A study investigated whether students in whole language based and basal reader approaches would have different concepts of reading when asked to define reading. Subjects, 69 suburban New Jersey first and third graders and 16 New Zealand first graders, were asked 3 questions: "What is reading?"; "What do you do when you read?";…

Certain events between the late sixties and the eighties were major influences in empowering Australian reading teachers to break the basal habit. During the late sixties a growing number of elementary classroom teachers and principals were showing an interest in classroom practices that focused on children's individual progression. During the…