Defense Date

5-18-2006

Graduation Date

Summer 2006

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Department

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program for Education Leaders (IDPEL)

School

School of Education

Committee Chair

Marian B. Schultz

Committee Member

Jane Johnston

Committee Member

Suzannne Morin

Keywords

College Reading Strategies, Cultivating Self-Efficacy a College Reading, Developmental Reading, Self-Efficacy and Classroom Environment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if explicit instruction using the BICUM Study-Reading Strategy would increase the reading comprehension and self-efficacy levels of first-year, first-semester college students enrolled in a three-credit developmental reading and study skills course. The design selected to test the null hypotheses was a "Nonequivalent Control Group Design." The sample for this study consisted of 34 first-year, first-semester students who were enrolled in two three-credit developmental reading and study skills courses at a public university located in a rural section of south central Pennsylvania. There was an experimental group consisting of 19 students and a control group consisting of 15 students. Participants in the experimental group received instruction which required the participants to use the BICUM Study-Reading Instructional Strategy. Participants in the control group received instruction which required the participants to use traditional college reading strategies. Two dependent variables were studied: reading comprehension and self-efficacy. The instruments used to measure the dependent variables and to obtain quantitative data were the DRP Advanced Reading Test and the Byrd, McClellan, and Unsworth Self-Efficacy Inventory. An independent samples "t" test was used as the statistical method to accept or reject the null hypotheses and compare the means of the experimental and control groups. A paired samples "t" test was used to compare the pretest and post test means. In addition to obtaining quantitative data for this research, qualitative data was also collected. The participants responded to two pre-assessment and post-assessment reflective scenarios, and the researcher used methods of triangulation to analyze the data and identify themes. In this study both null hypotheses were retained. The results of the quantitative data indicated a significant decrease in the DRP reading scores for both the experimental and control groups. Additionally, there was a significant increase in self-efficacy levels within the groups however; there was not a significant increase between the groups. The results of the qualitative data indicated that most of the participants in both groups viewed themselves as more effective and more efficacious readers at the end of the study.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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