Postsecondary education and some dimensions of literacy development: An exploration of longitudinal evidence

Abstract

S This exploratory study analyzed longitudinal data from 18 institutions to track the literacy development of 1,054 students during the first three years of college. Reading comprehension and attitude toward literacy activities were assessed at the beginning and end of the study. Students responded annually to questionnaires about college experiences and provided background data. Linear regression procedures were used to predict growth on the outcome measures. With potential confounding influences on literacy growth controlled, students of color made smaller reading comprehension gains than white students, and women made smaller improvements in literacy attitude than men. For the overall sample, growth in comprehension was predicted by credit hours completed, number of assigned books read, instruction perceived as effective, and the number of natural sciences and engineering courses taken. Number of assigned and unassigned books read and involvement in course learning and library experiences predicted improved attitude toward literacy activities. However, the major finding of the study was that the college‐experience factors associated with literacy growth varied depending on students' race, sex, and levels of reading comprehension and attitude toward literacy activities prior to college.

Why do All the Study Abroad Students Look Alike? Applying an Integrated Student Choice Model to Explore Differences in the Factors that Influence White and Minority Students’ Intent to Study Abroad

“…The positive attitude toward literacy scale (Bray et al 2004;Pascarella et al 2007) includes five items, each with identical five Likert-scale response options, that ask the respondent to specify their degree of interest in reading for enjoyment and writing as a means of examining or processing one's thoughts or emotions. Literature often provides access to varying values, perspectives, and attitudes about society.…”

Are university students' component reading skills related to their text comprehension and academic achievement?

“…Previous research has shown that literacy, operationalized as performance on a range of comprehension tests, operates as both a selection factor and an outcome in higher education (Bray et al, 2004;Reder, 2000), but that many postsecondary students (22%) do not meet general comprehension benchmarks for adult literacy (Reder, 2000). Less is known about the role of wordlevel processes in postsecondary achievement.…”

“…Despite the popularity of the college sophomore as a research participant, large-scale studies of college students' literacy typically have included measures of text comprehension only, not component reading skills (e.g., Bray, Pascarella, & Pierson, 2004;Reder, 2000; but see Cunningham, Stanovich, & Wilson, 1990;Perfetti & Hart, 1999 for exceptions). Those investigators who have examined postsecondary students' component reading skills have studied relatively small samples, often contrasting groups selected for particular ability levels (e.g., Bell & Perfetti, 1994;Bruck, 1998;Haenggi & Perfetti, 1994;Jackson & Doellinger, 2002, Martino & Hoffman, 2002Sabatini, 2002).…”

Cognitive Effects of Technology Over Four Years of College

“…The final dependent variable-end of fourth-year PATL-is a measure of the extent to which an individual personally enjoys literacy activities, such as reading literature, poetry, scientific texts, and/or historical material, and expressing his or her ideas through writing (Bray, Pascarella, & Pierson, 2004). The PATL scale is positively correlated with reading unassigned books, reading comprehension, and library use within college student samples.…”

“…The PATL scale is positively correlated with reading unassigned books, reading comprehension, and library use within college student samples. The reliability of the PATL scale ranges from .70 to .72 in samples of college students (Bray et al, 2004;Loes, Salisbury, & Pascarella, 2013). …”