Influences on teachers' theories and their teaching of reading

Abstract

This thesis examines what teachers say about how they teach reading in their classroom and what has influenced their teaching. It is grounded in a mainly qualitative narrative methodology within a socio-cultural perspective and used a survey as the main data gathering tool. It discusses whether teachers follow one of the main reading theories (top-down, bottom-up or interactive) and how this affects the planning, implementation and teaching of reading within the classroom. It also discusses the changes in how reading is taught that teachers have observed over their teaching career and briefly examines the impact of pre-service education on teachers' beliefs and philosophies. Other key themes include: what teachers believe constitutes a 'good reader' and what is 'best practice' when teaching reading; and the strategies teachers teach children to use when unlocking unknown words.