. The justification for the approach comes from an adult learning theory, which states that adults learn best through doing things in their own lives for real. In general, the goal for this approach is that people will learn how to read and write and use literacy skills to achieve developmental tasks.

Mothers’ Implicit Theories of Early Literacy Instruction: Implications for Children's Reading and Writing

Subjects in this exploratory study were 19 five‐ to six‐year‐old children and their mothers. Mothers completed surveys of family literacy practices and beliefs about early reading Instruction and children's emergent literacy skills were assessed. Results showed that one group of mothers held implicit theories that resembled whole language models of literacy Instruction. A second group of mothers held views that resembled a phonics orientation, while a smaller group of mothers had more varied and idiosyncratic beliefs. Mothers’ implicit theories were associated with their modeling of literacy behaviors, helping their children write, and with their children's independent exploration of writing and current levels of literacy skill. Results point to the importance of parents’ implicit developmental theories and the heed to understand how parental belief systems affect the roles that families play in literacy acquisition.

On defining and developing literacy across communities

The paper attempts to raise a few issues relating to the task of defining and operationalizing literacy and literacy development across communities with diverse socio-economic profiles. In particular, the following concerns are raised: (1) Can literacy development be assessed using one set of domains, given that the domains of literacy practices vary across cultures? (2) Does the acquisition of literacy skills mean the same thing to people across different communities? (3) Does illiteracy have the same consequences for people in different communities? (4) Is the process of literacy acquisition and development the same across diverse communities? The paper underscores the importance of considering the diverse socio-economic patterns in different communities in trying to determine present levels of literacy development and in proposing programs to increase levels of literacy skill. It also proposes using the level of community (in addition to the macro-level of nation-state and the micro-level of individual) in analyzing matters relating to literacy development.