Elementary Reading Policy and Instructional Culture

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 4:20 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Unraveling the Language-Learning Continuum With Young Readers and Writers (Table 25)

Abstract

This paper examines how teachers in elementary literacy classrooms mediated contemporary educational theory and instruction amid state-wide policy change. In Texas, HB3 mandated K-3 teachers to take a 60-hour training on the Science of Reading, many of whom finished in summer 2023. The data and analysis presented in this paper reflect the tensions and learning experienced by teachers on one campus through the 2022-2023 school year as they engaged with the training. Findings explore how teachers negotiated instructional time and resources with prior teaching experience and campus culture. This study contributes to translational research linking theory to practice in the teaching of reading.

Author

• Kerry H. Alexander, University of Maryland