Based on years of classroom observation, this book presents the thesis that powerful, critical, active, productive literacy can be achieved systematically, and regularly, with large numbers of the school population, if the principles currently known as the whole language approach are applied. The book is based on the assumptions that learning to…

The dominant theoretical frameworks (structural, human resources, political, or cultural) espoused by elementary school principals are studied; and the platforms are compared with data previously collected on leadership behaviors and time usage. Data for 5 principals and 151 teachers in 5 elementary schools in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) on the…

To talk about the dissemination of research is to talk about the relationship between theory and practice. A body of empirical and conceptual knowledge has accumulated in an area known as the dissemination and utilization of scientific knowledge. Researchers and practitioners will interact at two points: as the knowledge base is transferred, and…

The role of the applied linguist in interpreting research for language teaching policy formation is examined. First, foreign language teaching policy, and the various considerations to be made in determining policy, are defined. Then three aspects of language teaching are discussed: policy developments in the Netherlands in the last few decades,…

Academia is one of the professions in which socially constructed fictions have tremendous power. Years of graduate study and the power of academic mentors creates an environment which deeply socializes future academics. The image of the academic professional which is currently promulgated emerged during the expansionist (post-World War II) period…

Intended for practioners, this book discusses many of the critical questions being asked about the role of whole language in schools. The book not only examines the growing research base that supports whole language, but also offers practical and realistic suggestions for tackling the many thorny issues involved in the assessment and evaluation of…

A study outlined the processes through which two beginning elementary teachers in the San Francisco Bay area learned to overcome institutional constraints which tended to standardize ethnically diverse students' responses to literature. The study focused specifically on the changes in one teacher's instruction which freed her third/fourth grade…

Results of a study of a pilot program exploring the application of reflective practice to educational administration are reported in this paper. The program goal was to create a design studio for the development of reflective practice among educational administration students. To accomplish this goal, the design studio provided explicit…

This annotated bibliography summarizes 70 studies of curriculum implementation, with emphasis on studies of curriculum projects in Australia. Most of the studies reviewed involve data gathering using the Stages of Concern questionnaire and the Levels of Use interview techniques developed by Gene Hall and his colleagues in the 1970s. The studies…

The demand for worker literacy is increasing in nearly every occupation, from entry-level blue collar to top professional and technical. The types of reading and writing required on the job differ considerably from the literacy activities required of students in schools. Most of the reading done in the workplace environment is done for the express…

This book presents 36 case studies, based on data gathered from first-year teachers throughout the country, that provide direct involvement with some of the most common and important experiences new teachers face. By typing together practice and theory in the study of real problems, prospective teachers will be able to: (1) identify and use major…

This paper attempts to connect theories of learning and theories of instruction, which often originate independently from each other, into a unified theory which gives a central place to students' self-regulation and which is based on recent research on student learning. The first of four parts analyzes the cognitive, affective, and metacognitive…

This book discusses PCRP II, an integrative framework for language and literacy which teachers and administrators can use to examine, and when appropriate, to improve school and classroom practice in language use across the curriculum. Chapter 1 offers an introduction and summary. Chapter 2, "Perspectives on Theory and Practice,"…

Drawing on an array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, this book argues that educators need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma and offers instructional alternatives. The book proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to reading and provides an…

Drawing from the theoretical background of Schon's concept of the "reflective practitioner," this study compares the ways in which superintendents and school board members view the future and examines their differing perceptions in order to identify possible loci of conflict between them. Board members and superintendents were asked to identify…