Reading achievement at the junior high level continues to be a concern in the United States and research has indicated that decreased reading motivation is one possible reason. Researchers have established that the use of authentic audiences leads to increased motivation and achievement at the elementary, high school, and college levels but have…

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine if there were statistically significant differences between 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade reading teachers in the Northeast Unites States, defined as participants and nonparticipants in the LETRS® professional development, in terms of teachers' self-efficacy in student…

Purpose: This study investigated reading teachers' (RTs) views of speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) abilities to provide services for clients who have written language disorders. Previous research has shown SLPs often do not provide such services due to time constraints, lack of training, and their perception that other school personnel are…

There is a growing body of work describing the psychosocial impact of reading difficulties. Educators play a key role in teaching children to read; therefore, it is important to consider how they view the impact of reading difficulties on young people. Given this, the aim of this research was to explore the lived experiences of educators who work…

Over the past 50 years, our schools have failed to teach a large portion (one-third) of students to read at a basic level by the end of fourth grade. After presenting evidence of this reading education problem and overviewing historical attempts to address it, I argue that serious, one-to-one tutoring initiatives offer the best chance for…

The purpose of this study was to examine the reading experiences of Black boys in grades three through five, gain insight into what they felt contributed to their reading success, explore the relationships that influenced their reading lives, the challenges they faced, and their perspectives of the relationship they had with their reading teacher.…

Translating the research base on effective reading instruction to the classroom has been a challenge. The delivery of these instructional methods requires practical skills coupled with an understanding of the aspects of language being taught. The purpose of this study was to explore the level of literacy knowledge of the English language held by…

This article presents an analytical model of binary dimensions of narrative practice perceived as two continua between the oppositions of subjectivity/objectivity and structure/agency. Such narrative practice is considered as a site for professional 'identification' and self-knowing. The analytical model provided a framework that was applied to a…

The problem investigated in this study was decreasing annual reading proficiency among students in intermediate elementary grades (Grades 3-5). Deficiencies in reading proficiency can negatively impact overall student achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate intermediate elementary teachers' perceptions of their instructional…

Using data from a 2-year empirical project in an urban school within the United States, this article describes how educators of preschool, transitional-kindergarten and kindergarten (PreK-TK-K) altered perceptions and practices as a result of participating in a purposefully crafted professional learning community using collaborative enquiry.…

Students need strong literacy skills to succeed in core academic subjects--English, mathematics, science, and social studies--and to be prepared for college and careers. "Reading Apprenticeship"® is a professional development program that aims to help teachers improve their students' literacy skills. The program also aims to improve…

This study reports the perceptions and understanding of extensive reading (ER) of 259 ER practitioners in Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, and Vietnam. The majority of participants understood the core principles of ER, namely (a) the fluent reading of (b) a lot of (c) easy texts. However, about 25% of the participants in Thailand, Mongolia, and Vietnam…

Literacy teachers often feel underprepared to provide instruction that integrates technology in meaningful ways. Yet, there is evidence that teachers can be supported to overcome this barrier through professional development using a framework for instructional planning. Although efforts to support teachers' short-term technology integration have…

Teacher expertise can influence student experiences and achievement. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences, practices, and beliefs of early elementary classroom teachers who have supplementary literacy certification in order to determine their shared characteristics and changes to their practice after earning the literacy…

A critical mass of literacy scholars have re-defined what it means to prepare reading teachers toward approaches that foreground culture, critical inquiry, and multilingualism. An upsurge in research on critical approaches to prepare caring and conscious reading teachers has resulted, though fewer studies have examined the ways novice teachers…