Teachers' academic training for literacy instruction. Issue 3 (27th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oliveira, Célia; Lopes, João; Spear-Swerling, Louise
• Is Part Of: European journal of teacher education. Volume 42:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 315
• Page End: 334
• Publication Date: 2019-05-27
• Subjects: Literacy instruction -- specific content knowledge -- reading and writing -- undergraduate teachers' training; Teachers -- Training of -- Europe -- Periodicals; 370.71094
• DOI: 10.1080/02619768.2019.1576627
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0261-9768

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Literacy instruction is a powerful determinant of children's academic and school outcomes. Teachers' training for literacy instruction is therefore critical for children's reading learning. The present study examined the contents of 130 courses related to literacy instruction from a representative national sample of primary teachers' undergraduate programs ( N = 81), to address the following issues: which courses, related to literacy instruction, are included in the curriculum of undergraduate training programs? Which is the weight of the courses in undergraduate programs? What are the contents of the courses? The results show that most critical features of literacy instruction are included in the course contents of most programs (e.g. phonics, theory of literature). Still, some other critical features are underrepresented (reading/writing comprehension skills) or apparently missing (assessment and intervention in reading/writing problems). Moreover, the time allocated to literacy instruction seems to be scarce. Still, wide differences across university programs and courses were found.