Studying Teachers and Schools: Michael Pressley's Legacy and Directions for Future Research

Abstract

Much of Michael Pressley's work during the past decade focused on the nature of highly effective, engaging literacy instruction. Michael Pressley believed that studying effective teachers and schools had the potential to influence more engaging and effective teaching, especially in underresourced schools. First, we describe the grounded psychological theories he developed on effective practices for teaching reading and writing, and the positive and motivating classroom environments in which this instruction occurred. His work evolved from a focus on excellent teachers to excellent schools, and he was particularly passionate about developing a theory of effective schools in urban contexts and in isolated rural contexts. Pressley has had major impact on the direction of classroom research with a psychological theoretical perspective, particularly the construction of qualitative case studies. After critiquing the methodology used in this research, we suggest directions for future research.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writing of this article was supported in part by a grant from the Michigan State University Research Excellence Fund to the Literacy Achievement Research Center in the College of Education. We thank Irene W. Gaskins for helpful comments on earlier versions of this article.