Education Commons^™

Elementary Reading Teachers’ Perspectives On Differentiating Reading Instruction For Low-Socioeconomic Students, Edwina Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Differentiated instruction (DI) is recognized as a factor that could improve the reading disparity among students despite diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Few studies have been conducted that document elementary public school reading teachers’ perspectives on differentiating reading instruction and selecting DI strategies for low-performing, low-socioeconomic (LP-LSES) students. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand third- through fifth-grade reading teachers’ perspectives on their abilities to differentiate reading instruction and select DI strategies effectively. The conceptual framework that guided this study was Tomlinson’s DI model and Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory. The research questions focused on the perspectives of third- through …