TDNet Discover

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to find similarities and differences between reading curricula in the Southeastern United States to build students’ foundational reading skills. The research questions in this study addressed finding both the similarities and differences in each state’s English language arts standards about phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This study was grounded in the constructivist learning theory which states the importance of building on prior foundational reading knowledge as skills become more complex. Using a qualitative document analysis design, the study investigated how state English language arts standards included the foundational reading skills of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The setting for this study consisted of publicly available state English language arts standards documents collected from official state department of education websites. The sample included the grade levels of kindergarten through fifth grade from each of the five states: Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes to distinguish the similarities and differences across states and grade levels. The standards were coded by the themes of the foundational reading skills. The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how each state prioritizes the foundational reading skills in their English language arts standards and have implications for curriculum alignment and policy decisions in literacy instruction.