Date Available

5-9-2025

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College

Health Sciences

Department/School/Program

Communication Sciences & Disorders

Faculty

Dr. Joneen Lowman

Faculty

Dr. Anne Olson

Faculty

Donna Morris

Abstract

Introduction: Reading is a doorway to life participation. Only about one-third of fourth graders have read at grade level for the last three decades. Multiple views on what constitutes skilled reading emphasize decoding and greater variability among comprehension-related skills. Scarborough’s Reading Rope is the most specific in defining discrete skills necessary for adequate reading comprehension. This study aims to understand how elementary-level general education teachers and speech-language pathologists define “reading comprehension” and describe their practices in assessing and developing these skills. Methodology: Elementary school speech-language pathologists and teachers were interviewed about their conceptualizations and applications of the discrete skills in the comprehension strand of Scarborough’s Reading Rope model. Thematic analysis was completed to highlight themes in their responses. Results: Elementary SLPs and teachers almost unanimously subscribe to the Simple View of Reading. They believe that mastery of word decoding precedes comprehension skills. Both parties regard the skills as discrete yet interconnected entities. Interprofessional practice is seen as beneficial, but barriers exist in practical application. Conclusion: Investigating reading comprehension further to create a unified definition and understanding of scope of practice could alleviate barriers in schools.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.95

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