Recently, increased attention has been placed on the importance of having knowledgeable and skilled teachers in order to influence reading achievement. Yet many international reports suggest that large numbers of children are not learning to read. How can we better prepare teachers with the necessary knowledge to teach reading? The current study examined the reading instructional knowledge of elementary education preservice teachers (N = 87) from two teacher education programmes. Programme A required five reading methods courses and Programme B required two methods courses. Findings indicate that the preservice teachers presented fairly robust levels of knowledge in the areas of phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary. However, we found statistically significant differences in knowledge based on the programme attended and the number of courses completed. Suggestions for improving reading teacher education are provided.

HighlightsWhat is already known?• We know that after decades of research, the findings of studies examining the influence of traditional professional development remain inconclusive. • We know that there is evidence to suggest that personalised instruction and training supports struggling readers but can the same be beneficial to teachers? • Personalised, or one-on-one, professional development has seen success with early grade reading teachers, but this model has not been examined yet in upper elementary grades. What this paper adds• In place of traditional professional development models, this paper is the first to examine how one-on-one professional development supports upper elementary school teachers in building their knowledge and influencing daily reading instructional practice. • Findings suggest that personalised professional development influences reading instruction in meaningful ways but does not impact teacher knowledge scores on a formal teacher knowledge assessment. Implications for theory, policy or practice• Vast amounts of funding are spent each year on professional development for teachers. The findings of the current study offer evidence to suggest that

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