摘要:Children who cannot spell fluently are likely to encounter difficulty in writing texts across the curriculum. Furthermore, spelling is often a component in high stakes tests, the results of which have significant implications for students and schools. In the context of debates on teacher quality, it is pertinent to examine the views of early career teachers on their preparedness to teach spelling. This article reports on a small scale study on the views, knowledge and practices of early career teachers in relation to the teaching of spelling, and their views on their pre-service teacher preparation. Participants were early career teachers in Western Australia and data were collected through a questionnaire. This article adds to evidence indicating that many teachers feel inadequately prepared to teach spelling, particularly differentiated spelling instruction. The study is significant in that it focuses on early career teachers’ preparedness to teach spelling, an area not previously thoroughly investigated.
关键词:Spelling; teacher education; early career teachers; primary teaching; differentiation