Examining the Relationships Among Teacher Mindset, Knowledge of Text Complexity, and Text Selection

Abstract

The Common Core State Standards have driven an awareness for college and career readiness in schools today. This effort has brought to light the role text complexity plays in the classroom and the importance of students being exposed to complex text. Educators' understanding of complex text and their expectations when choosing text is inconsistent, affecting student’s capacity to learn and understand complex text. One goal of this research is to obtain new insight related to how and why text is chosen for instruction among educators teaching in elementary grades. This study will investigate the relationship of teachers’ mindset on their choice and knowledge of complex text using regression to examine these relationships. There were no significant relationships found. Implications for the educational field include advancements in professional development that specifically address the importance of text complexity decisions about text choice in the classroom.