Translating the Science of Reading Into Classroom Practice in Rural K-1 Classrooms

• In Event: An Ecological Perspective on Supporting At-Risk Readers in Rural Elementary Schools

Abstract

Introduction
After decades of debate, research has converged on the skills young children need to become proficient readers and the characteristics of early reading instruction that best promote these skills. Specifically, explicit, systematic instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness and phonics/alphabetics helps beginning readers achieve accurate, efficient word recognition (Ehri et al., 2001; NICHD, 2000; Snow & Juel, 2005; Suggate, 2016; Torgerson et al., 2006; Wanzek & Vaughn, 2007). Automaticity in word reading by the end of first grade, in turn, predicts long-term success (Spira, Bracken, & Fischel, 2005; Juel, 1988; Hernandez, 2011). Despite growing consensus among researchers, however, the “science of reading” (SOR; Petscher et al., 2020; Solari et al., 2020) has yet to be widely implemented in U.S. schools (Moats, 2019). As a result, many children do not receive the kind of instruction research has shown to be most effective for early literacy success, exacerbating inequities present at school entry (Reardon, 2011).

The primary aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which a unique sample of kindergarten and first-grade teachers were prepared to implement the SOR in the fall of 2018. The secondary aim was to use preparedness for implementing the SOR to predict students’ literacy growth.

This research was conducted in a rural, economically depressed region of one southeastern U.S. state. Rural schools often face common challenges, such as constrained resources and fewer highly qualified teachers, and possess unique strengths, such as teacher longevity, community cohesion, and enduring interpersonal relationships among school staff (Glover et al., 2016; Howley & Howley, 2005). These environments may pose specific developmental considerations for children learning within them. Although understudied in the literature (Autio & Deussen, 2017), rural schools are thus important contexts for research.

Hypotheses
Consistent with prior research (Brady et al., 2009; Jordan et al., 2018; McCutchen et al., 2009; Moats & Foorman, 2004; Piasta et al., 2009; Spear-Swerling & Cheesman, 2012; Samuel, 2008; Wayman, 2005), we hypothesized that teachers would be ill-equipped to implement the SOR. We further hypothesized that students of teachers more prepared to the implement SOR would outperform students of less-prepared teachers on spring literacy measures.

Study Population
Our sample included 24 teachers of 393 kindergarten and first grade students in four rural schools. Compared to state averages, students in these schools historically score lower on the state-wide kindergarten literacy screener and standardized reading tests in 3rd and 8th grades.

Methods
Teachers’ capacity to implement the SOR was measured through teacher content and pedagogical knowledge, data-driven decision-making (DDDM) capacity, and reported classroom practices. Student literacy was assessed with measures of phonological awareness, decoding, and word recognition in the fall and spring of kindergarten and first grade. Multi-level modeling accounted for nesting of children in classrooms. School fixed effects were also included in analyses.

Results
Findings indicate that teachers were generally unprepared to implement the SOR. Of several teacher variables, only content knowledge emerged as a significant predictor of first graders’ (but not kindergarteners’) literacy growth. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Authors

• Karen Flynn Kehoe, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Anita McGinty, Innate health research
  Non-Presenting Author