THE STRUGGLING ADOLESCENT READER: AN EXAMINATION OF EFFECTIVE PRACTICES IN FOUR AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS

Students who enter secondary school with very low reading skills generally fall further behind their peers and have poor educational outcomes. This thesis investigated four schools that have achieved excellent outcomes with struggling adolescent readers. It found that instructional and distributed leadership, interventions, supportive mainstream classrooms and a literacy focussed school culture were features evident in each of the schools. The thesis concludes with recommendations for schools having difficulty meeting the needs of those who struggle to read.