What Role Does Literacy Play In Education

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The ability to read proficiently is essential for success in school and learning throughout life. There is a shared understanding that reading instruction is a critical responsibility of schools. All students must learn to read, particularly in the early stages of reading development. As the body of research and understanding of how reading proficiency develops, it becomes increasingly evident that reading instruction must play a central role in education (Torgesen, Houston Miller, Rissman, & Kosanovich, 2007). Developing early reading skills is an obligation of schools and an ongoing topic for research. The National Early Literacy Panel was appointed in 2002 to examine the implications of instructional practices for young children that …show more content…
Using developmentally appropriate software programs and digital resources support instructional outcomes and help to create a classroom environment of higher-level reasoning and problem solving skills. The use of technology should be based on the instructional outcomes and should enhance children’s learning but providing opportunities for differentiation and responsive teaching to meet individual student needs and interests. Historically, there has been a close relationship between literacy, technology and literacy instruction (Karchmer, 2001).
Teaching literacy is a complex task and teachers of reading need the knowledge and skills to implement effective practices and a belief that they can achieve this challenge. An exploration of teachers’ attitudes, perceptions, and practices through self-reports provides information about how teachers’ perceive their knowledge and skills intended to improve the reading performance of students. Perceptions about one’s ability to perform a task can lead to greater success and motivation (Bong & Clark,
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They found that even in technology-rich schools teachers primarily use technology to prepare for lessons and for management and administrative purposes rather than for student-centered practices. Furthermore, they found that teachers’ use of technology to support student-centered learning is rare even among teachers who hold student-centered beliefs. Hutchinson and Reinking’s (2011) study is the first national survey to investigate literacy teachers’ beliefs and practices related to technology. Nearly all teachers have access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and technology support in their schools, but “relatively few literacy teachers have moved from assimilation of the ICT within their teacher to a deeper curricular accommodations where ICTs are more central to their concepts of what comprises literacy and literacy instruction” (p.