To date there has been no research done on teacher education programs that use whole language as a vehicle for instilling reflective forms of pedagogy. This study is an initial effort to develop a research base in this area. The study examined the socialization process of teachers who adopted the teaching perspectives of the whole language approach in a variety of placement sites. Subjects, six white female elementary student teachers, were specifically chosen for their high degree of commitment and a well-informed understanding of the philosophy of whole language. The primary methods used for data gathering were interviews, observations, and examinations of relevant documents. Results indicated: (1) the basic tenets of whole language philosophy are in line with those tenets of reflective pedagogy that many educators are attempting to promote; (2) the subjects' teacher education program was responsible for moving them towards their whole language perspectives but was deficient in many areas; (3) subjects faced many constraining factors during the student teaching experience, including interactive, personal, institutional, and cultural factors; and (4) all the subjects continued to support verbally their original beliefs about whole language, even though they were forced to conform to the existing curriculum. (One-hundred seventy-two references and a list of questions asked during the initial interviews are attached.) (RS)