Analysis of three sets of expectations concerning reading and study skills programs in selected Texas junior colleges

This research project investigated the relationships among what junior college students, faculty, and remedial chairpersons expect from reading and study skills programs and the graduates of these programs. The three groups that provided questionnaire data for this study were 28 remedial chairpersons, 129 subject-area teachers, and 382 freshmen from junior colleges in Texas. The questionnaire data from the groups were analyzed statistically to determine levels of significance of responses within each group, significant differences among the three groups, and the pair (or pairs) of responses that determine each difference. The findings of this study pinpointed the areas wherein expectations agree and differ among remedial chairpersons, subject-area faculty, and students regarding reading and study skills programs. The three groups agreed about the importance of 20 questionnaire items. There were, however, 21 significant F values and 54 significant t values involving areas of disagreement. Of the three groups, the group involved in the greatest number of differences with the other two groups was the students. The following major conclusions were drawn from this study: 1. Students enter reading and study skills programs with high expectations. They expect more skills to be of importance in a reading and study skills program than do chairpersons or faculty. 2. Faculty expect graduates of reading and study skills programs to be more knowledgeable in subject area skills than in other skills. 3. Chairpersons had the most limited expectations of the three groups. They deemed fewer skills to be of importance in the reading and study skills program than did faculty or students. Several minor conclusions were also drawn from this study concerning faculty attitudes toward the remedial student, readability levels of college textbooks, and comparisons between reading and subject area classroom and homework activities.