The journal Teaching and Teacher Education has just published Attitudes toward Direct Instruction in Western Australian primary and secondary schools. The research was conducted by Lorraine Hammond, Edith Cowan University, Australia. According to the abstract “A validated and reliable survey was administered to 89 teachers and school administrators across 27 schools in Western Australia to determine their attitudes towards Direct Instruction (DI).”
Among the research findings are:
- Teachers who use scripted Direct Instruction programs conveyed positive attitudes.
- Teachers chose to use Direct Instruction because they did not feel adequately prepared to address low literacy.
- Teachers and administrators disagreed that Direct Instruction programs are harmful for students' psychological development.
- Teachers and administrators believed that Direct Instruction programs could be taught alongside inquiry learning.