Professional development for literacy teaching: the evidence from effective teachers

Abstract

High quality literacy teaching demands high quality literacy teachers and such teachers are the product of professional development. This article reports the results of an enquiry into the professional development experiences of teachers identified as effective in the teaching of literacy. The research was designed to identify key factors in what effective teachers of literacy knew and understood about literacy teaching and what they did in their classrooms, as well as to examine the professional development experiences which had contributed to their effectiveness. The results suggest that the effective teachers of literacy had been offered opportunities, beyond those provided in school, to extend and develop their knowledge and expertise in the teaching of literacy. Several implications about the form and content of such opportunities are drawn from the study.