Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Decodable Deliberations In Early Reading Instruction: A Mixed-Methods Study Of First-Grade Teachers’ Perceptions, Selection, And Use Of Decodable Texts, Patricia Gallery

Theses and Dissertations

The fundamental significance of literacy achievement cannot be overstated. However, the 2022 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) divulges alarming findings, with a mere 33 percent of the nation’s fourth graders performing at or above proficiency in reading (NAEP, 2022). Exploring the nexus of research-informed pedagogy and practice is imperative to disrupt this deleterious trajectory. This mixed-method study will examine how first-grade teachers select and use texts for beginning reading instruction with a critical lens on teachers' perceptions of decodable text to fully understand the complex intersection of intentionality and attitude when choosing texts for early reading instruction. This study …