The relation of beginning readers' reported word identification strategies to reading achievement, reading-related skills, and academic self-perceptions

Beginning readers' reported word identificationstrategies for identifying unfamiliar words intext were examined in relation to readingachievement, reading-related skills, andacademic self-perceptions. Children who wereparticipating in a three-year longitudinalstudy of reading acquisition in a wholelanguage instructional context were placed intwo groups according to their reported wordidentification strategies obtained towards theend of their first year of schooling. Resultsindicated that children who reported usingword-based strategies showed superior readingand reading-related performance, and reportedmore positive self-efficacy beliefs in readingand more positive academic self-concepts thanchildren who reported using text-basedstrategies. The results are discussed in termsof predictions stemming from the differenttheoretical assumptions about readingacquisition that underlie the code-emphasis andwhole language approaches to beginning readinginstruction.