Shift Happens: Language and Literacy Practices in a Rural American Context

• In Event: 63.084 - Roundtable Session 22
  In Roundtable Session: 63.084-4 - What's the Value Added? Contribution of Teacher Networks, National Board Certification, and State Teacher Evaluation Systems

Abstract

Research findings suggest that quality teaching is an essential ingredient in increasing student achievement and promoting student learning (Haycock, 2002: Newmann & Associates, 1996). Theobald’s (1997) conception of rural communities as places with intradependencies that are uniquely situated to create more democratic practices suggests that rural schools provide a space for professional development that has as of yet been unrealized. When considering language and literacy practices and rural contexts, the inquiries are even more limited. This paper presents findings from two years of a multi-year project investigating a rural, American elementary school’s efforts to transform the literacy practices occurring within it.

Authors

• Anne E. Gregory, Western Illinois University

• Mary Ann Ann Cahill, Boise State University

• Joanne Eileen Sellen, Washington State University

• Gloria Delany-Barmann, Western Illinois University