Reading Development and Reading Disability : Analyses of eye-movements and word recognition
(1998) In Studia psychologica et paedagogica- Abstract
- The primary ambition of this doctoral thesis is to provide an empirical basis for a better understanding of reading disability among school children. The current consensus in the research community is that most disabled readers fail in the acquisition of fast, accurate and automatic word recognition. The thesis includes a number of studies where normal and disabled readers are compared on various aspects of visual word recognition and related processes. The participants, about 100 disabled readers and 90 normal readers, were selected from a full cohort of 2nd graders (N = 2165) in the county of Kronoberg, Sweden, and were carefully matched on gender, non-verbal intelligence and school class. Extensive assessments of reading and spelling,... (More)
- The primary ambition of this doctoral thesis is to provide an empirical basis for a better understanding of reading disability among school children. The current consensus in the research community is that most disabled readers fail in the acquisition of fast, accurate and automatic word recognition. The thesis includes a number of studies where normal and disabled readers are compared on various aspects of visual word recognition and related processes. The participants, about 100 disabled readers and 90 normal readers, were selected from a full cohort of 2nd graders (N = 2165) in the county of Kronoberg, Sweden, and were carefully matched on gender, non-verbal intelligence and school class. Extensive assessments of reading and spelling, cognitive ability, vision, eye movements, motor skill and socio-economic background were carried out as well as teachers’ ratings of school behaviour. First, basic visual functions, including eye movements, were examined. Only minor differences between the groups were observed, such as a slightly lower contrast sensitivity and poorer control of binocular saccades among the reading disabled children. Some of the small differences in visual functions could be interpreted as reflecting differences in attention mechanisms. A new group test for assessing the growth of word recognition skill was developed; the Wordchains test. The course of development of word reading skill was examined in a cross-sectional study covering the whole period of compulsory schooling. A modified quadratic function yielded the best fit to the data, and the asymptote level was reached around the age of 18. Girls outperformed boys at all stages. A longitudinal study gave support for a deficit model of reading disability. In summary, 3 out of 5 of the children initially classified as reading disabled were stable poor readers seven years later. Only a minority (18%) followed a lag model, reaching a normal level by grade 9. For the reading disabled boys a growth curve analysis demonstrated that about 25% of the variance in slope (average rate of individual growth) could be explained by factors related to early reading skill and non-verbal intelligence. A wide range of neuropsychological and social variables failed to predict individual development in word reading. For the control group none of the independent variables explained the slope variance. Methodological issues involved in the growth study were analysed and discussed. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingen har ambitionen att på empirisk grund öka vår förståelse av lässvårigheter bland skolbarn. En allmän uppfattning bland läsforskare är att svaga läsare har svårigheter med snabb, säker och automatisk ordavkodning. Avhandlingen inkluderar ett antal studier som jämför svaga och goda läsare med avseende på olika aspekter av visuell ordavkodning. Drygt 100 svaga läsare valdes ut ur en hel årgång elever i årskurs 2 (N=2165) i Kronobergs län. Eleverna matchades med 90 normalläsare med avseende på kön, icke-verbal begåvning och klass. Ett omfattande testbatteri genomfördes bestående av läsning, stavning, kognitiv förmåga, synförmåga, ögonrörelser, motorisk förmåga, socio-ekonomisk bakgrund... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingen har ambitionen att på empirisk grund öka vår förståelse av lässvårigheter bland skolbarn. En allmän uppfattning bland läsforskare är att svaga läsare har svårigheter med snabb, säker och automatisk ordavkodning. Avhandlingen inkluderar ett antal studier som jämför svaga och goda läsare med avseende på olika aspekter av visuell ordavkodning. Drygt 100 svaga läsare valdes ut ur en hel årgång elever i årskurs 2 (N=2165) i Kronobergs län. Eleverna matchades med 90 normalläsare med avseende på kön, icke-verbal begåvning och klass. Ett omfattande testbatteri genomfördes bestående av läsning, stavning, kognitiv förmåga, synförmåga, ögonrörelser, motorisk förmåga, socio-ekonomisk bakgrund samt lärarskattning av skolbeteende. Först undersöktes basala synfunktioner, inkluderande ögonrörelser. Endast små skillnader mellan grupperna kunde konstateras, såsom något lägre kontrastkänslighet och sämre kontroll av binockulära sackader i den lässvaga gruppen. Dessa skillnader kunde emellertid tolkas så att de snarare speglade uppmärksamhetsskillnader mellan grupperna. Ett nyutvecklat lästest, Ordkedjetestet, som möjliggör individuell uppföljning av tillväxt i läsförmåga presenterades. Läsutveckling följdes genom en tvärsnittsundersökning från årskurs 1 till 9 i grundskolan. En modifierad kvadratisk funktion, där utveckling av läsförmågan når ett asymptotvärde vid i genomsnitt 18 års ålder, tycktes bäst passa befintliga tvärsnittsdata. Flickor, i alla åldrar, uppnår bättre resultat på Ordkedjetestet. För 3 av 5 tidigt lässvaga pojkar tycktes en "funktionsstörningsmodell" bäst beskriva deras situation, dvs de fortsatte att prestera klart under genomsnittet under hela grundskoletiden. Endast en minoritet (18%) av de initialt lässvaga eleverna tycktes följa en "mognadsmodell" och uppnå normal läsförmåga i årskurs 9. En genomförd analys av tillväxthastigheten i ordavkodning för de lässvaga pojkarna visade att endast 25% av variansen kunde förklaras utifrån det i årskurserna 2-3 genomförda testbatteriet, och då endast av variablerna läsförmåga och icke-verbal begåvning. Övriga neuropsykologiska och sociala faktorer förmådde inte predicera lästillväxthastigheten. För kontrollgruppen visade sig ingen faktor ha prediktionsförmåga av tillväxtvariansen. Avslutningsvis diskuterades metodfrågor vid tillväxtstudier av läsförmåga. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/38369
- author
- Jacobson, Christer LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Docent Olofsson, Åke, Psychological Inst. of Umeå Universitet
- organization
- publishing date
- 1998
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Applied and experimental psychology, eye-movements, gender differences, growth-curves, reading disability, Word recognition, reading development, Tillämpad och experimentell psykologi
- in
- Studia psychologica et paedagogica
- pages
- 144 pages
- publisher
- Christer Jacobson, Blåklintsvägen 3, S-352 50 Växjö, Sweden,
- defense location
- Lund
- defense date
- 1998-02-13 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LUSADG/SATP--98/1020--SE
- ISSN
- 0346-5926
- ISBN
- 91-22-01780-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b83fcf71-6fa3-4828-bdc1-fecef7d1705d (old id 38369)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:59:03
- date last changed
- 2021-12-19 11:04:26
@phdthesis{b83fcf71-6fa3-4828-bdc1-fecef7d1705d,
abstract = {{The primary ambition of this doctoral thesis is to provide an empirical basis for a better understanding of reading disability among school children. The current consensus in the research community is that most disabled readers fail in the acquisition of fast, accurate and automatic word recognition. The thesis includes a number of studies where normal and disabled readers are compared on various aspects of visual word recognition and related processes. The participants, about 100 disabled readers and 90 normal readers, were selected from a full cohort of 2nd graders (N = 2165) in the county of Kronoberg, Sweden, and were carefully matched on gender, non-verbal intelligence and school class. Extensive assessments of reading and spelling, cognitive ability, vision, eye movements, motor skill and socio-economic background were carried out as well as teachers’ ratings of school behaviour. First, basic visual functions, including eye movements, were examined. Only minor differences between the groups were observed, such as a slightly lower contrast sensitivity and poorer control of binocular saccades among the reading disabled children. Some of the small differences in visual functions could be interpreted as reflecting differences in attention mechanisms. A new group test for assessing the growth of word recognition skill was developed; the Wordchains test. The course of development of word reading skill was examined in a cross-sectional study covering the whole period of compulsory schooling. A modified quadratic function yielded the best fit to the data, and the asymptote level was reached around the age of 18. Girls outperformed boys at all stages. A longitudinal study gave support for a deficit model of reading disability. In summary, 3 out of 5 of the children initially classified as reading disabled were stable poor readers seven years later. Only a minority (18%) followed a lag model, reaching a normal level by grade 9. For the reading disabled boys a growth curve analysis demonstrated that about 25% of the variance in slope (average rate of individual growth) could be explained by factors related to early reading skill and non-verbal intelligence. A wide range of neuropsychological and social variables failed to predict individual development in word reading. For the control group none of the independent variables explained the slope variance. Methodological issues involved in the growth study were analysed and discussed.}},
author = {{Jacobson, Christer}},
isbn = {{91-22-01780-1}},
issn = {{0346-5926}},
keywords = {{Applied and experimental psychology; eye-movements; gender differences; growth-curves; reading disability; Word recognition; reading development; Tillämpad och experimentell psykologi}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Christer Jacobson, Blåklintsvägen 3, S-352 50 Växjö, Sweden,}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Studia psychologica et paedagogica}},
title = {{Reading Development and Reading Disability : Analyses of eye-movements and word recognition}},
year = {{1998}},
}