A Balanced Literacy Initiative for One Suburban School District in the United States

Donita Shaw,Karen Hurst

doi:10.1155/2012/609271

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the teachers employed by this suburban USA school district implemented balanced literacy instruction. The 111 teachers who taught grades K-6 completed surveys and were observed. Quantitative data from the surveys and observations were analyzed through descriptive statistics, nonparametric chi-square tests, and Pearson correlations. One open-ended survey question was analyzed qualitatively. Findings show that the majority of teachers had an acceptable understanding of balanced literacy. There were differences among teachers’ instruction on literacy components and structures across grades. Weak correlations among self-reported and observed practices were found. Implications are discussed as the data are being used for research-informed improvements in the district.

Highlights

Balanced literacy is a term associated with a variety of perspectives [1]
How did teachers define balanced literacy? To answer this question, we qualitatively looked for categories in their answers
One teacher said “Balanced literacy is a program that has guided reading, independent reading, shared reading, word work and writing.”. This shows that the teacher had acceptable understanding about balanced literacy, but s/he did not totally understand that it is a framework rather than a program and neither did the teacher communicate all the structures and the components

Summary

Introduction

Balanced literacy is a term associated with a variety of perspectives [1]. Some view balanced literacy to be a combination of whole language and skills-based instruction [2]. Others view balanced literacy as an understanding that reading and writing develop mutually [3]. A third perspective has shown that balanced literacy is a way to provide different levels of teacher support and child control [4]. Even though “balanced literacy” may be an evasive concept without a definitive consensus among literacy researchers, all can agree it is a balance of elements. For the purposes of this paper, our balanced literacy definition mirrors that of New York City’s Department of Education’s research-based approach called The Comprehensive Approach to Balanced Literacy [5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion