Date of Award
1982
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Jeanne M. Donovan
Second Advisor
Daniel J. Roubin
Abstract
An investigation was conducted to determine if scholastic achievement and grade level would affect participation in a parent-child reading contract program. Subjects were 108 students in grades 1-6 who were systematically sampled from 1,095 students who signed contracts to participate in the Wentzville Spring Into Reading Program.
A chi square was used to determine if there was a significant difference between high reading achievers and low reading achievers both for primary and intermediate grade levels and at all grade levels. This was done to evaluate whether reading achievement would affect participation in the reading program. Nominal data was tabulated showing the percentage of each grade level that participated and completed the reading program. Primary and intermediate percentages were then compared to find out if a difference in grade level was a factor in participating and completing the program.
The data showed that reading achievement level was a significant factor in determining who would sign a contract to participate in the Spring Into Reading Program in grades 1-6. Reading achievement level was not a factor in determining who completed the program in grades 1-6. The· level of reading achievement was not found to be significant for either signing the contract or completing the program in grades 1-3. In grades 4-6, reading achievement level was a determining factor in who signed the contract, but it was not a factor in who completed the program.
The greatest percentage of students participating in the program was recorded in the second grade. The greatest percentage of students completing the program was recorded in the first grade. In grades 1-3, a greater percentage of students signed and completed the program than in grades 4-6.
The Wentzville Spring Into Reading Program had broad appeal for grades 1-3, but it did not appeal as much to intermediate students in general, and low-reading achievement intermediate students in particular. It would appear that a contracted parent-child reading program is more successful in the lower elementary grades, and that another approach to encourage leisure time reading might be more successful for the upper grades.
Recommended Citation
McCutchan, Jeanie, "A Descriptive Study of Participation in a Parent-Child Contracted Reading Program" (1982). Theses. 1053.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/1053
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