Brokering reading relationships: Teaching assistant insights into a reading intervention programme

ABSTRACT This article reports on teaching assistants' (TA) perspectives on their role in negotiating reading experiences in ways that positively influenced 7 and 8‐year‐old children's motivation during the REAding with CompreHension programme intervention (REACH Primary). Assessed as not meeting ‘age‐related expectations’ according to national benchmarks, many children in the programme were deemed ‘at risk’ of underachievement in literacy. REACH interventions were delivered by TAs during one‐to‐one sessions over a sustained period. As part of our evaluation of REACH, we carried out and analyzed interviews with 14 TAs and eight school leaders, using a variable‐oriented approach to case analysis, to identify themes and commonalities across 10 schools. Insights indicated that responsive, flexible, and negotiated pedagogical relationships were established between adults and children, and these may be crucial in effectively supporting children who are experiencing reading difficulties. This highly responsive connection was attuned to the affective experiences of children, developing into a ‘brokering’ of reading relationships between TAs and children. Furthermore, our data provide evidence to suggest that the relationships established created the reading conditions for a virtuous cycle of increased reading confidence and self‐efficacy, which led to children's increased reading motivation and the tendency to engage in reading in wider circles.