Constructions of intellectual demand in reading comprehension contexts across the curriculum in the middle and upper primary years

PhD Thesis


Meyer, Kylie. 2023. Constructions of intellectual demand in reading comprehension contexts across the curriculum in the middle and upper primary years. PhD Thesis Doctor of Philosophy. University of Southern Queensland. https://doi.org/10.26192/zww1x
Title

Constructions of intellectual demand in reading comprehension contexts across the curriculum in the middle and upper primary years

TypePhD Thesis
AuthorsMeyer, Kylie
Supervisor
1. FirstProf Shirley O'Neill
2. SecondProf Patrick Danaher
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
Qualification NameDoctor of Philosophy
Number of Pages455
Year2023
PublisherUniversity of Southern Queensland
Place of PublicationAustralia
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.26192/zww1x
Abstract

The teaching of reading has been contested over decades through what is known as the Reading Wars, with the prominent debates between proponents of phonics-first (bottom up) or meaning-first (top down) approaches. These debates have focused primarily on beginning reading and how children learn to read, with models such as the Simple View of Reading and the Reading Rope developed to represent the components that contribute to reading comprehension; the goal of all reading activity. Significantly less focus has been on the teaching of reading in the middle years or reading comprehension across disciplinary areas in the primary years. The Simple View of Reading and the Reading Rope signify only a partial representation of the complexities involved in reading comprehension across the contexts of reading within the disciplinary literacies of the middle years. This thesis examines the complexities of reading comprehension in the middle and upper primary years and advocates for explicit, discipline-specific reading instruction in the middle years, through dialogicallyrich, democratic learning environments. This qualitative study draws on Collaborative Ethnography and Classroom Discourse Analysis to examine constructions of intellectual demand in reading comprehension contexts across the curriculum in the middle years, through case studies of reading comprehension instruction in English, Studies of Society and the Environment (traditionally known as the Social Studies) and Mathematics in three middle/upper primary classrooms. The voices of teachers and students are amplified in this study through the three case studies that co-construct understandings of what constitutes intellectual demand in reading comprehension contexts across the curriculum in the middle years. As a result of this research, models representing the complexities of reading comprehension across the curriculum in the middle years are proposed to signify ‘what counts as reading comprehension’ in these contexts.

Keywordsknowledge construction; higher order thinking; reading comprehension; dialogic pedagogies
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 20203901. Curriculum and pedagogy
3902. Education policy, sociology and philosophy
4799. Other language, communication and culture
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Education
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/zww1x/constructions-of-intellectual-demand-in-reading-comprehension-contexts-across-the-curriculum-in-the-middle-and-upper-primary-years

Restricted files

Published Version

  • 14
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 14
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as