Running head: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE READING SPECIALIST 1

Roles and Responsibilities of The Reading Specialist

Sara Hess

Longwood University
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Roles and Qualifications

The professionals that hold the title of reading specialist or reading coach have important

roles to play in the lives of teachers, students and administration. All of their roles fall under

three main umbrella terms or categories. Reading specialists are called to be leaders of literacy,

to use assessment to be responsive and to give instruction to either students, teachers or both.

These specialists spend a majority of their time giving instruction following a model that bests

fits the needs of the students. They help give and analyze assessments alongside teachers to make

decisions about instruction and serve as an expert in a leadership role to teachers and other

professionals in which they often give professional development. Reading coaches and

specialists are experts in their fields who are passionate, kind and who are always learning.

Changing Over the Years

With research ranging from 2000 to 2018, the role and definition of the reading specialist

has changed over the years. Through the lens of the International Reading Association and the

International Literacy Association, definitions have shifted. However, all the research carries the

same theme of the importance of three major components. Reading specialists should have skill

sets in instruction, assessment and leadership. Looking back to 2000 when research begun, the

IRA defined the role of the reading specialist as “a professional with advanced preparation and

experience in reading who has responsibility for the literacy performance of reading in general

and of struggling readers in particular” (IRA, 2000). Prior to this research, the reading specialist

was just seen as an educator who worked with struggling readers who would supplement the

work of the classroom teacher. However, it then transformed to new roles of collaborating with

the classroom teacher to insure and implement research-based instruction. In 2004, the role of the

reading coach emerged. This educator worked alongside the classroom teachers to support what
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they were doing with reading instruction in the classroom. The reading specialist then took on

the role of supervising the coaches including professional development for them and enabling

different school personnel to interact. This included the school administrators, principals,

classroom teachers, students and parents (IRA, 2004). Moving into research from 2015, the

reading specialist became an umbrella term; still holding the responsibilities of instruction,

assessment and leading teachers and other educators. However, at this time, the definition

changed to emphasize on instruction. The International Literacy Association states, “the primary

role of the reading/literacy specialist is an instructional one, predominately working with

students who are experiencing difficulties with reading and writing” (ILA, 2015). There

becomes a clearer definition of the roles of specialized literacy professionals, in which, they

support student learning through working with students who are struggling readers, act as a

coach to improve classroom instruction and develop or lead school or district literacy programs.

In the most recent definition, the ILA deems the term reading coach to be synonymous for

reading specialist. In this article, the roles are broken down into three different camps of ideas in

which all three focus on coach having a sole focus on the classroom teachers. The first and most

commonly used model is “coach to conform.” This follows the thought that the coach is the

expert and provides directions for teacher instruction in the classroom. The second model is

known as the coaching into practice; this model holds the focus on students being the “context

for teaching growth through reflection” (ILA, 2018). The third camp’s title is the coach for

transformation. In this position the coach is asked to step out of their comfort zone and

participate in conversations that would challenge the typical form of professional development.
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Reflection

When thinking about being in the position of a reading specialist or reading coach, there

are many components that are exciting. The thought of being in a constant state of always

learning is something that I look forward to. The following though of being able to offer

professional development and coaching opportunities with teachers to alter their instruction to

best help students is something that I would find highly enjoyable. On the counterpart, the

thought of administering and analyzing data is something that is nerve wrecking as I am not fully

confident in being responsible to respond to numbers to then give instruction that will beneficial

to students.
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References

International Literacy Association. (2015). The multiple roles of school-based specialized

literacy professionals [Research brief]. Newark, DE: Author.

International Literacy Association. (2018). Literacy coaching for change: Choices matter

[Literacy leadership brief]. Newark, DE: Author.

International Reading Association. (2000). Teaching all children to read: The roles of the

reading specialist. A position statement of the International Reading Association.

Newark, DE: Author.

International Reading Association. (2004). The role and qualifications of the reading coach in

the United States [Position statement]. Newark, DE: Author.