How Teachers Initial Training and Classroom Practices Improve Reading Engagement and Achievement
Author(s):
Ariane Baye (presenting / submitting) Patricia Schillings Dominique Lafontaine
Conference:
ECER 2012
Network:
10. Teacher Education Research
Format:
Paper

Session Information

10 SES 09 C, Parallel Paper Session

Parallel Paper Session

Time:
2012-09-20
11:00-12:30
Room:
FCEE - Aula 2.4
Chair:
Shosh Leshem

Contribution

Reading comprehension is nowadays defined as a dynamic process involving a tripartite: the reader, the text and the context (Campbell, Kelly, Mullis, Martin, & Sainsbury, 2001; Mullis, Kennedy, Martin, & Sainsbury, 2006; Rosenblatt, 1978, 2004; Wilkinson & Son, 2011). The challenge for research on reading and teaching comprehension is to find the most effective way to guide the children in their progress in this dynamic and complex process.

Wilkinson & Son (2011) describe successive waves of research on reading comprehension. According to us, their categorizations show the existence of two main streams of research on learning and teaching the reading comprehension: one centered on the strategies and one centered on the dialogue, with the text and with the other readers. We argue that both main streams of research on learning and teaching comprehension may be viewed not as competing each other but rather as complementary in the daily classroom practices. Moreover, we think most effective teachers will keep from their experience, training and professional reading, some of the most stimulating and effective elements from both main streams.

The potential effect of both strategic and transactional teaching practices is also acknowledged in PIRLS framework (Campbell, et al., 2001; Mullis, et al., 2006). This international study on Reading proficiency provides thus data on teachers’ practices in their classes, but also on teachers’ training and on students results. This constitutes a fabulous source of information allowing linking teachers’ initial training and classroom practices with students’ results in terms of reading proficiency and engagement. The purpose of this study is to use international data on reading proficiency and engagement to explore the potential impact of teachers’ initial training and actual practices on their students’ results.

Method

The database used is Pirls 2006. The results have been computed for the 23 EU countries or regions (for Belgium and UK, the regions have been considered as countries). For the performance in reading, the 1st plausible value in reading has been used. Then we used teacher and student questionnaire variables to create various indices. Structural equation modelling (LISREL 8.8, Joreskog and Sorbom, 1996) was used to assess the 7 latent constructs we created and to evaluate the general hypothesis of the relation between teachers’ initial training, classroom reading practices, pupils’ engagement in reading and reading proficiency. 200 students in each European country participating to Pirls were randomly selected.

Expected Outcomes

Results The first results show that classroom reading practices aimed to transact with texts through discussions about texts have no significant impact on reading proficiency. However they have a positive impact on pupils’ engagement variables. And the model shows that those last engagement variables have a positive, even weak, impact on reading proficiency. Thus, classroom reading practices aimed to transacts with texts through discussions may be considered as key variables that are likely to influence the reading performance, but indirectly: through their impact on the pupils’ individual engagement and social practices outside of school. Our results show also that those classroom reading practices are linked to the type of programmes teachers describe having received in their initial training. Our results suggest that initial training gain to give teachers an emphasis on the reading process itself rather than to focus only on more linguistic or literature. Above all, it suggests that a stronger pedagogical content of the initial training has an impact on students’ results.

References

Campbell, J. R., Kelly, D. L., Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., & Sainsbury, M. (2001). Framework and Specifications for PIRLS Assessment 2001 (2nd ed.). Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College. Rosenblatt, L., M. (1978). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literacy work. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Wilkinson, I. A. G., & Son, E. H. (2011). A Dialogic Turn in Reseach on Learning and Teaching to Comprehend. In M. Kamil, L., P. D. Pearson, E. Birr Moje & P. Afflerbach, P. (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research (Vol. Volume IV, pp. 359-387). New York and London: Routledge.

Author Information

Ariane Baye (presenting / submitting)
University of Liege, Belgium
Patricia Schillings
University of Liege, Belgium
Dominique Lafontaine
University of Liege, Belgium

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