A study of the effects of culturally relevant content on reading comprehension

Perry, Gary R. (1981) A study of the effects of culturally relevant content on reading comprehension. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of content relevancy on reading comprehension scores. Secondary concerns were an examination of the effects of reading difficulty and sex of subjects on comprehension scores. To test the effects of these variables the writer developed an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) incorporating culturally relevant content and culturally non-relevant content at three readability levels. -- Passages for the IRI were selected from reading material used at the junior high school level in the province of Newfoundland. Passages at readability levels three, five, and seven, as determined by the Fry Readability Graph, were included for each type of content. Each passage was followed by multiple-choice questions designed to measure reading comprehension. -- The sample consisted of 394 seventh grade students enrolled with the Terra Nova Integrated School Board; whole classes, irrespective of ability, were included in the study. Tests were administered by classroom teachers who volunteered to participate. Testing was done within a four-week period during the fall term of the 1980-81 schoolyear. -- Mean scores of subjects were calculated and a number of comparisons were made to assess the effects of the content, readability, and sex variables. The findings indicated that, at readability level three, indigenous materials enhanced the degree to which subjects comprehended the reading material. At other levels the subjects generally read at or near the frustration level. The findings further indicated that readability level of content and sex of subjects do not differentially affect reading comprehension scores.

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