Teacher retention and shortages have long been an issue with this profession. This is not a new topic, but after the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm in March of 2020, education has not been the same and our students are paying the price with the shortage of high-quality teachers in our nation's classrooms. Teachers have left the…

First grade is a pivotal year for children learning to read. Gaining reading skills builds a foundation for student motivation in the classroom not only in their literacy skills but also in other academic areas. This action research study was designed to understand first-grade practitioners' perspectives in the role that motivation plays in…

This quantitative research was conducted to analyze three questions about self-efficacy related to elementary school teachers. First, research was analyzed to determine what effect years of experience have on teachers' self-efficacy related to teaching, if any, at three Title 1 schools in the southeastern United States receiving mandated LETRS…

Teacher accountability and test scores currently drive many practices within the field of education. At the same time, student populations have become increasingly diverse, causing classroom teachers to feel pressured to teach to the test. Differentiated instruction has emerged as a best practice to help maximize learning for all students.…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how educators in the United States described their pedagogical approaches to teaching reading to children with dyslexia. This study used Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) as its foundation. Three research questions regarding how U.S. educators describe their pedagogical…

The research problem addressed in this study was the low reading achievement scores of fourth grade students and fourth grade reading teachers' struggles raising reading achievement. The purpose of the study was to explore fourth grade reading teachers' experiences of finding strategies and interventions to improve reading achievement. The…

Novice reading teachers often struggle to provide high-quality reading instruction. The reasons for their difficulties include "transition shock," challenging school contexts, lack of proper preparation, and poor support. One way to improve the quality of novice teachers' reading instruction is through improving their access to high…

This paper questions the "science of reading" as offering a secure bridge to practice and instead argues for socio-cultural grounded forms of best practicing. The paper argues for a shift from viewing curriculum as generic and standardized to viewing it as particular and generative--requiring formative and dynamic approaches to design.…

This study reports how extensive reading (ER) teachers implemented ER and used reading materials at institutions in formal educational systems in Japan, Mongolia, Thailand, and Vietnam. 259 participants completed an online questionnaire. The results revealed that ER was mainly required and done online in Japan and Mongolia while it was optional…

Pacing guides are commonplace yet controversial in American public schools. For teachers who question their usefulness, one means to circumvent them is to exercise autonomy in pedagogical decision-making, though doing so comes with challenges. Through interviews, we examined how 87 gifted and general education 4th and 5th grade math and…

This qualitative study explored the perspectives of literacy teachers in grades 3-6 regarding how the Science of Reading (SoR) has influenced teacher beliefs and instructional practices in relation to fostering students' critical literacy skills. The research was framed around the following three questions: What are literacy teachers' current…

Teachers' literacy identities inform how they teach reading. Only about half, however, view themselves as enthusiastic readers, and up to 40% have negative attitudes toward reading. The repercussions are great: not only do teachers who are unenthusiastic about reading produce uninspired students, but they also use fewer research-based reading…

Purpose: Nearly 50 years ago, Durkin (1978-1979) conducted a seminal observation study on reading comprehension teaching in Grades 3 through 6. She reported that teachers rarely taught reading comprehension (less than 1% of instructional time). Since then, we have gained substantial knowledge about teaching reading comprehension. We aimed to…

Reading is one of the main skills to be learned and used in schools and through the entire life of an individual. Its crucial importance made reading one of the central topics in different academic disciplines such as education, psychology, linguistic and neuroscience. Advances in multidisciplinary approaches to and studies of reading gave us the…

Professional development (PD) is defined as ongoing learning opportunities available to educators and is known to be one of the most important tools in improving the effectiveness of teachers and teaching practices. Results from state and national reading assessments indicate that reading achievement among grade 4 and grade 8 students has…