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The focus of this research was to investigate and clarify the work lives of middle school literacy coaches in central Florida by studying their backgrounds and experiences before assuming the role of literacy coach. Additionally, the beliefs of literacy coaches on what factors influence reading achievement were examined. The responses of 44 participating middle school literacy coaches were used to investigate (a) the academic and professional experiences of each coach, (b) the percentage of time spent in 13 literacy coaching activities, and (c) the working factors related to student reading achievement as evidenced on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Data from a web-based survey and personal interviews were used to collect pertinent data to create an awareness and understanding of the work lives of middle school literacy coaches. Descriptive statistics were used to present demographic information regarding the coaches. Exploratory regression analyses were performed using time devoted to coaching activities and school performance data to determine existing relationships. Qualitative analyses were used to determine emergent literacy coach themes from survey responses. All data were triangulated to develop case studies for a group of 10 literacy coaches. Narrative descriptions of all coaching and individual school data were presented in the context of schools‘ percentage of student subgroups that attained Adequate Yearly Progress in 2010. The results of the study indicated that, although literacy coaches believed that modeling lessons was the most influential activity in positively affecting reading proficiency, very little of their time was spent in that activity. Recommendations iv included professional development for administrators on the use of a literacy coach and for literacy coaches on their usage of time.

This study was undertaken to identify specific instructional and professional differences between the most effective and least effective teachers of ninth grade students enrolled in intensive reading courses in one Florida school district. Teachers from eleven schools were invited to complete a survey that included categorical, Likert, and openended response items. Principals and assistant principals at these schools were also invited to complete a similar survey. Teacher respondents were then divided into three effectiveness groups based on the percentage of their students who met 2011-2012 FCAT performance targets established by Florida’s value-added learning growth model. Inferential statistics were used to identify specific attributes that differed among the most and least effective teachers. These attributes included years of classroom teaching experience, status of Florida Reading Endorsement, belief in collaboration with others as a source of effectiveness, valuation of classroom strategies including teaching students to self-monitor their progress and cooperative learning activities, and frequency of use of reading strategies including sustained silent reading and paired/partner student readings. School administrators and the most effective classroom teachers reported similar beliefs about valuation and frequency of use of the four aforementioned classroom strategies. Analysis of responses to open-ended response items resulted in the identification of three instructional themes—importance of building positive relationships with students, student practice, and student self-reflection—and three resource needs— increased access to technology, print resources, and professional learning

This study was designed to determine (a) the most important knowledge and skills for functional literacy teachers; (b) the most important competencies to be covered in in-service training; (c) whether there were any differences between the perceptions of functional literacy teachers, supervisors, and administrators in terms of needed competencies or areas of training; and (d) whether there were any differences in the perceptions of teachers, supervisors and administrators regarding the need for competencies and for training of functional literacy teachers based upon these variables: age, years of experience in formal and nonformal education, and training in the functional literacy program. It was found that teachers, supervisors, and administrators agreed that most competencies listed in the instrument were important. No significant difference was found in their perceptions of the importance of the competencies. A significant difference was found in the perceptions of the needs for training among these three groups.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-93)

This study investigated the effects of teacher background variables on fourth grade reading achievement data collected from the 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) using a causal-comparative research design. Teacher quality variables related to teacher credentials, instructional methods, training, and support were selected from the NAEP background questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to examine teacher background information and fourth grade reading NAEP scaled scores using measures of central tendency, independent t-tests, analysis of variance, and Tukey’s HSD post hoc analysis. Findings suggest that certain teacher quality variables positively impact fourth grade reading achievement. Significant differences existed among fourth grade reading scaled scores for the following variables: teaching credentials [region (p < .05), traditional preparation route (p < .001), highest degree earned(p < .05), years of experience (p < .001)]; instructional methods [reading aloud by students (p < .01), questioning character motives (p < .01), student selection of reading materials (p < .001), explaining/supporting text (p < .05), identifying main theme (p < .001), time spent on reading (p < .001), primary language arts integration (p < .05)]; teacher support [instructional grade level support/technical assistance by reading specialist (p < .05) and mentoring (p < .05)]. This study expands the current literature on teacher quality by exploring the effects of teacher variables on reading achievement.

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This study aims to explore four grade 3 teachers’ understanding of teaching reading in Rukwangali, a home language in Namibia in Kavango region and to observe the strategies they use as well as the activities they set for their learners. During my School Based Studies (SBS), I noticed that learners were not reading with understanding. My interest was also stimulated by a study carried out in Namibia that found that the literacy levels for Namibian learners were poor compared to those of other African countries. This is a qualitative case study carried out within an interpretive paradigm. It seeks to understand the meaning that people attached to human actions. I selected the participants purposefully and in terms of convenience, as all three schools selected are situated in Rundu, the town in which I work as a college lecturer. The research tools I employed were semi-structured interviews, document analysis, classroom observation, and stimulated recall discussions on the lessons I observed. I used a variety of methods to triangulate data and enhance validity. This study reveals that teachers use multiple methods to teach reading. These methods include phonics and syllabification to help struggling learners to decode difficult and long (polysyllabic) words and the look-and-say method for whole word recognition and meaning making at word and sentence level. In addition, they also use the thematic approach to teaching and learning to expand learners’ vocabulary and enhance their understanding of the texts they read and to make their lessons learnercentred. However, the problems of language, lack of reading books written in Rukwangali and large class sizes constrain the teachers from teaching in a more learner-centred way. Therefore, the study gives some tentative recommendations to remedy this situation.

Though research has been conducted on many issues since Namibia's independence in 1990, none of these studies has investigated how English Second Language (ESL) teachers teach and support struggling adolescent readers (SARs) to read. Utilising qualitative research techniques such as classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis, this case study looked at strategies, methods, and resources used by five ESL secondary school teachers to teach SARs to read in two regions in Namibia, Caprivi and Otjozondjupa regions. Two of the five participants were male teachers. The presence of SARs in the classes observed was established by using informal methods such as the ESL teachers' experience (Caprivi region), while a sample of questions from PIRLS 2001 (Mullis, Martin, Gonzalez, & Kennedy (2003) was compiled to form a test used in the Otjozondjupa region. The findings show that despite undergoing initial teacher training and majoring in English, the five ESL secondary school teachers were not trained to teach SARs either how to read or how to support them. In addition, the study found that there was a shortage of reading materials in all five selected schools.