Comparisons between Literature majors and Pedagogy majors: Are there relationships between major type and activities performed during 2021 in 4th grade ELAR classrooms?
People might wonder what was going on during the 2021 academic year in 4th grade U.S. English language arts/reading (ELAR) classrooms, as this was a time when students were learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally speaking, the time was considered one of disruption in education, when students and teachers alike faced challenges to both the art and science of teaching and learning (Gray, Powell-Smith, and Good, 2023). Fortunately, the Progress in International Readling Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021 survey captured data from participating teachers, and the world is able to get somewhat of a snapshot of what teachers were doing on the side of teaching in the field. This report uses the 2021 weighted survey data to draw some basic comparisons and conclusions between early career teachers that were mostly literature majors in their teaching preparation, and early career teachers that were mostly pedagogy majors in their teaching preparation. By early career it is meant a teac...