Teacher Understandings of Academic Enablers: Untapped Opportunities to Support Student Achievement (Poster 34)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 8:00 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Feedback, Teacher Support, and Instructional Approaches

Abstract

Student academic enablers (academic motivation, engagement, study skills, positive social interactions) facilitate academic achievement. Research has rarely explored how teachers understand and support academic enablers in their everyday practice. This qualitative study of 21 teachers asks how elementary teachers understand, describe, and support students’ academic enablers. Utilizing sociocultural discursive perspectives, analysis suggests that teachers view academic enablers as intrinsic to academic success, in decline, and primarily influenced by forces outside of school. Teachers report limited teaching of academic enablers and confusion about how to conceptualize and locate resources to teach relevant skills. This study suggests educational leaders have a powerful opportunity to expand teacher understandings and resources, creating opportunities to promote equity by enhancing student academic enablers in everyday pedagogy.

Authors

• Elizabeth E. Blair, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

• Julia A. Ogg, Northern Illinois University

• Christopher J. Anthony, University of Florida

• James Clyde Diperna, Pennsylvania State University

• Stephanie Chase, Northern Illinois University

• Emily Winkelman, University of Florida