Between 2001 and 2007 I conducted a self-study action research enquiry into my practice as a primary school teacher. The research had a collaborative aspect to it, in so far as my pupils and colleagues were invited to participate in the research, although I was the focus of the enquiry. I was unhappy about my teaching: I felt I dominated the…

Discusses several reforms in the late 1990s that were introduced to improve the teaching of reading in primary (elementary) schools and raise reading achievement levels in Ireland and in England. Examines some of these reforms, in light of emerging knowledge about effective reading instruction and differing perspectives on the role of the teacher…