Implementation of the Beginners Literacy Program: Attitudes and experiences of teachers

• Main Authors: Björnsdóttir, Eygló, Steingrímsdóttir, María, Sigurðardóttir, Sigríður Margrét
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2016
• Subjects: Beginning Literacy; school improvement; staff development; staff development program; mentoring; implementing process; Byrjendalæsi; starfsþróun; starfsþroski; leiðsögn; breytingaferli; starfsþróunarlíkan; Akureyri; Iceland; University of Akureyri
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/netla/article/view/2399

Beginning Literacy (BL) is a holistic literacy approach for grade 1 and 2 in primary school in Iceland. The approach was originally authored by Rósa Eggertsdóttir, and then developed further at the Centre of School Development of the University of Akureyri (CSDUA). Since 2006 it has been implemented in approximately 75 out of 170 primary schools in Iceland. The BL approach is different from the traditional literacy approach used in Iceland (the Phonics approach) and requires different teaching styles and methods. A twoyear staff development programme was developed simultaneously to strengthen its induction and support the teachers in its adaptation. The staff development programme is based on the fivestep school improvement program of American scholars Joyce and Showers, and on the experience and research of Eggertsdóttir, its author. The main emphasis is on introducing the methods and work procedures of the BL approach, followed by purposeful feedback and consultancy. Each school appoints a BL leader who is also a contact person to the consultant at the CSDUA. That person learns to be a BL leader at the same time as the teachers adapt the program. The leader gets his/her feedback from the CSDUA consultants and guidance on how to guide the teachers through the implementation of the approach. Additionally, the teachers and leaders involved have access to various BL materials developed by its author and the CSDUA. As the approach has been taken up by many schools in a short period of time, it is important to research its application, influence and outcome. The aim of this paper is to investigate how teachers experience taking part in adopting the BL literacy programme and to what extent participating in the staff development programme has influenced their professional development. It is a part of larger study of both the BL approach and the staff development programme. The paper builds on analyses of both individual and group evaluation data from 415 teachers in 54 elementary schools implementing BL. The data were ...