Elementary Teacher’s Perspectives on Change in Reading Instruction

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Voices of teachers participating in an abrupt curricular change over two years shed light on the complexities of teacher change processes, tracing the interplay of issues of teachers’ knowledge and experience on change. Qualitative analysis revealed that teachers\ experience of change was mediated by: their instructional biographies, the amount of control they held over their teaching, how teachers’ prior practices and understandings were valued and, the varying levels of support provided. Findings reinforce the complexity of the change process which is mediated by an interplay of factors and deviate from current literature portraying teachers as resistant to change. Rather, the ways in which teachers reacted and responded to the changes are highlighted. Findings suggest teachers’ change processes are mediated by the way in which their own knowledge and experiences are respected. Teachers, rather than resisting change, want support and time to develop deeper understandings of the change and literacy development. The focus must shift from teaching teachers to implement a particular method to increasing their understandings of how literacy develops.