This study joins recent research that explores the phenomenon of teacher learning through complexity and variability. Our paper furthers this line of enquiry by exploring how literacy teacher learning unfolds in self-directed professional development. In particular, we use concepts from actor-network theory (ANT) to help understand the ways two…

There is broad international recognition of the importance of ongoing professional learning opportunities for educators. Despite this seemingly global consensus, there is disagreement regarding the best ways to conceptualise teacher learning, and what kinds of learning should be promoted or counted. This article reports on a narrative inquiry…

This qualitative investigation used positioning theory and discourse analysis as tools to explore the evolution of the first year of a leadership team partnership between a group of university researchers and the leaders of a private non-profit literacy agency (hereafter referred to as Private Literacy Agency). The central goal of this…

This multiple-case study utilised inductive and deductive analyses of interactions of five coach-teacher dyads at two university-based literacy clinics to investigate procedural knowledge -- what coaches say and do -- to guide teachers toward greater instructional expertise. Using theories of situated cognition and positioning and framed within…

Effective teachers and principals, who are viewed as their building's curriculum leader, are of vital importance to the literacy success of elementary-age students. This article will explore the influences of school leadership and professional development which teachers say can positively or negatively impact their ability to effectively teach…

Project Partnerships Achieve Literacy (PAL) South Africa was designed to transform teachers' pedagogical practices in literacy instruction in an under-resourced school and, by doing so, improve the reading achievement of foundation phase students (Grades R-3). Sociocultural and situative theories of literacy and learning frame the study. To gauge…

This research conducted in primary schools in Northern Australia evaluated the effectiveness of the web-based program ABRACADABRA (ABRA) as a tool to complement early childhood literacy instruction in an Australian and Indigenous context. A further component of this research was to monitor implementation fidelity. The ABRA training was built…