[Dade City, Florida]: The Author, 1970.
Price: $1,400.00
Hardcover. First edition. Quarto. 171pp., printed rectos only. Black leatherette gilt, with photomechanically reproduced leaves and occasional light pencil editing throughout. Foredge with three small stains, else fine.
The author's 1970 dissertation for her Doctorate of Philosophy at East Coast University. She studied reading gains in four classrooms of African-American students, two under regular reading instruction, and two who receive encouragement and additional focused instruction, including lessons in African-American history (p.7). The results are measured quantitatively, via testing, and by personal feedback, via both teacher evaluation forms and student self-evaluation forms (both forms reproduced here). Also included is a large list of recommended books, compiled by Fader and McNeil but edited by the author: "One thousand paperback books were carefully selected and compiled into a reading list for hard to please, underachieving readers and was found to be extremely popular. Forty-six were deleted from the original list as damaging to the self-concept of African-Americans." The standard dissertation fare—hypotheses, definitions of terms, data, conclusions, bibliography—are also present.
Ms. Branche's subjects were fifth grade students at Wyandanch Elementary School in a rural area of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (p.6). Alas, we have been unable to uncover more information about the author. East Coast University itself was a HBCU located in Dade City, Florida for a brief period of time, which according to one source later moved to Texas. An intriguing publication; more research would almost certainly yield dividends. *OCLC* locates no copies.
Item #455442
