Identifying and Responding to the Complex Needs of Middle School Struggling Readers in an Urban Public School District in New Jersey: A Qualitative Study

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Middle School Students; Reading Difficulties; Reading Skills; At Risk Students; Reading Instruction; Word Recognition; Decoding (Reading); Intervention; Reading Comprehension; Student Motivation; Faculty Development; Urban Schools

979-83-7956-746-0

When students struggle with reading at the elementary level, their needs are typically met with interventions that focus on word recognition and decoding skills. This same intervention approach is often used to address students who struggle with reading at the middle-school level. The middle school struggling reader accumulates deficits from nonproficient reading throughout the years, creating a more complex predicament than that of the elementary student (Moreau, 2014). The middle school struggling reader requires a more complex and comprehensive approach with reading interventions. This qualitative study identifies the complexities of the middle school struggling reader's experience and their implications for practice. The Simple View of Reading model illustrates the skill components of reading to frame and identify instructional needs of struggling readers (Gough & Tunmer, 1986). The literature review outlines the accumulated deficits in language comprehension that occur when students struggle with reading for extended periods of time (Cirino et al., 2013). The compounded skill deficits that accumulate over the years can also lead to deficits in student motivation, adding to the complexity (Unrau & Schlackman, 2006). Educators at the middle-school level are generally not trained in reading development, which hinders their ability to address the needs of struggling readers (Ivey & Broaddus, 2000). Districts strive to comply with aligning instruction to the state standards that only address language comprehension skills. Struggling readers require instruction in word recognition and decoding, leaving educators grappling with time constraints and little room to supplement the curriculum with the needed decoding instruction. When planning an effective reading intervention program for middle-school students, instruction should address deficits in word recognition, decoding, and language comprehension while also including components to increase motivation and engagement. Professional development in structured literacy for teachers, coaches, and administrators at the middle-school level would help educators identify and respond to the needs of middle school struggling readers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

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2023

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