“We Are Not Robots”: Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Focus Group Talk About Problems of Practice Around Literacy Instruction

Authors

Jacquelynn S. Popp, Lake Forest CollegeFollow
Carin Appleget, Creighton UniversityFollow
Tori Golden Hughes, University of North GeorgiaFollow
Crystal Dail Rose, Tarleton State UniversityFollow
Christine Leighton, Emmanuel CollegeFollow
Kierstin M. Giunco, University of CincinnatiFollow
Poonam Arya, Wayne State UniversityFollow
Xiufang Chen, Rowan UniversityFollow

Publication Date

8-2025

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of elementary preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) problems of practice around literacy instruction and to explore how the PSTs framed/talked about such problems. The study comprised qualitative analysis of data collected from focus group interviews with 21 PSTs from five teacher education institutions across the United States. Analysis of the PSTs’ talk about problems of practice in the focus groups yielded three themes about the nature of their problems and how they defined and discussed strategies or solutions to problems. PSTs expressed concerns about (1) meeting the needs of students below expected literacy levels, (2) feeling unprepared for aspects of literacy instruction, and (3) conflicting and constricting demands limiting literacy instruction.

Recommended Citation

Popp, J. S., Appleget, C., Golden Hughes, T., Rose, C. D., Leighton, C., Giunco, K. M., Arya, P., & Chen, X. (2025). “We Are Not Robots”: Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Focus Group Talk About Problems of Practice Around Literacy Instruction. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 64 (2). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol64/iss2/3