Empowering Teacher Efficacy through Structured Professional Development: Advancing Literacy Equity in Low-SES Classrooms

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 3:45pm
  In Poster Session: Research in Research and Literacy (SIG 11) Poster Session I

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how professional learning enhances teacher efficacy and instructional practices in early literacy for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The study explores the relationship between professional learning, teacher beliefs, and student outcomes. Seven early elementary teachers from a Title I school participated in a three-week literacy-focused PD series, along with pre- and post-interviews and reflective journaling. Thematic analysis revealed significant growth in instructional confidence, shifts in pedagogical beliefs, and the adoption of differentiated strategies to support readers. These findings illuminate how sustained, collaborative, and modeled professional learning can foster equitable teaching practices and improve literacy achievement. The study contributes to research by demonstrating how practitioner-centered research can resist structural inequities through responsible, high-impact professional learning systems.

Authors

• Joy Watson, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Amanda S. Mayeaux, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Tarrah C Davis, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Latasha Shuford Holt, University of Louisiana at Lafayette