Knowledge of Strategies to Teach Reading Components among Teachers of Hard of Hearing Students

This study investigated Saudi Arabian elementary school teachers' knowledge of strategies to teach reading components to hard of hearing students. The study focused on four of the five reading components the National Reading Panel (NPR, 2000) identified: phonemic awareness; phonics; vocabulary; and reading comprehension, and explored the relation between teachers' demographic characteristics and their knowledge of the strategies as well. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used that included two phases. The quantitative phase examined the knowledge of these Arabic reading components among 89 elementary school teachers of hard of hearing students, and the qualitative phase consisted of interviews with 10 teachers. The results indicated that the teachers have a great deal of knowledge (above the mean score) of strategies to teach reading components. Specifically, teachers' knowledge of strategies to teach the vocabulary component was the highest. The results also showed no significant association between teachers' demographic characteristics and their knowledge of strategies to teach reading components. The qualitative analysis revealed two themes: (1) teachers' lack of basic knowledge of strategies to teach reading components, and (2) the absence of in-service courses and training programs in reading for teachers.