Teacher identity construction: becoming a ‘teacher of reading’
Teacher identity construction: becoming a ‘teacher of reading’
The construction of teacher identity is a complex business, growing out of interactions within and across a number of institutions and communities of practice from childhood onwards. It is hardly surprising then that changes in policy do not necessarily translate into the intended changes to practice. Small-group guided reading, for example, introduced by the National Literacy Strategy some ten years ago, has had a patchy uptake, according to the limited data available. Yet many teachers have adopted it with enthusiasm and commitment. Taking this as a starting point, this paper reports on part of a study which explores the development of teachers’ identities and practices specifically as teachers of reading, against a Bernsteinian socio-cultural framework. Three teachers participate, all of whom include guided reading routinely in their pedagogic repertoires. The analysis of data from interviews and observations of video-recorded guided reading lessons enables the relationship between teachers’ past history, current understandings and current practice to become visible. Findings are discussed with a view to their implications for teacher development.
literacy, pedagogy, reading, teacher biography
Challen, Doreen
53a9e630-e881-4199-97a4-fa32066adf41
12 July 2008
Challen, Doreen
53a9e630-e881-4199-97a4-fa32066adf41
Challen, Doreen
(2008)
Teacher identity construction: becoming a ‘teacher of reading’.
44th International Conference of the United Kingdom Literacy Association, Liverpool, UK.
11 - 13 Jul 2008.
21 pp
.
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Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
The construction of teacher identity is a complex business, growing out of interactions within and across a number of institutions and communities of practice from childhood onwards. It is hardly surprising then that changes in policy do not necessarily translate into the intended changes to practice. Small-group guided reading, for example, introduced by the National Literacy Strategy some ten years ago, has had a patchy uptake, according to the limited data available. Yet many teachers have adopted it with enthusiasm and commitment. Taking this as a starting point, this paper reports on part of a study which explores the development of teachers’ identities and practices specifically as teachers of reading, against a Bernsteinian socio-cultural framework. Three teachers participate, all of whom include guided reading routinely in their pedagogic repertoires. The analysis of data from interviews and observations of video-recorded guided reading lessons enables the relationship between teachers’ past history, current understandings and current practice to become visible. Findings are discussed with a view to their implications for teacher development.
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Published date: 12 July 2008
Venue - Dates:
44th International Conference of the United Kingdom Literacy Association, Liverpool, UK, 2008-07-11 - 2008-07-13
Keywords:
literacy, pedagogy, reading, teacher biography
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Local EPrints ID: 54128
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/54128
PURE UUID: a1ed335e-a513-4ecd-b822-398bb32e260e
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Date deposited: 05 Aug 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 10:44
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