Reading Teachers’ Perceptions of the Factors that Impact Reading Achievement
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore reading teachers’ perceptions of the factors that impact student reading achievement at selected North Carolina elementary schools. The participants for this study were reading teachers who were employed at four Title I schools in North Carolina. The study used a qualitative design. The study collected data by phone interviews with elementary reading teachers on their perceptions of the factors that promoted or inhibited reading achievement. This study examined two school districts. Several recurring themes and patterns surfaced from the data gathered from the participants. The overarching themes that promoted reading achievement were (a) teacher effectiveness, (b) early literacy exposure, and (c) cooperative learning. The overarching theme that inhibited reading achievement was (a) class size. The implications for change based on the findings were to expose children to literacy early on and school wide initiative for integrating cooperative learning in the classrooms.