Competent Reader, Disabled Reader: Research and Application

This book, published in 1982, attempts to summarize experimental results relevant to developing effective reading programs. It focuses on mechanical aspects of reading skills, such as visual discrimination, memory, and translation, which are crucial for reading ability. The research on competent and incompetent reading emphasizes the importance of these skills. The book provides insights into the strategies of competent readers and discusses reading problems, including dyslexia. It serves as a guide for educators in evaluating instructional materials and diagnosing reading failure.

Format: Hardback
Length: 186 pages
Publication date: 01 December 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In the past, frustration with experimental reports led educators to dismiss the entire field of reading research. This book, originally published in 1982, aimed to abstract and consolidate the experimental findings that were relevant to developing effective reading programs. The book focused on the more mechanical aspects of reading skills, such as visual discrimination ability, visual and auditory memory, visual-to-phonetic translation skills, and attentional strategies. The authors argued that these skills accounted for a significant portion of variance in reading ability.

Research on both competent and incompetent readers emphasized the special importance of these skills to reading. The book is organized into three sections.

Section I provides a review of the experimental evidence on competent reading. The review highlights consistent threads of evidence and offers a detailed description of the strategies employed by competent readers when analyzing text.

Section II examines research on poor reading. This section evaluates the concept of dyslexia and stresses that reading problems are not uniform. It explores the various factors that contribute to reading difficulties and highlights the need for individualized approaches to intervention.

Section III maintains that the information about competent reading strategies and the impediments to acquiring those strategies should guide educators in evaluating instructional materials and facilitate the diagnosis of reading failure. The book can be read today in its historical context, providing valuable insights into the evolution of reading research and its implications for teaching and learning.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032638959