This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool that will determine the readiness of parents of students starting the first grade of primary school to support their children during the first formal teaching of reading and writing skills. The sample consisted of 524 parents of students starting the first grade in the provinces of…

This paper reports a systematic narrative synthesis review conducted on the educational effectiveness of genre theory/systemic functional linguistics pedagogies for improving reading and writing outcomes in K-10 education within mainstream classrooms in Australia, the UK, the USA, New Zealand, and Canada. This framework has significant influence…

In this article I focus on the use of mixed methods in designing a classroom observation instrument known as the Facilitative Orientation to Reading Teaching (FORT). The instrument was designed to capture the teaching of reading and formed part of a project that took place in 2 Kwa-Zulu Natal primary schools. Participants were 8 teachers and their…

South Africa has low literacy levels and teachers face multiple challenges in their endeavours to elevate levels of literacy. This is especially prevalent in rural and township schools where teachers face the additional challenges of isolation, limited resources and access to professional development. This article reports on the findings and…

As evidenced by national data, a large proportion of students in middle school, content area classrooms in the United States (U.S.) may be considered developing readers. Evidence-based literacy practices and explicit instructional practices can support these students' literacy development. Yet, research suggests that teachers often miss…

To better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted pre-service teachers' development of self-efficacy beliefs, two cohorts of pre-service teachers were studied. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the development of teacher self-efficacy beliefs was examined. One cohort facilitated an in-person reading remediation to students…

Reading, like all areas of human learning, is complex and multidimensional. Educational psychology has an opportunity to contribute further to a science of reading, and potentially to a science of reading instruction, by expanding its traditional theoretical and methodological orientations to embrace this complexity. Topics central to this effort…

This qualitative study explored the perspectives of literacy teachers in grades 3-6 regarding how the Science of Reading (SoR) has influenced teacher beliefs and instructional practices in relation to fostering students' critical literacy skills. The research was framed around the following three questions: What are literacy teachers' current…

Literacy coaches serve in a multitude of roles and play a critical role in bridging district and school priorities (Walpole and Blamey, 2008; Steckel, 2009). Currently, coaches and teachers are navigating a national policy shift to Science of Reading (SoR) aligned instruction, and educators want more than a new curriculum (Schwartz, 2022). This…

Current literature exists centered on Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework, its components, and ways in which MTSS is intended to support all students. Yet, there is a gap in the literature that examines how elementary schools are implementing it. This dissertation study sought to understand what the MTSS framework implementation at…

Teacher shortages, especially in special education, have been an issue for several decades causing districts to examine leadership practices that support long-term special education teacher retention. Another concern is the disproportionate reading scores of students with disabilities compared to their general education peers. This has created a…

The use of Evidence-based Practices (EBPs) in schools is heavily emphasized in educational research and policy; however, many teachers do not use EBPs for reading instruction and intervention. Previous research on the limited use of EBPs in classrooms has primarily focused on teacher characteristics, such as their attitudes or beliefs toward these…

Over 50% of K-3 students struggle with literacy skills at a southeastern Louisiana school. The issue continues despite teachers attending weekly professional development sessions to improve literacy instruction. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of K-3 teachers regarding their instructional strategies to teach students. The…

Changes in the U.S. demographics over the past few decades reflect the growing diversity in American classrooms as more students come to school speaking, reading, or writing two or more languages. By building on students' full repertoire of linguistic and cultural resources, educators have the potential to transform literacy instruction in…

Children's development as readers is a complex and multifaceted process. Rather than emphasizing individual components of reading instruction, Melanie R. Kuhn and Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl argue that it is more effective to view the reading process as a reciprocal or interactive one in which readers' development in one component of reading can…