The systematic review and empirical research presented in this thesis investigates the development of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in teaching children to read. The Systematic Review examines the effectiveness of professional development on increasing teachers’ self-efficacy (TSE) in teaching children to read whereas the empirical research focusses on exploring the development of high teacher self-efficacy beliefs about teaching reading, specifically in relation to struggling readers. Both pieces are concerned with how to support the development of TSE beliefs about reading instruction. The systematic review investigates professional development in relation to methods of teaching children to read and the impact of this on teachers’ self-efficacy. The study focuses on eight empirical studies whereby the effectiveness of professional development on in-service and pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy is considered. Findings suggest that overall there is evidence to suggest that professional development on teaching children to read has a positive impact on teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in teaching children to read. The Bridging Document discusses the conceptual framework which links the Systematic Review with the Empirical Research. It also explores and reflects upon methodological issues. The empirical research considers the development of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, in teaching children who are struggling to read. Audio-recorded, individual, interviews were conducted with six Key Stage one teachers with Critical Realist grounded theory used to analyse the transcripts. Teachers described and reflected upon their experiences of teaching children to read, who were struggling. The emergent theory tells us that teachers’ perception of success and failure, developing subject knowledge within a supportive school ethos are factors which contribute to the development of positive teacher self-efficacy beliefs.

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In this thesis, I explore the negotiating strategies, knowledges and literacies that come into play when children interact with picturebooks as readers and bookmakers; and how children interact with discourses in representation that are pervasive throughout picturebooks. For decades, children's books have suffered from poor cultural representation, with critics noting the lack of diversity in characters, inauthentic portrayals and poor diversity among writers. Tied to young and inexperienced readers by age banding and perceptions of little complexity, picturebooks have for years been linked to the teaching of reading. In England, this is largely dominated by the use of synthetic phonics as the preferred teaching method. Coupled with what critics have called a 'pedagogy of performativity' which places intense pressures upon teachers, schools and children for these to meet standard expectations in national testing, the teaching of reading in schools tends to be approached through methods that focus on the development of skills. This study uses an arts-informed methodology to explore the relationships between children and picturebooks, and how they are connected to literacy learning and discourses in representation present in picturebooks. At its heart are six children with whom I conducted observations, interviews and bookmaking workshops during the 2014-2015 school year. The data was analysed using verbal and visual narratives, drawing from notions of portraiture and bricolage to create a responsive approach, and based upon James Britton's theory of the 'third space' of play, where children negotiate the demands of the outside world with their own inner wishes, and notions of narrative identity. The findings indicate that discourses surrounding picturebooks' complexities and representational aspects within them affect how children relate to these books, as well as how they negotiate their sense of place, belonging and self-understanding. The implications of this research have repercussions for academic, educational and publishing professionals.

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Leesmotivering is van uiterste belang vir toekomstige akademiese sukses. Tog toon heelwat skoolleerlinge 'n geleidelike onwilligheid om te lees soos die jare vorder, met stygende skoolverlating tot gevolg. Een van die moontlike redes hiervoor is reeds in die skrywer se vorige navorsing uitgewys, naamlik, onderontwikkelde leervaardighede as gevolg van morfofonologiese bewustheidstekortkominge. Morfofonologiese bewustheid is leerlingbesef van die klankeenhede van gesproke woorde wat nodig is vir die vloeiende dekodering en begrip van woorde van die geskrewe teks. Leerlinge, geidentifiseer in die vorige studie as potensiele swak lesers, het 'n morfofonologiese bewustheidstekort getoon. Om hierdie skoliere by te staan, is 'n morfofonologiese bewustheidsopleidingsprogram (MSO) deur die navorser opgestel wat vir amper 'n jaar tegelykertyd met die konvensionele leesonderrigmetodes deur die leerkrag geimplementeer is. Daaropvolgende leesresultate het sonder twyfel die kwintessensiele rol van morfofonologiese bewustheid vir leesvaardigheidontwikkeling bevestig, en het verder die rehabiliterende gevolge van die MBO-program vir risiko lesers openbaar. Of hierdle gevofge buite die lmplementeringstydperk kon funksioneer en toekomstige lees kon motiveer, was nog onbekend. Ole doelstelling van die huidige ondersoek was om die vroee bevindinge te verleng deur die langtermyneffekte van die MBO-program op leesvaardighede en motivering oor 'n tydperk van drie jaar na te vors. In die natuurlike klaskameromgewing het die studie op die oorspronklike steekproeflede gefokus wat voorheen vir die eksperimentele en kontrole groep op regverdige wyse geselekteer is. Motiveringsverskynsels is in terme van attribusie teorie, spesifiek, en sosiaal-kognitiewe teorie, oor die algemeen, bespreek. Gestandaardiseerde, projektiewe, waarnemings - en onderhoudsmetodes het openbaar dat, in vergelyking met die kontrole groeplede, eksperimentele leerlinge meer leesmotivering getoon het. Ander konstruktiewe langtermyneffekte van die MBO-program is opgemerk: vir akademiese prestasie, spelling, woordeskat, persoonlikheid, attribusies, emosies, leerling-leerkrag en leerling-ouer interpersoonlike verhoudings wat die motiverende effekte blyk te konsolideer. Daar word beweer dat leesmotivering minstens twee vereistes benodig, naamlik, vroee identifikasie van probleemlesers en vroee implementering van die leerkragvriendelike MBO-program. / Reading motivation is of paramount importance for future academic success. Yet numerous school pupils display gradual reluctance to read in advancing years, the outcomes of which compound drop-out rates. One of the possible reasons for this was already identifioo in the earlier research of the writer, namely, underdeveloped reading skills as a result of morphophonological awareness deficits. Morphophonological awareness is pupil consciousness of the sound units of spoken words whlch are vital to fluently decode and understand the sound elements of written text. Pupils Identified in the previous study as potential at-risk readers capable of later reading difficulties indicated a lack of morphophonological awareness. To assist these pupils, a morpho phonological awareness training (MAT) programme was constructed by the researcher and implemented by the class teacher for almost a year in tandem with the conventional reading instructional methods. Subsequent reading results unequivocally confirmed the quintessential role of morphophonological awareness for reading skill development, and moreover revealed the rehabilitating effects of the MAT programme for at-risk readers. However, it was not known at that time whether these effects could extend beyond the period of application and mollvate future reading. The aim of this current investigation was to extend the earlier findings by exploring the long-term effects ofthe MAT programme on reading skills and motivation ov·er a period of three years. In the naturalistic classroom setting, the study focused on the original sample members previously randomly assigr.ed to experimental and control groups. Motivational phenomena are discussed in terms of attribution theory, in particular, and social-cognitive theory. in general. Standardized, projective, observational and interview methods revealed that, relative to control group rnambers, experimentals exhibited more motivation to read. Other constructive long-term effects of the MAT programme were noted for general academic achievement, spelling, vocabulary, personality. attributions. emotions, pupil-teacher and pupil-parent interpersonal relationships which appear to consolidate the motivational effects. It Is concluded that reading motivation requires at least two conditions to be met, namely, early identification of problem readers and early implementati9n of the teacher-friendly MAT programme. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Leesmotivering is van uiterste belang vir toekomstige akademiese sukses. Tog toon heelwat skoolleerlinge 'n geleidelike onwilligheid om te lees soos die jare vorder, met stygende skoolverlating tot gevolg. Een van die moontlike redes hiervoor is reeds in die skrywer se vorige navorsing uitgewys, naamlik, onderontwikkelde leervaardighede as gevolg van morfofonologiese bewustheidstekortkominge. Morfofonologiese bewustheid is leerlingbesef van die klankeenhede van gesproke woorde wat nodig is vir die vloeiende dekodering en begrip van woorde van die geskrewe teks. Leerlinge, geidentifiseer in die vorige studie as potensiele swak lesers, het 'n morfofonologiese bewustheidstekort getoon. Om hierdie skoliere by te staan, is 'n morfofonologiese bewustheidsopleidingsprogram (MSO) deur die navorser opgestel wat vir amper 'n jaar tegelykertyd met die konvensionele leesonderrigmetodes deur die leerkrag geimplementeer is. Daaropvolgende leesresultate het sonder twyfel die kwintessensiele rol van morfofonologiese bewustheid vir leesvaardigheidontwikkeling bevestig, en het verder die rehabiliterende gevolge van die MBO-program vir risiko lesers openbaar. Of hierdle gevofge buite die lmplementeringstydperk kon funksioneer en toekomstige lees kon motiveer, was nog onbekend. Ole doelstelling van die huidige ondersoek was om die vroee bevindinge te verleng deur die langtermyneffekte van die MBO-program op leesvaardighede en motivering oor 'n tydperk van drie jaar na te vors. In die natuurlike klaskameromgewing het die studie op die oorspronklike steekproeflede gefokus wat voorheen vir die eksperimentele en kontrole groep op regverdige wyse geselekteer is. Motiveringsverskynsels is in terme van attribusie teorie, spesifiek, en sosiaal-kognitiewe teorie, oor die algemeen, bespreek. Gestandaardiseerde, projektiewe, waarnemings - en onderhoudsmetodes het openbaar dat, in vergelyking met die kontrole groeplede, eksperimentele leerlinge meer leesmotivering getoon het. Ander konstruktiewe langtermyneffekte van die MBO-program is opgemerk: vir akademiese prestasie, spelling, woordeskat, persoonlikheid, attribusies, emosies, leerling-leerkrag en leerling-ouer interpersoonlike verhoudings wat die motiverende effekte blyk te konsolideer. Daar word beweer dat leesmotivering minstens twee vereistes benodig, naamlik, vroee identifikasie van probleemlesers en vroee implementering van die leerkragvriendelike MBO-program. / Reading motivation is of paramount importance for future academic success. Yet numerous school pupils display gradual reluctance to read in advancing years, the outcomes of which compound drop-out rates. One of the possible reasons for this was already identifioo in the earlier research of the writer, namely, underdeveloped reading skills as a result of morphophonological awareness deficits. Morphophonological awareness is pupil consciousness of the sound units of spoken words whlch are vital to fluently decode and understand the sound elements of written text. Pupils Identified in the previous study as potential at-risk readers capable of later reading difficulties indicated a lack of morphophonological awareness. To assist these pupils, a morpho phonological awareness training (MAT) programme was constructed by the researcher and implemented by the class teacher for almost a year in tandem with the conventional reading instructional methods. Subsequent reading results unequivocally confirmed the quintessential role of morphophonological awareness for reading skill development, and moreover revealed the rehabilitating effects of the MAT programme for at-risk readers. However, it was not known at that time whether these effects could extend beyond the period of application and mollvate future reading. The aim of this current investigation was to extend the earlier findings by exploring the long-term effects ofthe MAT programme on reading skills and motivation ov·er a period of three years. In the naturalistic classroom setting, the study focused on the original sample members previously randomly assigr.ed to experimental and control groups. Motivational phenomena are discussed in terms of attribution theory, in particular, and social-cognitive theory. in general. Standardized, projective, observational and interview methods revealed that, relative to control group rnambers, experimentals exhibited more motivation to read. Other constructive long-term effects of the MAT programme were noted for general academic achievement, spelling, vocabulary, personality. attributions. emotions, pupil-teacher and pupil-parent interpersonal relationships which appear to consolidate the motivational effects. It Is concluded that reading motivation requires at least two conditions to be met, namely, early identification of problem readers and early implementati9n of the teacher-friendly MAT programme. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)