Reflections of Staff and Students On the Introduction of Reciprocal Teaching as an Inclusive Literacy Initiative in an English Secondary School

This chapter uses the findings of a small scale research project to illustrate some of the challenges inherent in implementing an inclusive literacy approach (Reciprocal Teaching) across the curriculum in a secondary school. We gathered the perceptions of staff and students of the implementation of this literacy initiative and used these to reflect on the multiple and complex factors at play in this situation. The key findings that emerged from the research were: •the influence of factors external to the school, particularly the focus on examination results produced by the dominance of the ‘standards agenda’ in English schools •the importance of strong leadership in convincing staff of the need for this type of whole school literacy approach and in creating a sense of shared purpose in its use •the need for sufficient training and on-going support for staff, so that they understand the theory and methods of the chosen approach and are confident in their pedagogical skills in delivering this to students.