Date of Award

Fall 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Jennifer Putnam

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher reactions to the adoption and implementation of the Science of Reading (SoR) in North Carolina public schools. In 2021, North Carolina mandated a shift in literacy instruction that started a change initiative beginning with a 2-year professional development for all PreK-5 public school teachers. As other states implement literacy movements aligned with SoR instruction, findings from this study may help them determine their best course of action. Using the theoretical foundation of change theory, I completed a mixed methods convergent parallel design study to explore the implementation process through the lens of two dimensions of the concerns-based adoption model—stages of concern and levels of use. Data were collected through two instruments and converged to provide a gestalt description of how teachers felt about and used SoR practices in their classrooms. I used protocol coding to analyze the interview data, descriptive statistics to analyze the Likert-scale survey items, and inductive coding for the open-ended items. The findings indicated high-intensity concerns for factors unrelated to SoR and moderately intense personal concerns. The findings also indicated that 73% of interview participants ranked at mechanical, routine, or refinement levels of use. Still, it also revealed some areas of concern and barriers, including time, materials and resources, and sustainability. The data also revealed areas of support were materials and resources, professional development, and continuous assistance. For sustainability, teachers need appropriate resources, materials, and support to implement SoR practices in their classrooms.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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