Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Vol 40 - Issue 5 - Article 3 - Inquiring into Pre-service Content Area Teachers’ Development of Literacy Practices and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine

Qualitative multi-year case study examining pre-service teachers’ experiences in developing literacy practices and pedagogical content knowledge while teaching high school science, math, social studies, and other content area courses during final field placement. Findings show tangible growth in pedagogical content knowledge and variation in learning depth. All participants supported integrating literacy into content area courses, though successes differed as they made literacy practices a regular element of teaching. Results inform teacher education programs and school districts supporting literacy teaching development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Standards-based assessment and literacy focus

Multi-year longitudinal study context

Content Area Literacy and Pre-service Teacher Education: A Myriad of Possibilities

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 40 | Issue 5 | Article 3 | | --- | --- | 2015 Inquiring into Pre-service Content Area Teachers’Development of Literacy Practices and Pedagogical Content Knowledge Jennifer Mitton Kukner St. Francis Xavier University, [jmitton@stfx.ca](jmitton@stfx.ca) Anne Murray Orr St. Francis Xavier University, [aorr@stfx.ca](aorr@stfx.ca) Recommended Citation Mitton Kukner, J., & Murray Orr, A. (2015). Inquiring into Pre-service Content Area Teachers’ Development of Literacy Practices and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (5). Retrieved from [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol40/iss5/3](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol40/iss5/3) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol40/iss5/3](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol40/iss5/3) Australian Journal of Teacher Education Inquiring into Pre-service Content Area Teachers’ Development of Literacy Practices and Pedagogical Content Knowledge Jennifer Mitton Kukner Anne Murray Orr St. Francis Xavier University, Canada Abstract: The focus of this qualitative multi-year case study is on pre service teachers’ experiences related to the development of their literacy practices in teaching high school science, math, social studies and other content area courses during their final field placement in a teacher education program. Results indicate tangible indicators of overall growth in participants’ developing pedagogical content knowledge as well differences in the depth of their learning. All participants willingly supported the idea of integrating literacy in content area courses, but their successes were somewhat uneven, and reflective of their evolving pedagogical content knowledge, as they attempted to make literacy practices a regular part of their teaching practices. Our findings should be of interest to teacher education programs and school districts in supporting pre-service and beginning teachers as they develop their practices as teachers of literacy in content areas. Introduction With the increased use of standardized assessments to measure students’ literacy proficiency, such as the Program for International Assessment (PISA), teacher accountability for student literacy achievement in all subject areas is brought sharply into focus (Cheng, Klinger, & Zheng, 2009) . In Canada it was reported that students across the four Atlantic Canadian Provinces “performed below the Canadian average for both the combined reading and reading sub-scales”(Knighton, Brochu, & Gluszynski, 2010, p.17) of the 2009 results of the PISA, indicating that reading and other literacy skills are relevant concerns for Atlantic Canadian schools. Regardless of how much significance one attributes to these assessments, it is certain that math, science, and social studies teachers, among others, are being asked to more fully incorporate literacy strategies into their teaching in school boards across Canada. Pre-service teachers require a strong foundation in this area as they prepare to teach students in schools throughout Canada and beyond. This is the third year of a multi-year longitudinal study of pre-service and beginning content area teachers’ literacy practices and how these practices change over time. We began this study partly in response to local and national contexts of concerns with math and literacy resultson standardized achievement tests described above, and the impact of such tests on teacher education in Canada. At the same time, we observed pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) positive responses to a course we teach called Literacy in the Content Areas in the Bachelor of Education (B Ed) program at our small Canadian university. The course aims to improve content area Vol 40, 5, May 2015 41 Australian Journal of Teacher Education teaching through attention to literacy and through deeper understanding of language processes in learning

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study examines pre-service teachers’ experiences developing literacy practices and pedagogical content knowledge during their final field placement in content area teaching.

How do the results describe changes in participants’ learning?

Results indicate tangible indicators of overall growth in participants’ pedagogical content knowledge, along with differences in the depth of their learning.

Do participants support integrating literacy into content area courses?

Yes. All participants supported integrating literacy in content area courses, but their successes were uneven and reflected their evolving pedagogical content knowledge.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine