Examines the benefits of descriptive and predictive models of reading. Argues that the choice of reading model influences the outcome of reading research. (MM)

Proposes a "partial explanatory" model of document processing. Describes research underlying the model, presents a grammar of documents, defines and illustrates the variables underlying the model using a set of tasks relating to a bus schedule, and demonstrates the advantages of explanatory over exploratory models of document processing. (SR)

William S. Gray is considered by many literacy authorities today to have been the premier reading educator of the last century. He was most noted for his extensive research and writing in many aspects of literacy. The following interview with Gray was originally published in "School and Community," a Missouri state teachers' journal, in 1949.…

The discussion provides insights into reading problems with the help of research. The interested educators will find the ample information about reading research on the web.

During the 1970s, schema theory gained prominence as reading researchers took up early work by cognitive scientists to explore the role of schemas in reading. In the 1980s and '90s, the field shifted as researchers increasingly used sociocultural theories, particularly the work of L. S. Vygotsky, to frame investigations of literacy. This article…

Indeed, for more than a century, most Western nations have made school compulsory in order to teach all children, and it was widely believed that compulsory schooling would eradicate illiteracy and guarantee progress. However, this approach was questioned by a historical study of elementary schooling. Egil Johansson explained in his study how all…

Significant barriers exist for individuals with intellectual disability to independently access print-based content. It is regrettable that, while the amount of content now available electronically increases, tools to access these materials have not been developed with individuals with intellectual disability in mind. This article reports the…

This practical, teacher-friendly book provides indispensable guidance for implementing research-based reading instruction that is responsive to students' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Structured around the "big five" core topics of an effective reading program--phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension--the…

An economics-driven discourse about early literacy (Trudell, 2009) in sub-Saharan African settings often includes a list of reasons for poor levels of literacy that remain mired in deficit thinking or a deficiencies model in which the problem lies within the non-literate people themselves. Meanwhile, the established post-colonial educational…

In a series of three experiments, we examined how sentential and discourse contexts were used by adults who are learning to read compared with skilled adult readers. In Experiment 1, participants read sentence contexts that were either congruent, incongruent or neutral with respect to a target word they had to name. Both skilled and less skilled…

Knowledge of familiar people is essential to guide social interaction, yet there is uncertainty about whether semantic knowledge for people is stored in a categorical structure as for objects. Four priming experiments using hard-to-perceive primes investigated whether occupation forms a category connecting famous persons in semantic memory. Primes…

Research shows that students who have a good understanding of narrative text structure have fewer problems comprehending stories. Research also suggests that many students require explicit instruction in how to comprehend this text type. While some children are able to figure out the more elaborate structure of narrative text on their own (i.e.,…

Standard procedures need to be developed to determine children's interests in literature. (JH)

Editing for clarity is essential in document design, but research suggests that even when used by skilled editors, the standard editing procedures are often limited in their effectiveness. Three experiments were conducted to explore the process of skilled editing in order to understand why it often fails and to determine what can be done to make…