What influences the evolution of junior school reading programmes in the classrooms of
beginning teachers?
Of all the classroom skills required of beginning teachers, those contributing to the
implementation of an effective instructional reading programme perhaps represent some
of the most complex and sophisticated challenges that will be encountered. Add to this
the critical importance to young children of successfully learning to read and the very
obvious picture of reading progress revealed by modern assessment practices, and the
result is an aspect of teaching that can assume a position of significant focus. This is
especially true for teachers working with junior school children.
This study investigated the current practices of three junior school teachers during their
first two years teaching, how these practices have evolved over time and identifies the
factors that have influenced each teacher. Participants' stories were gathered during
individual interviews to establish current practices and these were compared with a
typical sample of classroom reading instruction that had been captured on video prior to
the initial interviews. Each teacher also participated in an individual follow up interview
during which they were able to observe the sample video excerpt and comment
reflectively upon their practice in the light of their observations.
This study found that developing effective junior school reading programmes generated
considerable angst for these beginning teachers. While they were able to draw upon preservice
preparation when articulating their intentions, the transition from the abstractions
of theory to the realities of classroom practice challenged their teaching skills in this
fledgling stage of their career. Despite an apparent commitment to guided reading as
emphasized in pre-service literacy courses, each participant implemented round robin
reading as their initial teaching strategy. In order to implement reading pedagogy as
advocated within their pre-service experiences, the emergence of a professional
conscience appears to have been critical.
The way that teachers' understanding of literacy acquisition consolidates is greatly
influenced by their practical classroom experiences and the personal capacity that they
bring to the teaching role. The findings of this study support Berliner (1994) and
Huberman (1989) because each of the teachers could be placed on a trajectory of teacher
development. However stage related views of professional development do not fully
reflect the complexity of individuals combined with the uniqueness of their contexts. The
broader perspective highlighted in the work of Nias (1989) provided a framework more
accommodating of the realities encountered during this study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/3799 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Buckley-Foster, Philippa |
| Publisher | University of Canterbury. Christchurch College of Education |
| Source Sets | University of Canterbury |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic thesis or dissertation, Text |
| Rights | Copyright Philippa Buckley-Foster, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml |
| Relation | NZCU |
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