Social Studies Teachers' Beliefs Regarding and Understanding of Teaching Content Area Reading Skills: A Multi-Case Study

The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the beliefs held by content area social studies teachers who teach reading. The rationale for this study is that students in the 21st century must be able to meet the demands of disciplinary literacy to compete in the workforce. The data from the semi-structured interviews and classroom observations of the, eight middle school social studies teachers from one area in Florida middle school, was studied. The primary research question is how do teachers describe their attitudes and beliefs regarding the effectiveness of, and their experiences, using reading intervention strategies in content area social studies middle school classrooms. This qualitative case study methodology explains how middle school social studies teachers address the need to support student achievement of reading by investigating their beliefs towards, and understanding of, how to use reading intervention strategies in the social studies content area. A Florida middle school was the site of this study comprised of eight social studies teachers which made up the population for this study providing instruction for grades 6-8. The sample consisted of eight social studies teachers purposely selected from the population. The data from the open-ended semi structured interviews and observations of the eight middle-school teachers was studied. The findings of this study support that there is a willingness of content area teachers to teach reading but they could benefit from professional training to assist them in knowing what reading strategies would work best in their classrooms. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]