Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Reading (Secondary)--Iowa; Individualized reading instruction; Reading (Secondary); Iowa;
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to obtain information about Individualized Reading in English programs of the public high schools of Iowa in order to make the information available to public school districts and teachers in the state.
Procedures
An attempt was made to contact every public high school through a questionnaire. A pilot study was first made of thirty-eight IR teachers selected to represent various size schools and a number of geographical areas of the state. The purpose of the pilot study was to obtain teachers' reactions to the instrument so that it could be revised before being sent to all IR teachers. Thirty-six of the thirty-eight teachers responded. A revised form of the questionnaire was sent to those IR teachers whose names appeared on a list of IR teachers provided by the State Department of Public Instruction. The information sought from the IR teachers focused on the content of the course, kinds of books read, types of conferences, evaluation of students, teachers' attitudes toward adolescent literature, the school's book selection policy, and any censorship the teacher might have encountered. Another questionnaire was constructed for non-IR teachers and sent to the remainder of the schools in the state. The non-IR teachers were asked about possible provisions for IR, e.g., as a unit, as free reading, and as an out-of-class activity. They were also asked if they were considering instituting an IR course. Questions regarding the school's book selection policy and censorship were also included. Postcard follow-ups were sent to each group. A total of 239 IR teachers and 240 non-IR teachers replied to the surveys and follow-up postcards.
Conclusions
The following conclusions about IR in the public high schools of Iowa are drawn from the data offered by the respondents:
1. IR has gained importance in Iowa since 1970 as reflected in its inclusion in the English programs of 316 of Iowa's 464 public high schools.
2. IR courses are not confined to schools of any one size.
3. Many of the IR courses in Iowa are limited in enrollment to upperclassmen not allowing some other students who could benefit from IR to take the course.
4. The high number of sections of IR offered may reflect the popularity of the course.
5. Students are talking about their reading experiences as opposed to writing book reports.
6. In many IR courses the reading is restricted which may defeat the purpose of the course.
7. Students are reading adolescent books and popular adult books as opposed to the accepted classics selected by the teacher.
8. Iowa schools have been slow to heed recommendations from authorities that book selection policies and procedures for handling censorship are important to establish before problems arise.
9. Because many books are read only once, teachers need not feel guilty if they don't read every book for conferences.
Year of Submission
1974
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of English Language and Literature
First Advisor
Geraldine LaRocque
Second Advisor
Keith McKean
Third Advisor
Joseph Lamberti
Date Original
1974
Object Description
1 PDF file (142 leaves)
Copyright
©1974 Barbara Luscomb Blow
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Blow, Barbara Luscomb, "A Survey of Individualized Reading in the Public High Schools of Iowa" (1974). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2101.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2101
Comments
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