Ethnographic interviews with 36 teachers, principals, and supervisors of kindergarten programs in 12 Ohio school districts were conducted for the purpose of investigating the philosophies and practices of kindergarten programs in Ohio public schools. Broad research questions which formed the structure of the interviews focused on (1) informants' assumptions about how young children learn and develop; (2) how kindergarten classrooms were organized, children's tasks were structured, and instruction was delivered; (3) what the functions of kindergarten ought to be; (4) informants' program goals and objectives; and (5) informants' assumptions about literacy and how it is developed. Findings indicated a striking dichotomy between current theory in early childhood studies and educational practice in the schools. Kindergartens in Ohio were increasingly academic and skill oriented. Individuals who implemented kindergarten programs experienced conflict between their own beliefs and what they were expected to do in practice. It is concluded that (1) Ohio's kindergarten programs are predominantly skill centered; (2) reading instruction in kindergarten is skill oriented; and (3) while a behaviorist orientation characterizes the kindergarten programs, 55.6 percent of all informants and 66.7 percent of teachers expressed philosophies other than behaviorism. (RH)