Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Susan Kabot

Committee Member

Linda Gaughan

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

content-area literacy, vocabulary instruction, reading comprehension, instructional strategies, high school

Abstract

This applied dissertation examined high school teachers’ attitudes toward literacy instruction and their implementation of the Simple 6 strategies: making connections, questioning and inquiry, activating prior knowledge, explicit vocabulary instruction, summarization, and analyzing text structure. The study addressed inconsistent practices in Algebra 1, Biology, and World History classrooms, often linked to limited literacy coaching and professional development opportunities.

Using a nonexperimental survey design, 101 teachers were recruited from professional Facebook groups. Participants represented public, private, charter, and magnet school settings with 1 to 26-plus years of teaching experience and diverse certifications. Data were collected using a 45-item questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics.

Findings revealed generally neutral to negative attitudes toward literacy instruction. Biology teachers reported the most professional development but implemented strategies least frequently. Algebra 1 teachers demonstrated moderate strategy use and greater openness to literacy instruction, while World History teachers showed the most consistent implementation across all six strategies. A significant negative correlation between training exposure and strategy use suggests a disconnect between professional learning experiences and classroom application. The study highlights the need for discipline-specific coaching and sustained professional development and coaching to support literacy integration in secondary content instruction.

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