Teachers’ Experiences And Perceptions Of Equity-Oriented Practices In K-5 Literacy Instruction

<p>The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) included requirements and supports to advance equity and excellence for all students, including those historically underserved in education. However, data available from the Maine Department of Education (2021) signaled an evident achievement gap. The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) required equity strategies and evidence-based interventions to improve and encourage schools, educators, and leaders to determine which data-driven approaches best meet school and student needs. Effective equity-oriented practices in the literacy classroom included group work, centering student voice, student-centered instruction, and implementing grade-level materials (Lazar, 2022; Williamson, 2017). Still, little information was available exploring the experiences of teachers as they used these practices in their literacy instruction. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and understand equity-oriented practices used in literacy instruction in-service by public K-5 elementary teachers in a large metropolitan school district in Maine. Interviews with six public in-service Grades K-5 elementary school teachers revealed how to better support teachers as they worked with students to close the opportunity gap and the subsequent achievement gap. The experiences of participants led to themes that included (a) district initiatives, (b) necessary enhancements, and (c) the needs of educators. The research revealed two types of teachers. The first type of teacher described being confident implementing equity-oriented practices and therefore hopeful that their students would achieve at grade-level. The second type of teacher described uncertainty in their use of equity-oriented practices and their distrust toward the new curriculum.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Author dc:creator

• Reyes-Crocker, Carla J, Mrs.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ian A. Menchini
• Kristie M. Morin

• Every Student Succeeds Act
• equity
• equity-oriented practices
• achievement
• opportunity
• Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dune.une.edu/edu_diss/41

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dune.une.edu:edu_diss-1044