A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO EXPERIENCES OF TEACHING READING A DISSERTATION IN Curriculum and Instruction and English Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by SARA LYN CRUMP BA, University of Missouri-Columbia 1990 MA, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1993 Kansas City, Missouri 2018 ©2018 SARA LYN CRUMP ALL RIGHTS RESERVED A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO EXPERIENCES OF TEACHING READING Sara Lyn Crump, Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2018 ABSTRACT In recent years, educators have been paying attention to reading instruction and reading strategies in English classes at the high school level for several reasons. One of those reasons is the adoption of Common Core Standards and variations of those standards at the state level. As part of those standards, reading and writing benchmarks are not only essential but a primary focus for students in all disciplines. This study is a narrative inquiry into the experiences of high school English teachers to better understand their stories from teaching English grades 9–12 for five years or more. I collected data from three high school English teacher participants through interviews, classroom observations, and journal entries. I also made use of a personal frame not only as researcher but as an impetus for understanding teaching reading at the high school level in today’s English classrooms. There were three distinct themes that responded directly to the study’s research question and sub- question: “Teachers’ Relationships with their Students,” “Teachers’ Beliefs about their Abilities in Teaching Reading,” and “Classroom Structure for Instruction.” An outcome of this study further centers on the teacher participants’ views about CCSS in relation to impacting their instruction. Readers of this study may find it useful as a narrative inquiry iii investigation into reading instruction and into literacy skills necessary for success in the 21st century. Reading and writing skills will be increasingly important as the world become smaller due to the increased inventions and usages of different types of technologies. This study might serve as a contribution in this intention because it finds that a person’s background with reading and personal experiences with reading allow the individual to understand their relationship with texts and also to help understand self-efficacy. This study might also help to start a professional development training for teachers to learn how to engage in different reading strategies across the disciplines. iv APPROVAL PAGE The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, have examined a dissertation titled “A Narrative Inquiry into Experiences of Teaching Reading,” presented by Sara Lyn Crump, candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, and certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. Supervisory Committee Candace Schlein, Ph.D., Committee Chair Division of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Rita Barger, Ph.D. Division of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Sue Vartuli, Ph.D. Division of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Jane Greer, Ph.D. Department of English Daniel Mahala, Ph.D. Department of English v CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... xi DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 Personal Research Rationale......................................................................... 3 Literature Review ......................................................................................... 6 CCSS and Reading Instruction ............................................................ 7 Reading Strategies ............................................................................... 8 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................... 13 The Relationship between Curriculum and Teaching ....................... 14 Curriculum, Teachers, and Experience .............................................. 15 Storying and Narratives ..................................................................... 15 Methodology ............................................................................................... 16 Research Questions ............................................................................ 18 Participants ........................................................................................ 18 Data Collection .................................................................................. 19 Data Analysis ..................................................................................... 21 Ethical Considerations ....................................................................... 21 Limitations of the Study .................................................................... 22 Educational Significance ............................................................................ 23 vi Overview of Dissertation Chapters ............................................................. 25 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................. 28 The Relationship between Curriculum and Teaching ................................ 29 The Path toward Standards and Standardization ............................... 31 Personal Experiences of Curriculum and Teaching ........................... 38 Curriculum, Teachers, and Experience ....................................................... 43 Personal Experiences of the Relationship between the Teacher, Experience, and the Curriculum ......................................................... 49 Storying and Narratives .............................................................................. 52 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................... 55 3. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 57 Current Practices in Literacy Instruction .................................................... 57 Literacy and CCSS ......................................................................... 58 Current Best Practices in Literacy Instruction ................................ 62 Contemporary Practices in Teaching Reading ........................................... 63 Recommended Reading Strategies .................................................... 64 Reading Instruction Strategies and CCSS ......................................... 70 Curriculum Reform and Reading ................................................................ 71 CCSS and Curriculum Reform in Reading ........................................ 73 CCSS and the Reading-writing Connection ...................................... 76 Self-efficacy and Reading Instruction ........................................................ 79 Teachers’ Self-efficacy and Reading Instruction .............................. 79 Teachers’ Perceptions of Self-efficacy in Reading Instruction ......... 81 vii Chapter Summary ....................................................................................... 83 4. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................... 84 The Merits of Qualitative Research in Education ....................................... 84 Narrative Inquiry, Education, and Life ....................................................... 86 Rationale for Research Approach ............................................................... 90 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 92 Research and Participant Context ............................................................... 93 Participant Selection and Recruitment ........................................................ 94 Data Collection ........................................................................................... 96 Crystallization of the Data ........................................................................ 101 Data Analysis ............................................................................................ 102 Data Security ............................................................................................ 105 Research Considerations ........................................................................... 106 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................... 109 5. DATA ANALYSIS: COMMON NARRATIVE THEMES .................................... 111 Common Narrative Themes and Storied Life Meanings .......................... 113 Alison ............................................................................................... 113 Seth .................................................................................................. 121 Natalie ............................................................................................. 129 Three-dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space Interpretations .................... 136 The Temporal