Preservice Teachers’ Shifting Beliefs about Struggling Literacy Learners
Abstract
This study examined preservice elementary education teachers' knowledge and beliefs about children who are struggling with learning to read and what these future teachers believed they should do to help these children. Three semesters of teacher candidates were enrolled in a redesigned corrective reading methods course with a tutoring practicum where features of the Reading Recovery professional development model were infused. Using the theoretical lens of constructivism, preservice teachers' knowledge and beliefs were documented to determine if there were changes and shifts over time. Interpretations of multiple data from the 67 preservice teachers using within- and cross-case analyses revealed a major finding. After teacher candidates participated in the course, they shifted in their beliefs toward assuming responsibility for helping children with reading problems rather than assigning responsibility to someone else as they had when the course began. One of the primary factors involved in their shifts in beliefs appeared to be the use of features of the Reading Recovery professional development model in the tutoring component which influenced students' abilities to select appropriate instructional practices and focus on the needs of individual children.
Reference
Nierstheimer, S. L., Hopkins, C. J., Dillon, D. R., & Schmitt, M. C. (2000). Preservice teachers' shifting beliefs about struggling literacy learners. Literacy Research and Instruction, 40(1), 1-16.
Journal
Literacy Research and Instruction
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
- "longitudinal": across varying classes over time
- Qualitiative
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
- English Language Arts (ELA)
- Reading
Research Location Context
- Reading methods
- University Reading Clinic
Preservice Participants
- undergraduate preservice teachers
Preservice Sample Size
67
Other Participant Data
- Students in tutorial setting
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- fieldnotes
- Interviews
- Observations
- pre- and post-questionnaires
- Questionnaire
- Small group discussion
- student work
- Tutoring plans
- Video
Data Analysis Tools
- Case study analysis
- cross-case analysis
- Triangulation
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
- Inside (studying their own programs)
Research Questions
"What kinds of changes occur in preservice teachers' knowledge and beliefs about children who are struggling literacy learners as they participate in a course where specific experiences and features of the Reading Recovery professional development model are infused to challenge those teachers' beliefs?" (p. 3).
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes