Persistent pedagogies: teachers’ understanding of instructional norms in early grade reading classrooms

Across early grade classrooms in low- to medium-income contexts there are enduring instructional practices regarded as antithetical to learning but which have proved persistently resistant to reform. These include such practices as whole class choral reading and the dominance of teacher talk. Recently, agencies concerned with foundation literacy and numeracy have shown some interest in probing teachers’ beliefs to understand how to shift these norms. There is very little research in these contexts that asks teachers why certain practices are sustained. This article contributes to our understanding of enduring instructional norms in early grade classrooms. Drawing on Derek Layder’s social domain theory, the article argues that norms derive from different dimensions of teachers’ professional and personal lives. We suggest that meaningful change requires that these domains are addressed together, supporting teachers not only to do things differently, but to understand their work in new ways based crucially on the development of their knowledge base.