This research study explores the theoretical construct of reading held by instructors of adult disabled readers

Keefe, Donald

Meyer, Valerie

English

ScholarWorks at WMU

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and 
Language Arts 
Volume 25 
Issue 2 January 1985 Article 12 
1-1-1985 
Models of the reading Process Held by ABE and GED Instructors 
Valerie Meyer 
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville 
Donald Keefe 
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons 
 Part of the Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Meyer, V., & Keefe, D. (1985). Models of the reading Process Held by ABE and GED Instructors. Reading 
Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 25 (2). Retrieved from 
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol25/iss2/12 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by 
the Special Education and Literacy Studies at 
ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion 
in Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language 
Arts by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at WMU. 
For more information, please contact wmu-
scholarworks@wmich.edu. 
MODELS OF THE READING PROCESS 
HELD BY ABE AND GED INSTRUCTORS 
Valerie Meyer, Donald Keefe 
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, EDWARDSVILLE 
During the past several years a great deal of research has 
been conducted regarding the nature and extent of adult illiteracy 
in the United States (Harris and Associates, 1970; Northcutt et 
al, 1975; Hunter and Harmin, 1979). All studies concluded that 
approximately 20 to 30 million adults are functionally incompetent 
readers. Books proposing solutions to this problem and descriptions 
of instructional strategies unique to adult disabled readers have 
also appeared (Bowren, 1977; Neuman, 1980; Kozol, 1980; Jones 1961). 
Research has highlighted the importance of identifying an 
instructor's conceptual framework and the effect it has on the 
instructional process (DeFord, 1979). How one views the reading 
process dramatically affects how one teaches reading. This research 
study explores the theoretical construct of reading held by in-
structors of adult disabled readers. Two central questions explored 
are: "What models of the reading process do instructors of Adult 
Basic Education (ABE) and General Educational Developnent (GED) 
courses have?" and "Does the number of reading courses the teachers 
have taken correlate with their model of the reading process?" 
Methodology 
In order to determine how ABE and GED instructors viewed 
the reading process, we administered the DeFord Theoretical Orient-
ation to the Reading Process (TORP) to 148 ABE and GED instructors 
throughout the state of Illinois. The TORP is a 28 item Likert 
scale questionnaire which was validated by DeFord in 1979. This 
instrument differentiates teachers according to their theoretical 
orientations to reading. The three orientations used by DeFord 
are: (1) phonics or smaller than word emphasis, (2) whole words 
with multiple skills for dealing with print and U) a "meaning 
making" view in which one deals with language as a natural process. 
Sample questions from the TORP include the following: 
"When children (adults) do not know a word, they 
should be instructed to sound out its parts." 
"The use of a glossary or dictionary is necessary 
in determining the meaning and pronunciation of 
new words." 
"When coming to a word that's unknown, the reader 
should be encouraged to guess based upon meaning 
and go on." 
134-rh 
Instructors who strongly agreed with the first statement 
should be classified as phonics model instructors; those who stro~ 
ly agreed with the second statement would be whole word/skills 
instructors; those strongly agreeing with the third statement 
cOlllrl bp- considp-rp-d to view rC2dinc: from a whole lan.guage or "mean-
i Y',f'; lR'11d nr;" mod C' 1 . 
Research Findings 
The results of this questionnaire administered to 42 GED 
and 106 ABE instructors are contained in the following tables. 
GED 
ABE 
Total 
TABLE I 
MJDELS OF ORIENTATION TO THE READING PROCESS 
( n = 148) 
Phonics Skills Meaning Maker 
8 (19'/0) 34 (80%) 0 
38 (36%) 67 (63%) 1 (.009'/0) 
46 (31%) 101 (68%) 1 (.009'/0) 
Total 
42 
106 
148 
Of the 148 instructors surveyed, 31% scored in the phonics 
range, 68% in the skills range and less than 1% scored in the 
meaning ffi3king range. More than twice as many ABE instructors 
scored in the phonics model range than did the GED instructors. 
GED instructors have a greater tendency to favor a skills model 
of reading over a phonics model. Eighty percent of the GED instruc-
tors had a skills model of reading while only 63% of the ABE in-
structors had a skills model of reading. 
The second question explored in this study dealt with the 
number of reading courses ABE and GED instructors had taken and 
their orientation to the reading process. Tables II and III present 
this data: 
TABLE II 
NUMBER OF READING COURSES TAKEN CCJ.WARED WITH 
MJDELS OF THE READING PROCESS (GED INSTRUC'IDRS) 
(n = 42) 
Number Meaning 
of Courses Phonics Skills Maker 
0 (n = 12) 1 (8%) 11 (92%) 0 
1-3 (n = 14) 4 (29'/0) 10 (71%) 0 
4-6 (n = 9) 0 9 (100%) 0 
7+ (n = 4) 2 (50%) 2 (50%) 0 
# not (n = 3) 1 (33%) 2 (66%) 0 
stated 
Total 8 (19'/0) 34 (81%) 0 
rh-135 
TABLE III 
NUMBER OF READING COURSES TAKEN ca.wARED WITH 
r-uDELS OF TI-IE READING PROCESS (ABE INSTRUCIDRS) 
(n = It))) 
Number of Meaning 
Courses Phonics Skills Maker 
0 (n = 18) 6 <33%) 12 (6&10) 0 
1-3 (n = 42) 13 <31%) ?!) (69'/0) 0 
4-6 (n = 28) 14 (50%) 14 (50%) 0 
7+ (n = 10) 4 (40%) 5 (50%) 1 (10%) 
# not 
stated (n = 8) 1 (12%) 7 (88%) 0 
Total 38 <36%) 67 (63%) 1 (1%) 
There appears to be a slight correlation between the number 
of reading courses one has taken and one's orientation to the 
reading process for GED instructors. Those who have taken some 
reading courses tend to be more skills oriented. ABE instructors 
who have taken four or more reading courses appear to be about 
equally divided in terms of their phonics and skills orientations. 
Again, only one instructor in our sample fell into the meaning 
making model. 
Discussion and Implications 
In an earlier study the authors made of adult disabled readers 
which included 100 ABE and GED students who read at a grade equiva-
lent of 5.0 or lower as measured by standardized tests, we dis-
covered (through the use of the Burke interview) that adults who 
were poor readers did not read for sentence and passage meaning 
as does the proficient reader (Keefe, Meyer 1980). Instead these 
adults viewed reading as a task involving "sounding out" (phonics 
model) and word identification (whole word/skills model). Only 
15% of the 100 adults sampled saw reading as a meaning making 
activity. A noteworthy finding was that adults who had a "reading 
for meaning" orientation improved on standardized reading test 
scores an average of l~ to 2 years in a period of three months 
of reading instruction. On the other hand, tests scored indicated 
only a three month gain in reading ability per three calendar 
months for learners who conceptualized reading as either a phonics 
or whole word/skills process. 
It is important for adult students to shift their orientation 
from phonics or whole word/skills approach to a meaning making 
model if optimum results are to be achieved. Most teachers are just 
not aware of the model of reading they carry in their head or 
136-rh 
its relationship to other models or its effect upon their students. 
If the teachers of adult disabled readers hold a phonics/whole word 
skills model themselves, they will only reinforce the disability 
model of the student. Classroom activities will tend to reflect 
t.h0 in~.t.rllrt.or' s phoni r;:; or whol r word/skills bi:;s. 
Conclusion 
ABE and GED instructors must see reading as a meaning making 
process if they wish their students to obtain maximum results 
in reading growth. While more research needs to be conducted in 
this area, the results of this study suggest that ABE and GED 
instructors view reading as a process of sounding out words or 
learning specific skills. Psycholinguists such as the Goodrrens 
(1977), Smith (1979), Harste and Burke (1978), and others have 
substantiated that effective and efficient readers are those who 
are able to get the meaning. Reading as a meaning making process 
must begin to occupy the central position in ABE and GED programs. 
REFERENCES 
Bowren, Fay R. and Zintz, Miles V. Teaching Reading in Adult Basic 
Education. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Co., 1977. 
DeFord, D. E. A Validation of an Instrument to Determine Teacher's 
Theoretical Orientation to Reading Instruction. Unpublished 
Dissertation, Indiana University, 1979. . 
Goodrren, K.S. & Yetta "Learning About Psycholinguistic Processes 
by Analyzing Oral Reading." Harvard Education Review, Aug.' 77 . 
Harris,L. and Assoc. Survival Literacy Study, Doc. # ED 068 813,'70 
Harste,J .C. & Burke, C.L. "Toward a Socio-Psycholinguistic Model of 
Reading Comprehension." Viewpoints in Teaching and Learning, 
Vol. 54, No.3, July 197~ 
Hunter, C. S.J. & Harmin, D. Adult Illiteracy in the United States. 
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. 
Jones, E.V. Reading Instruction for the Adult Illiterate. Chicago: 
American Library Association, 1981. 
Keefe, D. & Meyer, V. "Adult Disabled Readers: Their Perceived 
Models of the Reading Process." Adult Literacy and Basic 
Education. Vol. 4, No.2, Summer, 1980. 
Kozol, J. Prisoners of Silence: Breaking the Bonds of Adult Illiter-
acy in the United States. New York: Continuum, 1980. 
Newman, Anable. Adult Basic Education: Reading. Boston, Massachu-
setts: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1980. 
Northcutt, Norvell et al. Adult Functional Competency: A Summary. 
Austin: Univ. of Texas, Div. of Extension, 1975. 
Smith, Frank. Reading Without Nonsense. New York: Teachers College 
Press, 1979. 


Models of the reading Process Held by ABE and GED Instructors

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy andLanguage ArtsVolume 25Issue 2 January 1985 Article 121-1-1985Models of the reading Process Held by ABE andGED InstructorsValerie MeyerSouthern Illinois University, EdwardsvilleDonald KeefeSouthern Illinois University, EdwardsvilleFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizonsPart of the Education CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the SpecialEducation and Literacy Studies at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy andLanguage Arts by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at WMU. For moreinformation, please contact maira.bundza@wmich.edu.Recommended CitationMeyer, V., & Keefe, D. (1985). Models of the reading Process Held by ABE and GED Instructors. Reading Horizons: A Journal ofLiteracy and Language Arts, 25 (2). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol25/iss2/12MODELS OF THE READING PROCESS HELD BY ABE AND GED INSTRUCTORS Valerie Meyer, Donald Keefe SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, EDWARDSVILLE During the past several years a great deal of research has been conducted regarding the nature and extent of adult illiteracy in the United States (Harris and Associates, 1970; Northcutt et al, 1975; Hunter and Harmin, 1979). All studies concluded that approximately 20 to 30 million adults are functionally incompetent readers. Books proposing solutions to this problem and descriptions of instructional strategies unique to adult disabled readers have also appeared (Bowren, 1977; Neuman, 1980; Kozol, 1980; Jones 1961). Research has highlighted the importance of identifying an instructor's conceptual framework and the effect it has on the instructional process (DeFord, 1979). How one views the reading process dramatically affects how one teaches reading. This research study explores the theoretical construct of reading held by in-structors of adult disabled readers. Two central questions explored are: "What models of the reading process do instructors of Adult Basic Education (ABE) and General Educational Developnent (GED) courses have?" and "Does the number of reading courses the teachers have taken correlate with their model of the reading process?" Methodology In order to determine how ABE and GED instructors viewed the reading process, we administered the DeFord Theoretical Orient-ation to the Reading Process (TORP) to 148 ABE and GED instructors throughout the state of Illinois. The TORP is a 28 item Likert scale questionnaire which was validated by DeFord in 1979. This instrument differentiates teachers according to their theoretical orientations to reading. The three orientations used by DeFord are: (1) phonics or smaller than word emphasis, (2) whole words with multiple skills for dealing with print and U) a "meaning making" view in which one deals with language as a natural process. Sample questions from the TORP include the following: "When children (adults) do not know a word, they should be instructed to sound out its parts." "The use of a glossary or dictionary is necessary in determining the meaning and pronunciation of new words." "When coming to a word that's unknown, the reader should be encouraged to guess based upon meaning and go on." 134-rh Instructors who strongly agreed with the first statement should be classified as phonics model instructors; those who stro~ ly agreed with the second statement would be whole word/skills instructors; those strongly agreeing with the third statement cOlllrl bp- considp-rp-d to view rC2dinc: from a whole lan.guage or "mean-i Y',f'; lR'11d nr;" mod C' 1 . Research Findings The results of this questionnaire administered to 42 GED and 106 ABE instructors are contained in the following tables. GED ABE Total TABLE I MJDELS OF ORIENTATION TO THE READING PROCESS ( n = 148) Phonics Skills Meaning Maker 8 (19'/0) 34 (80%) 0 38 (36%) 67 (63%) 1 (.009'/0) 46 (31%) 101 (68%) 1 (.009'/0) Total 42 106 148 Of the 148 instructors surveyed, 31% scored in the phonics range, 68% in the skills range and less than 1% scored in the meaning ffi3king range. More than twice as many ABE instructors scored in the phonics model range than did the GED instructors. GED instructors have a greater tendency to favor a skills model of reading over a phonics model. Eighty percent of the GED instruc-tors had a skills model of reading while only 63% of the ABE in-structors had a skills model of reading. The second question explored in this study dealt with the number of reading courses ABE and GED instructors had taken and their orientation to the reading process. Tables II and III present this data: TABLE II NUMBER OF READING COURSES TAKEN CCJ.WARED WITH MJDELS OF THE READING PROCESS (GED INSTRUC'IDRS) (n = 42) Number Meaning of Courses Phonics Skills Maker 0 (n = 12) 1 (8%) 11 (92%) 0 1-3 (n = 14) 4 (29'/0) 10 (71%) 0 4-6 (n = 9) 0 9 (100%) 0 7+ (n = 4) 2 (50%) 2 (50%) 0 # not (n = 3) 1 (33%) 2 (66%) 0 stated Total 8 (19'/0) 34 (81%) 0 rh-135 TABLE III NUMBER OF READING COURSES TAKEN ca.wARED WITH r-uDELS OF TI-IE READING PROCESS (ABE INSTRUCIDRS) (n = It))) Number of Meaning Courses Phonics Skills Maker 0 (n = 18) 6 <33%) 12 (6&10) 0 1-3 (n = 42) 13 <31%) ?!) (69'/0) 0 4-6 (n = 28) 14 (50%) 14 (50%) 0 7+ (n = 10) 4 (40%) 5 (50%) 1 (10%) # not stated (n = 8) 1 (12%) 7 (88%) 0 Total 38 <36%) 67 (63%) 1 (1%) There appears to be a slight correlation between the number of reading courses one has taken and one's orientation to the reading process for GED instructors. Those who have taken some reading courses tend to be more skills oriented. ABE instructors who have taken four or more reading courses appear to be about equally divided in terms of their phonics and skills orientations. Again, only one instructor in our sample fell into the meaning making model. Discussion and Implications In an earlier study the authors made of adult disabled readers which included 100 ABE and GED students who read at a grade equiva-lent of 5.0 or lower as measured by standardized tests, we dis-covered (through the use of the Burke interview) that adults who were poor readers did not read for sentence and passage meaning as does the proficient reader (Keefe, Meyer 1980). Instead these adults viewed reading as a task involving "sounding out" (phonics model) and word identification (whole word/skills model). Only 15% of the 100 adults sampled saw reading as a meaning making activity. A noteworthy finding was that adults who had a "reading for meaning" orientation improved on standardized reading test scores an average of l~ to 2 years in a period of three months of reading instruction. On the other hand, tests scored indicated only a three month gain in reading ability per three calendar months for learners who conceptualized reading as either a phonics or whole word/skills process. It is important for adult students to shift their orientation from phonics or whole word/skills approach to a meaning making model if optimum results are to be achieved. Most teachers are just not aware of the model of reading they carry in their head or 136-rh its relationship to other models or its effect upon their students. If the teachers of adult disabled readers hold a phonics/whole word skills model themselves, they will only reinforce the disability model of the student. Classroom activities will tend to reflect t.h0 in~.t.rllrt.or' s phoni r;:; or whol r word/skills bi:;s. Conclusion ABE and GED instructors must see reading as a meaning making process if they wish their students to obtain maximum results in reading growth. While more research needs to be conducted in this area, the results of this study suggest that ABE and GED instructors view reading as a process of sounding out words or learning specific skills. Psycholinguists such as the Goodrrens (1977), Smith (1979), Harste and Burke (1978), and others have substantiated that effective and efficient readers are those who are able to get the meaning. Reading as a meaning making process must begin to occupy the central position in ABE and GED programs. REFERENCES Bowren, Fay R. and Zintz, Miles V. Teaching Reading in Adult Basic Education. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Co., 1977. DeFord, D. E. A Validation of an Instrument to Determine Teacher's Theoretical Orientation to Reading Instruction. Unpublished Dissertation, Indiana University, 1979. . Goodrren, K.S. & Yetta "Learning About Psycholinguistic Processes by Analyzing Oral Reading." Harvard Education Review, Aug.' 77 . Harris,L. and Assoc. Survival Literacy Study, Doc. # ED 068 813,'70 Harste,J .C. & Burke, C.L. "Toward a Socio-Psycholinguistic Model of Reading Comprehension." Viewpoints in Teaching and Learning, Vol. 54, No.3, July 197~ Hunter, C. S.J. & Harmin, D. Adult Illiteracy in the United States. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. Jones, E.V. Reading Instruction for the Adult Illiterate. Chicago: American Library Association, 1981. Keefe, D. & Meyer, V. "Adult Disabled Readers: Their Perceived Models of the Reading Process." Adult Literacy and Basic Education. Vol. 4, No.2, Summer, 1980. Kozol, J. Prisoners of Silence: Breaking the Bonds of Adult Illiter-acy in the United States. New York: Continuum, 1980. Newman, Anable. Adult Basic Education: Reading. Boston, Massachu-setts: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1980. Northcutt, Norvell et al. Adult Functional Competency: A Summary. Austin: Univ. of Texas, Div. of Extension, 1975. Smith, Frank. Reading Without Nonsense. New York: Teachers College Press, 1979. 

https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1869&amp;context=reading_horizons

Models of the reading Process Held by ABE and GED Instructors

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

ScholarWorks at WMU

ScholarWorks at WMU

ScholarWorks at WMU