The development and implementation of cognitive strategies to facilitate the learning of reading for students with reading difficulties

There are claims that up to twenty per cent of our children are failing to learn to read at a level considered adequate in the wider community. The problem is compounded by the Great Debate which continues to rage globally between the adherents to the opposing reading models. The debaters seldom acknowledge the vast background of research into learning failure and strategy deficiencies. It is possible that cognitive strategies may well be the facilitating skill potentially capable of enhancing reading for life. There is an urgent need for thorough research to investigate a reading model that would supplement and complement the psycholinguistic approach by teaching active decoding as a step in the application of cognitive strategies. This research set out to develop and implement a cognitive-interactive program for facilitating reading for students with reading difficulties. The program (CIP) was implemented within the existing classrooms of the participating students. Thirteen schools co-operated, allowing data to be collected from nearly three hundred students. The impact of the program was statistically evaluated. The purpose of this thesis is to extend existing knowledge by the articulation of a novel approach designed to remedy reading failure.