Lifetime Influences on the Literacy-Related Instructional Beliefs of Experienced High School History Teachers: Two Comparative Case Studies

Abstract

This paper presents and compares case studies of the literacy-related instructional beliefs of two high school history teachers who had been teaching for over 20 years in the same urban, highly multicultural high school in the eastern United States. Data were collected through extended autobiographical interviews with teachers, 20 sequential days of classroom observation, classroom and district documents, and shorter interviews with students and supervisors. The teachers’ beliefs about including literacy-related activities in their instruction are described, and past and recent influences on these beliefs are analyzed and compared. Results include that the teachers’ beliefs were strongly affected by personal relationships with trusted school colleagues, other teacher-friends, early role models, and students. Implications for teacher development programs and research are suggested. © 1996, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.