A study explored 18 Georgia third graders' perceptions of literacy teaching and learning during the second year of their teacher's transition from a traditional, textbook-based approach to a whole language, literature-based approach. Data gathering included 8 months of observation and of in-depth interviews with students. Analysis revealed that…

Compares whole language, literature-based, and basal reader literacy instruction in terms of the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey, the Reader Self-Perception Scale, and the Writer Self-Perception Scale. Finds that a literature-based approach to reading and writing appeared to exert superior impact on intermediate-aged children's affective…

A study examined the attitudes of educators toward content area reading in the early elementary grades. A self-report survey instrument called the Attitudes Toward Content Area Reading (ATCAR) was developed to measure educators' attitudes and to ascertain whether there were different theoretical orientations of educators relative to content area…

Explores whether first-grade students' concepts about reading differed as a function of their teachers' theoretical orientations to reading instruction. Finds that whole language students verbalized more reading strategies than other students, valued and used phonics as much as other teachers and students, and viewed reading books as the central…

Finds overwhelmingly positive attitudes in two public school faculties toward the change of their curriculum to include the whole language philosophy--students were motivated, teachers were renewed with a positive attitude, and students exhibited an air of confidence and security concerning their performance. (SR)

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?";…

A study underscored the potential of whole language philosophy as a framework for secondary English teachers and students as they move away from strictly traditional methods. Research methods included case study, grounded theory, and qualitative inquiry. Participants included 2 veteran teachers who taught in a predominantly white, suburban high…

Observes low socioeconomic-level learners during literacy instruction for two years. Finds similarities in learner concern about accuracy. Notes that cross-curricular differences centered on applications of phonics knowledge, responses to literature, coping strategies, and learner perceptions of themselves as readers and writers. Finds a…

Provides a profile of the learning-disabled adolescent student. Supports a child-centered, whole-language philosophy of teaching advocating literature-based instruction across the curriculum for such learners. Analyzes written and verbal responses of three male students to determine the potential of such an educational approach. (HB)

A month-long study examined students' attitudes toward aspects of a specific reading workshop based on the whole language theory of instruction. Of the 23 students in a fifth-grade classroom, 11 became part of the experimental group who participated in the process which incorporated four primary aspects of language arts: reading, writing,…

A study investigated teachers' and staff developers' perceptions and assessment of the Whole Language Network (which assists teachers in using the whole language approach), the support provided to participants, changes in teaching and assessment practices, and the effects of such changes on student attitudes and achievement. A total of 164…

Explores the different responses to a whole-language curriculum of two average third-grade students. Describes the teacher and the curriculum, and the contrasting literacy behaviors of the students. Discusses how this year-long observation challenged the author's beliefs about children's need for whole-language instruction. (SR)

A study implemented a self-assessment tool developed to better address the needs of students with low self-direction in an integrated kindergarten/first grade whole language classroom. The tool is an adaptation of the plan/do/review model of the High Scope curriculum for early childhood instruction. The teacher targets students with low…

A study of two teachers and four secondary level English classes examined how traditional methods of teaching literature were replaced by more interactive and integrated approaches to text, based primarily upon a whole language philosophy. Intervention aspects purposely remained open-ended to accommodate each teacher's understandings and…

Suggests that spontaneous utterances of first-grade inner-city children in whole-language classrooms in two urban sites reveal five trends in learner perceptions of beginning reading and writing: (1) metacognitive statements reporting learner self-appraisal and self-management; (2) sound/symbol relations; (3) hypotheses about reading; (4) patterns…