Research in Higher Education Journal Changing teacher beliefs, page 1 Changing teacher beliefs about promoting literacy in content area classes Barbara Glaeser California State University, Fullerton Marilyn Leuer California State University, Fullerton Maria Grant California State University, Fullerton ABSTRACT The Reading Institutes for Academic Preparation (RIAP) is a professional development program for teachers who teach in grades 9-12 in both English and other content areas, such as math and science. Sponsored by the California State University System, it is part of a multifaceted program designed to improve student literacies statewide and reduce the need for remediation among regularly admitted first-time freshmen to the CSU system. The program at CSU Fullerton operated from 2008-2011, with a focus on changing teacher beliefs about their practices in promoting literacy in content area classes. While the majority of participants were teachers of 11 th and 12 th grade students, middle school and 9 th -10 th grade teachers were occasionally included in the program. Data were collected in the form of pre and post survey and records from focus groups. Results showed that teachers changed both their practices and their beliefs about their role in building literacy in content area classrooms. Keywords: Literacy, content area, teacher beliefs, Reading Institute for Academic Preparation, preparation for college Copyright statement: Authors retain the copyright to the manuscripts published in AABRI journals. Please see the AABRI Copyright Policy at http://www.aabri.com/copyright.html.