School principals' roles have evolved from mere managers to instructional leaders as a result of education reform policies. Today's school leaders must be capable of efficiently leading, motivating, and managing staff; managing the school's day-to-day operations; selecting and implementing rigorous curricula; and monitoring instruction and assessment. As instructional leaders, school leaders must have the content knowledge required to improve teachers' classroom practices and student achievement. Unfortunately, it is difficult for principals to support teachers' professional development and effective instructional practices when school leaders lack content and pedagogical knowledge. This is referred to as "instructional mismatch." Instead of engaging in in-depth pedagogical discussions that could improve classroom instruction, these school leaders frequently fulfill their instructional leadership responsibilities by monitoring compliance with district initiatives. Email interviews were used in the qualitative study to determine elementary school principals' perceptions of reading curricula and acquisition decision-making practices/processes at the school or district level. Choosing a reading program can be difficult due to the abundance of options available. When developing new reading curricula, the study makes recommendations and provides resources to assist school leaders in identifying high-quality reading curricula. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]