Pre-service Teacher’s Development of Specialised Content Knowledge About Reading Through a University-School Partnership

Abstract

Teachers recognise that school students of all ages experience difficulties learning to be literate, especially to become skilled readers. These students often resort to using ineffective strategies to decode unknown words or simply guess them, leading to little or no comprehension of the author’s intended meaning of the text. To advance all students’ reading, teachers (who may be excellent readers themselves) must learn the specialised knowledge to teach reading. Despite the call from governments to enhance teacher preparation, there is little research exploring an optimal way to assist pre-service teachers (teachers) develop this knowledge and to engage and teach children the key elements of reading. This aim of this study was to examine the impact on teachers enrolled in a University unit of study that addressed learning support for students experiencing difficulties in learning to read through on-campus lectures and in-school tutorials and field experience. The study used a mixed methods design to examine the impact of the eight-week unit of study on teacher knowledge, as well as on the learning of students identified with difficulties learning. Results from the Fully Integrated Mixed Model design study showed that teacher knowledge changed over the course of the study, while student learning accelerated over the same time. Using an embedded multiple case study approach, the development of teacher knowledge was explored and inferences drawn from in-depth analysis of video-data of teacher-student interactions (e.g., emerging evidence that teachers were developing strong pedagogical knowledge of reading). Conclusions from the study provide evidence that teacher education units of study that purposefully integrated theory and practice can commence the development of robust pedagogical knowledge for teaching reading. While the impact on whole class instruction is not informed, the study results do support calls from government for greater synergy between schools and teacher preparation courses. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.