Award Date

1-1-2008

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

Number of Pages

115

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of several variables--reading ability (vocabulary, reading comprehension, reading power, and reading efficiency) as measured by the Iowa Silent Reading Tests, locus of control as measured by the Rotter I-E Scale, class attendance, age and sex--to overall success in a college reading improvement program; Subjects. Subjects were students enrolled in three sections of Speed Reading and Study Skills at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), during the First Spring Session, 1977. Sixty-three students participated in the study--thirty-three males and thirty females ranging in age from seventeen to sixty-one years. The class met twice weekly for two hours over a seven-week period; Procedures; Hypotheses. Hypotheses stated that there is no significant relationship between each variable--vocabulary, reading comprehension, reading power, reading efficiency, locus of control, class attendance, age and sex--and success as defined for the college reading improvement program at UNLV; Data Collection and Analysis. Data was rank ordered and number or letter coded as it became available during the seven-week course. Success data was obtained following the final class meeting, success being defined in terms of speed increases and maintenance of adequate comprehension; A computer program correlated each variable with success. The Spearman Rank-Order Correlation technique was used, corrected for tie conditions. The point-biserial correlation technique was used to determine the relationship between sex and success. A critical-ratio z-test was applied to the correlations obtained to determine their significance. Specific P-values were reported for each correlation; Results. Hypotheses associating vocabulary, reading efficiency, age and sex with success were accepted when no significant relationships were found. Hypotheses associating reading comprehension, reading power, and class attendance with success were not accepted as positive and significant relationships were found. Hypothesis associating locus of control with success was rejected when a highly significant and negative correlation was found. Results were interpreted within the framework in which they were gathered and related to similar finds in other studies; Conclusions. The study was summarized, including a review of literature, and recommendations were suggested for further research to determine factors significantly related to success in a college reading improvement program.

Keywords

College; Factors; Program; Programs; Reading; Relationship; Selected; Success

Controlled Subject

Curriculum planning

File Format

pdf

File Size

4300.8 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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