Negotiating a Top-Down Reading Program Mandate: The Experiences of One School

Autor/inn/en	Pease-Alvarez, Lucinda; Samway, Katharine Davies
Titel	Negotiating a Top-Down Reading Program Mandate: The Experiences of One School
Quelle	In: Language Arts, 86 (2008) 1, S.32-41 (10 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0360-9170
Schlagwörter	Reading; Reading Programs; Educational Change; Reading Instruction; Elementary School Teachers; Grade 3; Grade 4; Instructional Effectiveness; Teaching Methods; Comparative Analysis; School Districts; Interviews + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Leseprozess; Lesen; Bildungsreform; Leseunterricht; Elementary school; Teacher; Teachers; Grundschule; Volksschule; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; School year 03; 3. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 03; School year 04; 4. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 04; Unterrichtserfolg; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; School district; Schulbezirk; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik
Abstract	This article reports on a study that investigated how teachers from the same urban elementary school serving a low- to medium-income student population interpreted, negotiated, and resisted a district-wide mandate requiring them to implement the Open Court Reading program. Interviews and informal observations revealed that there were profound changes in the classroom practices, professional dispositions, and working conditions of these teachers as a consequence of the mandate and the program. Although teachers' acts of resistance tended to be very subtle, nevertheless they had consequences, including the following: (1) teachers were able to reassert their professional agency and autonomy, (2) teachers tended to no longer work collaboratively, and (3) some teachers removed themselves from a highly contentious professional environment caused by the Open Court program and mandate (e.g. by retiring, transferring to a school with older learners, and leaving the profession). Overall, our findings lead us to ponder the value of curricular change that is imposed through policies and mandates and to contrast it with change that is rooted in teachers' self-reflection, initiative, and collaborative inquiry. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10