INTRODUCTION:
One of the primary
goals of secondary education is the development of reading and literacy skills,
and yet in 2003 barely one-third of nationwide sample of fourth graders were
reading at or above a proficient level (Donahue,
Daane, & Grigg, 2003). Reading is a complex process involving multiple
skills and systems that must be coordinated in order to result in fluent
reading behaviors (Adams, 1990). Clearly,
many children have difficulty in learning how to read and successfully
developing and coordinating the various elements involved. It is important to
scientifically investigate the skills and systems involved in reading in order
to be able to design educational programs and learning environments that target
and foster growth in these skills and systems.
NEED
AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY:
v Educational researchers have found
that there is a strong correlation between reading and academic success. In
other words, a student who is a good reader is more likely to do well in school
and pass exams than a student who is a weak reader.
v Educational researchers have also
found a strong correlation between reading and vocabulary knowledge. In other
words, students who have a large vocabulary are usually good readers.
As reading plays an important role in the academic achievement,
the investigator realized the need for the study on the teaching strategies
adopted by the teachers in developing the reading skill at secondary level and
hence the research study on “Inclusive teaching strategies used
in developing reading skill at secondary level” was planned in the educational
settings with simple techniques.
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY:
The
objectives of the study are to:
·
Assess the strategies used by teachers
in reading skill development with respect to gender of the teachers.
·
Assess the strategies used by teachers
in reading skill development with respect to age group of the teachers.
·
Assess the strategies used by teachers
in reading skill development with respect to qualification of the teachers.
·
Assess the strategies used by teachers
in reading skill development with respect to experience of the teachers.
METHODOLOGY:
The
investigator explored the children enrolled in 10 Corporation Schools from
Coimbatore district.
SAMPLE
SELECTED FOR THE STUDY:
The
investigator selected 10 Corporation Schools from Coimbatore district. The
investigator used purposive sampling technique to select the sample of the
study. The sample chosen consisted of 50 teachers, five from each of the ten
schools.
VARIABLES:
The
independent variables such as Gender, Age group, Type of School, Qualification
and Experience of teachers were selected for the study.
The
Dependent variables of the study consisted of the Inclusive teaching strategies
used in developing reading skill at secondary level.
TOOL:
1) Personal data bank
The
investigator prepared a personal data bank to collect details of the teachers
such as age group, gender, type of school, qualification and experience.
2) Questionnaire
to identify the inclusive teaching
strategies used in developing reading skill at secondary level
The
tool consisted 30 questions under five areas such as programmes, strategies,
teaching hours, teaching materials and maintaining records. Reading skill
assessed based on their responses.
Scoring Method
|
Items
|
Score
|
|
Positive response
|
1
|
|
Negative response
|
0
|
The
data after collection was processed and analyzed in accordance with the outline
laid down for the purpose at the time of developing research plan and depicted
as follows:
1) Mean and percentage
score on teaching strategies used in developing reading skills in relation to
age of the teachers
|
Age
|
Sample (No)
|
Mean score
|
Percent
|
|
Below 25
|
10
|
23
|
77
|
|
25-35
|
25
|
28
|
93
|
|
Above 35
|
15
|
27
|
90
|
Maximum score=30
2) Mean and percentage
score on teaching strategies used for developing reading skills in relation to
gender of teachers
|
Sex
|
No. of samples
|
Mean score
|
Percent
|
|
Male
|
2
|
25
|
83
|
|
Female
|
48
|
28
|
93
|
Maximum score=30
From the table, it is observed that two male
teachers included in the study obtained a percentage score of 83 on teaching
strategy used in reading skill development. A maximum percentage score of 93
was observed for the 48 female teachers. No significant difference was observed
between the male and the female teachers in the teaching strategy used for
developing reading skills among secondary school students.
3)
Mean and percentage score on teaching strategy for developing reading skills in
relation to educational qualification of the teachers
|
Educational qualification
|
Sample
(No)
|
Mean score
|
Percent
|
|
DTED
|
15
|
27
|
90
|
|
UG
|
20
|
25
|
83
|
|
PG
|
15
|
26
|
87
|
Maximum score=30
From the table, it is observed that
15 teachers with DTED qualification obtained a percentage score of 90 on
strategies used for developing reading skill among primary school students. A
percentage score of 87 was observed for teachers with Post Graduation
qualification. The teachers who had completed Graduation scored 83 percent. On
comparison it was noticed that teachers with DTED qualification scored higher
indicating their awareness and use of effective implementing strategies in
developing reading skills.
4)
Mean and percentage score on teaching strategy for developing reading skills in
relation to years of experience
|
Experience (years)
|
Sample
(No)
|
Mean score
|
Percent
|
|
below
10
|
18
|
26
|
87
|
|
10-20
|
17
|
28
|
93
|
|
above
20
|
15
|
29
|
97
|
Maximum score=30
The above table revels that 15
teachers with an experience of above 20
years obtained a percentage score of 97 on strategies used for developing
reading skill. A percentage score of 93was observed for teachers with an
experience of 10-20 years. The teachers with
below 10 years experience scored much lower compared (87%) to the other
two groups.
On comparison it was noticed that the teachers with an experience of above
20 years have a higher score on strategies used for developing reading skills
in students thus revealing the influence of experience in working with children
in enhancing their reading skills.
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION:
Ø It
is evident that 50 percent of the teachers belonged to the age group 25-35
years, followed by 30 percent above 35 years and they seem to be more aware of
the different inclusive teaching strategies.
Ø Among
the teachers 96 percent were female, and only five percent were male teachers.
Ø Forty
percent of the teachers are graduates and 30 percent each were post graduates
or had completed DTED.
Ø The
study highlighted that 36 percent of the teachers had an experience below 10
years and 34 percent were of 10-20 experience. The remaining 30 percent were of
above 20 years experience.
Ø It
is evident from this study that the teachers with educational qualification
DTED scored highest (90%) for the inclusive teaching strategies used in developing
reading skill in comparing graduate with post graduate teachers.
Ø It
is found that the teachers with an experience of above 20 years obtained a
higher score (97%) on inclusive teaching strategies used in developing reading
skill thus bringing out the importance of experience in teaching.
CONCLUSION:
Promoting innovative inclusive teaching
strategies for developing reading skill at classroom is a vast area. The
investigator has attempted to explore the inclusive teaching strategies used by
teachers in developing reading skill for secondary level students at classroom level.
The information was collected regarding reading programmes followed, teaching
materials used, monitoring procedures adopted, additional inputs given and the
records maintained by the teachers to develop reading skill. The present study
has opened up more areas that need to be further probed considering the larger
sample across the state in order to work on effective interactive strategies
for improving the same.
REFERENCES:
·
Adams, M. (1990). Beginning To Read: Thinking And Learning About Print: A Summary. Champaign-Urbana,
Il: Center For The Study Of Reading. Pp 132-135
·
Diane Mcguinness, (1997),”Decoding Strategies As Predictors Of Reading Skill: A Follow-On Study”. Volume 47, Issue 1Pp 115-150
·
Wixson, K., Peters, C., Weber, E., &
Roeber, I. (1987)."New Directions In Statewide Reading Assessment."The Reading Teacher,40. Pp 749-755
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