An exploratory study investigated the relationship between perceptions and practices in reading and language arts, and examined whether teachers were using practices to develop students' literacy skills suggested in work by Marie Clay. Subjects, 16 out of a possible 22 kindergarten teachers in one southern school district, responded to a 138-item questionnaire involving reading, writing, concepts about print, and letter/sound associations. Results indicated that: (1) teachers' practices involving "reading materials" and "who read to whom" generally matched Clay's recommendations; (2) practices and perceptions of teachers matched fairly closely for reading materials, who read to whom, and writing; and (3) practices in concepts about print and letter/sound associations did not match recommendations by Clay, nor did practices and beliefs generally match one another. Results also indicated that: two of the seven schools had acceptable practices in reading and letter/sound association; one school was acceptable in reading; two had unacceptable responses in all areas; and two schools were disregarded because only one teacher from each responded. Findings suggest that many kindergarten teachers' practices in reading and writing match Clay's recommendations. Further research is called for. (Contains 16 references.) (RS)