Educators in rural settings experience many unique professional circumstances due to the rural context of their schools; one such unique circumstance is professional development opportunities that are unavailable locally. Rural reading specialists have limited opportunities for local professional development as well as limited opportunities for…

Policy, mandating early screening for dyslexia and use of specific interventions, is increasing throughout the United States. The authors designed a descriptive case study to learn what impact policies have on practice and how literacy specialists, trained in both comprehensive and structured literacy approaches, provide support for students. Data…

Specialized literacy professionals, guided by the International Literacy Association's (ILA) Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals 2017, fulfill many roles within the elementary school setting to support the literacy development of students. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate elementary principals'…

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the self-efficacy beliefs of 25 literacy specialist candidates in three key leadership areas before and after 15-week internships in schools. The three leadership areas, identified by university faculty as important to the leadership role of literacy specialists in schools today, are: 1)…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the ways in which one specialized literacy professional (SLP) navigated and reflected on coaching conversations with teachers. The participants for this study were one elementary school SLP and two classroom teachers at the same school. Coaching conversations the SLP held with teachers, the…

Specialized literacy professionals (specialists/coaches/coordinators) are enacting leadership roles that influence how school communities interact and collaborate to change instructional practices. These positions involve multiple responsibilities highlighted in the standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals (International Literacy…

In this multiple case study, the author analyzes the work of three elementary school teachers who served as instructional support specialists in reading, ESL, and gifted education.

This investigation focuses on a tool used in a reading methods course to introduce reading specialist candidates to text analysis as a critical component of planning for text-based discussions. Unlike planning that focuses mainly on important text content or information, a text analysis approach focuses both on content and how that content is…

This study describes and analyzes a field experience that has provided advanced literacy specialist candidates the context for advancing their understanding of professional leadership through the lens of a literacy coach. The field experience described was born out of the ongoing work of teacher educators at a small, independent, liberal arts…

This paper describes findings from the first cohort of an ongoing longitudinal study investigating the impact of master's coursework and related coaching experiences on in-service teachers' coaching skill development leading to literacy specialist identity. The study follows literacy specialist candidates through coursework and into their first…

Today's schools face complex and difficult challenges. Classrooms are diverse; they are filled with students who require differentiation, given their diverse backgrounds and needs (e.g., specific learning disabilities, autism, English learners, gifted/highly able). Further, with the challenges of the 21st century requiring students to be prepared…

This large-scale national survey of specialized literacy professionals was designed to answer questions about responsibilities, including leadership, and preparation for these roles. Questionnaires, completed by over 2,500 respondents, indicated that respondents had multiple responsibilities that included both instruction of struggling readers and…

In this age of accountability and assessment, classroom teachers need to be encouraged to become action researchers. Action research helps them look at a challenge in the classroom in depth and adjust the curriculum, their teaching methods, or both when they find that current practices are not meeting the needs of some or all students. If…

Classroom teachers and reading specialists have attempted to determine the most effective ways of working with struggling readers. Early intervention and quality instruction are the keys to assisting these struggling readers; however, determining how and where intervention-based instruction should occur is still a concern. Struggling readers need…

Survey data gathered from a group of reading specialists and classroom teachers participating in a regional IRA conference focused on vocabulary instruction were analyzed for this article. The survey inquired into their classroom and building practices relative to the teaching of vocabulary. The results indicate that the major concern is not what…